Monday, April 27, 2009

Still Waiting

I'd like to say that I have been outside putting in the garden; however, I'm still waiting for the weather to warm up. This is really unseasonal weather we are having.
Still getting artic outflows here.
Went to Kamloops on Saturday and even down there everything is behind at least 3 weeks.
The horses are probably wondering where the green grass is. Usually by this time of year they are in the pasture eating lovely fresh greens.
Somehow I hurt my knee and am now limping around. May go to see the saw-bones if it doesn't get better soon.
We haven't started any major building projects yet. We are hoping we can cut some log siding for our cabin this year. I love log homes and putting up the siding will transform the look of our home.
Namaste,

Friday, April 17, 2009

Beautiful Sky





One thing about living here is the fantastic sunrises and sunsets we get. We haven't any pollution to cover up the sky. Just clean, fresh air to breathe each and every day. Also beautiful landscapes that change daily with the seasons.
I hope you enjoy these pictures.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Is It Really Spring?



This has been a long cold winter and spring so far.
The creek finally opened up. We have geese and a variety of water fowl swimming around now.
I love living right by the creek, especially in the warm months. It gets so lively with all the birds and activity that goes on among the wild ones.
We have red wing blackbirds, yellow headed blackbirds, juncoes, black capped chickadees, robins, barn swallows, tree swallows, blue birds, purple martins, meadow larks, finches, greyjays, bluejays, sparrows, wrens, ravens, sand-hill cranes, lesser yellow legs, godwits, hairy woodpeckers, pileated woodpeckers, yellow bellied sapsuckers, hummingbirds, a variety of hawks, bald eagles, cow birds, canada geese, white pelicans, blue heron, loons, mallards, buffleheads, pintails, northern shovelers, grouse, owls and I'm sure I am missing some others that stop here.
There are also beaver, otters, muskrats, pine martins, squirrels, chipmunks, rainbow trout, minnows, bears, cougars, lynx, coyotes, wolves, moose, mule and white tail deer.
This little piece of heaven is a haven for so many birds and animals.
It's truly wonderful to be able to live among the wild ones.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Adding on to the Cabin










A few years ago we decided that we would add an addition to the cabin. We wanted an indoor workshop, a basement to put our battery packs to keep them cool plus have some storage room for vegetables/fruit. We also wanted to have a bigger bedroom and a place for an indoor toilet.
Off we went to get our bug killed trees, take them to our sawmill and cut the lumber we needed.
We wanted to cut all the lumber that was needed first, then pre build the walls with the windows framed in and the trusses for the roof.
That way when it came to putting up the addition we could just boogy along without having to stop to cut lumber or frame the walls in.
This way of building was a lot faster for us.
To put up the upstairs walls and trusses we had to make a gin pole to pull the walls and trusses up to where they were needed.
This worked great too. A gin pole is actually 3 long poles chained together in a tripod shape with a pulley attached to the top and a rope through the pulley. We used our pickup truck to pull the rope that lifted up the walls and trusses to where they were needed.

Now we're talking about adding a covered deck out back. We want to have a summer kitchen. We will put my old woodstove there, so I can cook and bake, without making our cabin too warm.
We just might hang up our hammocks out there too and dream some dreams.