New Years visit

We made a quick visit to the oasis on New Years. Unlike last year, we needed snowshoes to reach the site. About a foot of snow had fallen two nights before.

The snow showed signs of someone walking their dog along the drive, but they don't go beyond the fence.

There were animal tracks everywhere - I could ID rabbit, deer, and dog, but I think there were a few other animals out there too.

MJ's studio is holding up well...

As is the cabin...

Note the 'snow hole' giving access to below the deck. MJ said she saw something shoot away as we walked by - about the size of a cat; all she saw was the tail. It was so fast she couldn't ID beyond that. (At least she saw it, more than I can say!)

Always lovely to visit, but too cold to stay!

The lovely loo during an awesome autumn

After  too long a time, we got to return to the cabin. In the seven weeks since our last visit, the seasons had changed, and fall was waiting for us in all her splendor. Due to our little micro-climate - we had full foliage before the rest of the area - so our view out the window was resplendent with the golds, oranges and reds of fall.

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There wasn't much on the agenda; for the first time in a long time we went there with the idea of simply relaxing and communing with nature.
There was one thing on someones mind though - an indoor outhouse. Yes, a place to poo, a defining location to defecate, a veritable piss palace if you would.Hmm, any other tacky toilet expressions?

Okay, now that I got my junior high school hi-jinks done, we installed a "loveable loo." We built our own and you can get directions or buy a kit from here. 

It is a simple box with a 5 gallon bucket inside; simply add sawdust as you go. Everyone on-line said there would be no stink, and they were right! We have a very small, well insulated cabin with no drafts, and the most we smelled was the fresh pine sawdust, which we got from a sawmill down the road.

Even though we have been married for decades, privacy on some matters is still put at a premium. We slid a simple OSB cover blocking the view between the ladder treads, and we hung a hammock as a temporary curtain.

The completed loo sort of reminds me of a playhouse I had under the basement stairs growing up, except as a kid I had a periscope and no loo. After 2 days it was time to dump the sawdust. We made a spot far away and off the trails. Even though you can make compost with this, we are going to pass.

intermediary deck

The deck building continued...
There is a 44" difference in height between the north deck and the west deck. I wanted to break up the mass of wood or stairs between the two, so I placed this deck at a middle height between the two. Here are some pictures.

there you have it - I think I did OK!

MJ's Studio

Something I have been working on since last fall - completed in time for MJ's move on July 1.
I posted a low rez video if you want a two minute version.

March:

The piers were installed last October when the equipment was on site. The other lumber came in March, when the ground was frozen but there was no snow.

Made quick work of installing the platform - buying the cordless nail gun was the best thing I have ever done!

Getting ready to cover up for the night...

And a good thing - it snowed overnight!

May:

Returned to see if everything survived. This is the window we found on 5th St. We like it for the size and for the guard dog that came with it.

Whipped through the framing - have nail gun will travel!

Here's the window with guard dog installed and ready to protect MJ from anything that goes bump in the night.

The framing, some walls and part of the roof installed - lots done in May!

June:
Onward towards completion. I kept building; one shoe in front of another. I have learned so much since the first cabin! The only major error was that I miscounted the roofing material. Each panel is 26" wide, but after overlapping each other it is closer to 20." This meant that I was short one piece. I had to wait till we had a van to carry the 12' piece to the site. 

Measuring for the door was another error. I only left 3/16th of an inch extra in width. that was not enough. Plus, I went crazy with the nail gun, so removing the over nailed stud was extremely difficult.

I'm very happy with how the roofing has worked out, although it is too bright and too hot even though the roof faces North. We will be adding shading and venting.

Painted floor - almost ready for the move.

July:
MJ getting comfortable in her new space. 

 

Some notes: I spent extra time to make tight cuts around the rafters & I caulked everywhere. Hopefully this will keep the majority of bugs out. Our very first shed has become wasp central, partly because of enormous gaps I left in the structure. For the week we were there after I was done caulking there was not one bug inside this space.

And I do not work for Home Depot, or Paslode, or Suntuf. I added those links for your ease if you are interested in the product.

Shaker Style Oak Desk

Last winter I was on the floor grading papers when I realized I needed a desk. I found a lot of great info on line for  building and design, and thought I would add my own two cents.
I wanted to build a Shaker style table, roughly 36" long, 14" wide and 30" high. It's Shaker in style only because I used glue and, as you will see, a whole lot of electric power.
At the beginning of my summer vacation I journeyed back out to my friend Larry's to see what we could do about it. Larry has been collecting trees, cutting them into boards, and aging them. After going through his collection we found a piece of oak - one of the first trees he had prepared, probably 20 years ago.

The three pictures above are of the jerry rigged planer. The board is 15 1/2" wide and too wide for the planer that Larry has. We mounted the board on a level table, attached rails to the table, and attached the saw to an non-bending metal bar. I then passed the saw over the board in increments until the board was one level. I then flipped the board and repeated. If you do this take your time - it took me the better part of a day.

After completing the planing we sanded. Have I mentioned Larry is a professional? His tools made all this very easy.

Before attaching all the pieces we gave it a quick oil finish - this makes for easy cleaning if there are any glue spills, plus it gave me chance to see how incredible the wood looks!

Again - a professional and his tools.

These are the legs from the same board of oak. They are 1 1/4" square. We then tapered them down to 3/4."

Getting assembled...

Complete...

and in need of a finish. I used danish oil again, but since it is oak it did not absorb as readily as the walnut.

On site. Not a great picture, but the piece is just what I was hoping for. A (very) small desk that blends into the cabin