update

This past week I have been sick. We have done little work and thus the lack of posts. Sorry for the unexplained stop in posting flow. I am starting to feel much better and plan to have a weekend full of house work.

Though I have been sick we have done a little work on the house. We have almost finished laying the maple flooring on the second floor. This has been a chore considering that our generator is on its last leg. It was bought used two years ago. Apparently it had lived a full life before me and I made sure to provide it with plenty of heavy lifting to finish it off. I can get it to run for up to two minutes at a time which allows us to fill the air compressor, nail a few tongue and groove planks with the stapler, and then run back down the ladder to adjust the carburetor/ begin the process again. Needless to say it has been an endeavor.  Today I plan for us to finish the flooring and frame in a door as well as a window.

tucked in the wood

     This is a view of our house from the East North East. It is the view of our house from where we were married.  While right now the house stands out due to the while of the tyvek, it should blend nicely into the woods when it is clad in a beautiful wood siding. The rolling three pictures show varied zooms of the view. There is a deep dense thicket and regrowth forest between the house and the cliff from which the photo was taken. The final photo on this page is the view of thew cliff looking out of our window in the house. It allows a little perspective of the proximity of trees to the house and the density of trees.

retro posting: raising the first rib

     I have been asked countless times, " how id you get the big beams up." Here is is the how we did the first one. I climbed a tree, Hung a climbing harness in the tree, and ran a rope through a pulley on the harness. We took said rope and connected it to a truck a few hundred feet away via several redirecting pulleys. We connected the other end to the first timber rib.
     We lifted the rib to an angle so it would not just pull flat along the ground. Once we tipped the rib we placed blocks behind it so it would not slide.
All set. Rope attached to truck, Truck in gear, pulling forward. As we moved the truck forward the pine bent lower and lower. I thought the plan had failed. I parked the truck where it was and when I went to examine the situation I discovered that the rib now felt like a 2x4. It was essentially spring loaded by the bent tree. Allowing the spring of the tree to do the work we simply positioned the rib where we wanted it and lifted the holding blocks out of the way. We nailed some angled boards to the rib to keep it from tipping and the first rib was in place.

   The other ribs actually had to be lifted eight inches at a time due to the angle being incompatible with our new found spring loaded tree. This slow raising of the other ribs was definitely an exercise in trust and cooperation. Building this house has been one of the best forms of marriage counseling. It has taken communication to a whole new level.

Walls and windows upstairs

 Here is a little look at the framing of the upstairs area. This first photo is looking North toward what will be the closet and washer/ dryer stack. The second photo shows the South wall with windows prepped to go in place. The third photo allows a little different view of the South vantage. We are excited about the beautiful views and also how cozy the house is tucked into the edge of the woods.
     Noticeably, there are no windows in the North wall and the South wall has a window set high on the wall. The lack of windows on the North wall will limit our loss of heat in the Winter. North facing windows are essentially holes in a house and provide little light and plenty of reduced efficiency. I should note, a friend was recently visiting from Australia. In The Southern hemisphere the dynamic is reversed. The North wall is where you have solar gain and the South wall is the efficiency suck.
     Our North wall will also house our closet. The normal insulation will be in place in the walls but the addition of a closet along the North wall will provide additional buffeting. Hopefully we will see some degree of benefit from this layout choice.
     A high window on the Southern wall is placed in order to maximize Winter Sun and reduce Summer Sun. Allowing adequate sun to fill the house in the Winter will not only lift spirits and moods but also help to radiantly warm the house. Conversely, in the Summer the radiant sun would be a negative as we try to keep the house cooler. The placement of the window high on the wall will allow the overhang of the roof to shade the window for a large portion of the day. In the Summer the suns declination is higher in the sky and this higher track is what allows for the eave shading.
   We purposefully place large windows on the East and West sides of the house to increase filtered light in the mid day while increasing morning sun and sunset rays. The large window to the East will crank open, three separate cranks stacked. The "triple crank" opens out in such a manner as to shield the interior of the house from any rain and as to scoop air coming up the hill. The scooped air can then enter the house and create flow through ventilation.

roof: ON

    The roof is on. All but the final two panels where painstakingly put in place with a hammer and ratchet. Though we have a generator it would serve better as a massive paper weight or anchor. Thus, we put the panels in by hand. Tap, Tap, crank. I tried feverishly not to fall off the roof as I aimed to hit the purlins. Only once did I actually have a place picked out on the ground where I thought I was going to land.
     While the roof may not be perfect, it will not leak. It is going to be well insulated and it blends well with the surrounding forrest. Oh, and I did not die or break a bone while building it. All in all  I consider it a successful roofing experience.

Four Leg Workers

Wrangler. 

Lynx, but let's face it she only answers to Kitty or the dog food bag rattling. 

As you can see their work ethic could use some fine tuning. We have tried to explain to them in fiscal terms the cost of dog food, I am not sure they speak english. 

Autumn Shoots

The fall shoots are proudly popping up in the garden. 

Bright turnips letting their hair out. I was delighted to remember these were turnips and not radishes. 

A splendid example of the honesty of seeds. Even though I had forgotten that I was exhausted at this point in the planting, the broccoli seeds had not. Stephen politely wanted to know what had happened to my usual organized planting style. For a moment I thought about making up a clever story, you know those deer cannot be trusted with anything! (Alas the broccoli was ratting me out in plain sight) Dumping out a seed packet at sunset to proudly announce that you are finished planting is not recommended. You can be certain your seed sins  will surely find you out. 

Thinning seedlings just might be one of the most painful tasks of gardening for me. In a way I feel as though I am splitting up a second grade romance, just heart wrenching... this is where my charming husband comes in to be my knight. 

The blogger. 

A wonderful gift from Papa, by far the cutest shovel I have ever beheld. 

I was tickled to find this little fellow chocking under the native grasses. The rosemary is recovering nicely thanks to aggressive weeding measures.