Another day of working on the ceiling

Picked up Robbie at 7:30 for another Saturday at the cabin. It was 35 degrees outside and 43 inside upon arrival. The first order of business was to put a fire in Beulah! We worked at installing the 20 boards I had stained this week. We got up to the skylight frames before running out of boards. Another 20 boards are in the sand/stain/poly cycle. We've got about 400 board feet available at the cabin so there is plenty to work on before the next trip to Menard's. Once we get these boards up we will only need about 300 more board feet to finish this painfully long and labor intensive part of the cabin. Tomorrow a trip to Walmart for some more stain and I'll get back to preparing boards again. Will it ever end?

Just a Stain'n

Took half a day of vacation to work on the cabin today. Too wet and swampy to take Libby up to ManCamp after the recent rains. There is no doubt she would get stuck in the 'swamp' with her street tires so I fired up the 4WD tractor for the trip. It was colder than I expected at Fosson Family Trails today. The cabin thermometer showed 44 degrees inside and 40 outside so stoking a big fire in Beulah was a necessity for creature comfort.

Today's goal was to clean off the sleeping loft where it's been turned into a storage area during the cabin project. I filled the tractor's front end loader with the scrap wood, stacked all the extra 8' boards from the loft on the loader and delivered it all to the barn on the farm. Additionally, all the scrap insulation, dry wall boards, nails and paint was removed. The task needed completed to gain access for installing the ceiling boards above this area. Once the loft was cleaned off, I set up the stereo speakers and receiver on top so I could 'jam' while working.

The final coat of stain and poly was applied to the 20 ceiling panel boards I've been working on for this weekend. I went ahead and sanded and stained another 10 boards to start getting them ready, too. Hopefully by Sunday or Monday they'll be ready to hang, too.

With a hot stove, there was plenty of tea pot water for some green tea. A pan of ravioli made a great lunch. The cabin was 74 degrees when I locked up; just wait until logs are burning in the fire place.

Do a Little, Leave a Little (or leave alot)

With my trusted companion Kuma d.o.g. always at my side, I was able to finish a few jobs at the cabin today. The freezer door hinge on the refrigerator had to be repaired. It was damaged at the factory and after unpacking the fridge before finding the defect, it didn't make sense taking it back. I was able to replace a hinge pin that was broke off and now it works fine.

It was such a great afternoon with a strong, warm breeze that working outside was a pleasure. The 2" gray water drain piping is now fully installed and buried to service the drains from the kitchen and bathroom sinks.

Lastly, 20 more 10' ceiling boards have been sanded and coated with the first coat of stain/poly seal. Tomorrow they'll get a second coat and by the weekend be ready to install.

With a fire in Beulah, I cooked a pan of bean soup, made some green tea and enjoyed a relaxing evening on the porch as a light rain moved in.

Silicone Investment

When building our cabin, the one thing we did not skimp on was tubes of silicone. We put it around the walls, windows and cracks both inside and out. We also put it around the cabinets and baseboards. Now that Fall has arrived and the spiders, bugs, snakes and mice are looking for a nice place for winter, you would think a cabin in the woods would be full of these critters. It is so rewarding to open the door and not find any bugs or spiders and this is due to all the tubes of silicone we emptied during construction.

This past weekend, I spent time cutting firewood and stacking it at the cabin. October and November in Ohio is typically wet and although most of the month has passed with relatively little percipitation, the next few weeks could easily become very wet and cold.

This evening I took Kuma d.o.g. to the cabin and built a fire in Beulah. We shared a few sticks of Slim Jims while I sanded ceiling boards. Once the water was warm on the stove, I cleaned up the kitchen and did a few dishes that had accumulated in the sink. Still very pleased with the stove; it does a great job.

A little firewood for Beulah and the fireplace.

Getting Supplies for the Weekend

Another trip to Menard's this afternoon and I'm now stocked up with plenty of supplies for projects this weekend. I like having options so the goal is to have enough stuff around to change course if needed. The plan is to sand and stain more ceiling boards but that gets so boring that I also picked up pvc water lines to run under the house.

I took Kuma d.o.g. with me to drop the supplies off and to just hang out on the porch this evening. Got a picture of a buck checking us out. Also emptied a trail camera and picked up a picture of a wild turkey stopping by the cabin. Well, Thanksgiving is just around the corner!

A wild turkey stops by the cabin for a visit.

A flock of turkeys at the edge of the forest.

One of the many birds that frequent the porch

I work with some guys that would just love to meet some of my  neighbors
like this young man.

Unexpected Visitors

Early Saturday morning, Robbie and I took a spud bar and post hole digger and broke ground for the antenna tower. Ohio soil in this area of a forest hillside is very full of sandstone, clay and roots. After laboring for a couple of hours and breaking through multiple large rocks, we finally had a 3' hole large enough to plant it. A trip to Chillicothe's Lowes and Menards was a welcome relief from our labor as we picked up cable, an antenna and accessories. A 100 mile HD/digital antenna is really big when assembled! It must be about 10' long and about 6' wide. I can't remember how we first up righted this same tower at my parent's farm house 30 years ago and I don't recall ever having any trouble. However, we found it extremely difficult and challenging to stand it up into the hole after we had already installed the antenna, rotor and cables. Only after getting the tractor and front end loader with chains were we innovative enough to lift and rig it into it's hole. After adding 300# of concrete, its now up and providing free broadcast service through the air; another cabin project completed.

Sunday is a day for rest and today I took full advantage of it. Unlike my wife and kids, I've never been one to sit and read a book for hours but having a cabin has changed all that. A Kindle loaded with the book, "The Killing of Lincoln", a beautiful, fall windy day in the woods and Kuma by my side has inspired me to take up this leisure activity. It's so easy to get drawn into a book when there are no distractions. The warm breeze and falling leaves seemed to aid concentration. At one point, while reading about General Lee's confederate army's final battle, I began hearing bells ringing in the woods which is highly unusual. Looking up and turning in the direction of the sound, I was amazed at the sight of about 12 goats walking up the lane to the cabin. Each had a collar and a bell under it's chin that rang as they walked. As I called out to them, "well hello fellas!" they were clearly happy to see a friendly face as they wagged their little tails like puppies. I've owned goats before that eventually became wild and roamed the forest and these were definitely not wild. They were someones pet goats that had wandered off and were apparently lost. Just as quickly as they showed up, they were back off into the forest. I have no idea where they were from or where they were going.

Enjoying the beauty of Fall

After spending most of the day in the house, Kuma and I went to the cabin to get some much needed exercise. With a camera in hand, I couldn't help but stop along the way to take pictures of various views we enjoyed on the farm to share on the blog. For someone diagnosed as color blind, there are some colors I still see better than others. It's always a rewarding walk to the cabin, especially in the Fall.

The road to the cabin

Cabin in the woods

A view along the road to the cabin

This view out the window beside the fireplace never
gets old. A deer path is just above the woods.

Beautiful tree along the road.

The dinner table inside the cabin.

Fall's Gift

A late evening trip to the cabin with Kuma d.o.g. left little time for work which was ok with us. Fall is such a special time of year so we all should take time to enjoy it before it's gone.

As we ascended the cabin porch steps, we were met with a layer of dry leaves that had recently fallen and failed to reach the ground. Fall has come early in southern Ohio and has caught us all by surprise. Arriving 2-3 weeks early this year with colors already peaking, it's beauty came well before any announcement by the news media or weathermen. Leaves are falling rapidly so if we get tonight's forecasted rain, many more will be on the ground by morning's rise leaving bare trees behind for winter.

I love the smell and the sounds of fall. Even in the depths of the woods, the rustling of leaves by chipmunks and birds fill the air. After picking another 'fruit' off the cabin wine bush, I enjoyed a glass of white merlot as we sat listening to the evening sounds below.

Kuma was the first to hear a deer on the hill above the meadow and attentively watched as it slowly navigated down to a salt lick on the opposite bank of the creek below. We both watched as it cautiously looked toward the farm house and distant township road surveying for approaching danger. It had no idea we were watching and were much closer than anything it feared.

Evenings like this reminds me why I built the cabin.

They don't make them like this anymore

Another cabin project that I've put off is finally completed.

In 1979, a close friend, Roger Robinson gave me a 30' antenna tower complete with antenna and electric rotor after many good years of use at his home. I transported and installed it at my parents farm house and for the first time in 14 years on the farm, they had good TV reception. The tower has stood at the farm house ever since even as the house falls in from age and neglect and hasn't been lived in for over 20 years. Today I took a generator, a reciprocating saw and the tractor to the house and brought it down. I was impressed with how well it has weathered the years. It was as solid as the day I set it and showed no signs of weakness.
I hauled it to where I plan to plant it on the hill behind the cabin. After finding the original rotor controller in the farm house, I hooked it up and to my surprise, it still rotates the mast as smooth as it did over 30 years ago. Did I say it was all made in the USA?

30' tower for pulling in some free TV in the woods

Reload at Menard's

When Nic comes home for the weekend I take full advantage of his Ranger to get construction supplies at Menard's delivered to the cabin. Today was a beautiful day to be in the woods. I love this time of year.

Another bundle of ceiling boards ready to off load.

Cabin time with Nic on Sunday afternoon

Cabin peeking through the woods

View from meadow below

Cabin Work Detail

Work on the cabin began before daylight today. Fog was still low and heavy in the hollow as we worked our way back the trail. After firing up Beulah and putting the coffee on, the morning sun began peaking through the trees on the back hillside.

With Robbie and Kuma d.o.g. we cut and stained trim boards; Robbie trimmed out the bathroom door and I hung ceiling boards. A #8 cast iron chicken fryer was just the right size for a pot of soup beans. After a lunch of cornbread and beans, we cleaned the cabin up for tourist. Sandy and Mike are hosting a cookout this evening at the farm and I expect a few visitors in the woods to check on progress.

Finally over half way up with ceiling boards. Getting out of reach on a ladder
so will be setting up scaffold to finish.

Robbie put the trim up between ceiling and wall while I hung boards.

Kuma d.o.g. says she would like some soup beans, too.

Classic cast iron corn bread.

Robbie installing a receptical up on the sleeping loft.

Robbie sampling the soup beans.

Ceiling Work

I'm so tired of working on the cabin ceiling and yet I'm less than half way done. This weekend I worked alone and put up about 40 boards. It was nice and cool Saturday morning so I built a fire in the kitchen stove and fixed breakfast, coffee and put the soup beans on. By mid day, the beans were done so I baked some corn bread and had a great lunch. Soup beans and corn bread will definitely be a regular meal at ManCamp.  Today I installed more insulation in the ceiling and later prepared and stained another 10 boards. Until this task is completed, it will consume most of the time at the cabin. The living room wood flooring cannot be installed until the ceiling is complete to avoid damaging it so staying focused on this job is the only way to get it all done. Brandon and Robbie have offered to help some this week and will both be welcomed.