This evening I donned my hoodie and hiked in the pouring rain to the solitude of the cabin. This was not a trip to continue construction but one that I looked forward to all day; to enjoy a fresh spring thunderstorm in the peace of the woods. Walking up the hill through the saturated pastures, I flushed two unsuspecting rabbits out of their shelter in a brush pile. The pond spillway was overflowing from the days rain and was drowning out my steps; they surprised me as much as I surprised them. On my approach to the cabin, I realized the 6" tree Nic had cut but had been unsuccessful in bringing down last week had fallen toward the porch, missing it by inches. In fact, a few weak top branches had made their way onto the porch during the fall. Once on the porch and settled into an Amish rocker, I unpackaged a new survival radio that I had protected from the rain in my pack. I functionally checked the multiple features that included a hand cranked generator, am/fm radio, weather radio and emergency lighting. It seemed like something that might come in handy on the hill while off the grid during stormy nights. With the radio off and a few minutes of quiet time, the woods returned to life. Hearing the rain through the trees and on the metal roof made my eyes heavy. The creek below was running full and added to the background noise with the birds, frogs and wind in the pines. The evening made me realize how far the cabin had come in the past year. Memories of this past winter and the difficulties the cold weather presented while continuing the project now seemed worth every moment. It would have been different had the cabin been completed and we could have enjoyed beans on the stove, a fire in the fireplace and cornbread in the oven during a heavy snow. Instead, we continued to work in cold, unpleasant conditions so I could enjoy evenings like today's.
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| Seemed like every weekend we were having to pull the Jeep out of a jam. |
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| Sometimes, Barbie Jeep was just abandoned when she couldn't make it to the cabin |
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| One advantage of winter is that you have a natural refrigerator for adult beverages. |
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I often felt sorry (right) for Robbie. Many mornings the cabin would be below
20 degrees upon our arrival for work. Robbie doesn't handle cold well. |
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