Run Forest, Run

One step closer to electric. Wouldn't that be sweet!

We got most of the cabin wired for electric this weekend.  The biggest job remaining is to bring the power from the street to the cabin, a mere 350 feet.  Oh, and it has to be underground too, so no easy feat.  Maybe that tractor we've been talking about buying will be come more of a priority now. :)

Yesterday was very cold, but that didn't stop us from taking a 30 minute ride on the snowmobile trails.  It was my first time really getting out there and man, there's some beautiful land around us.  It was hard not to enjoy the views.  That snowmobile is fun!  We need another.

We worked until dark getting the electric prepped and moving furniture so both us and the furniture would fit.  The we drove to Dover for some awesome food at the tavern in town.  The bartender remembered us and even remembered that we are brothers.  We had to wait for a while, but finally got two seats at the bar and enjoyed some ridiculously tasty food! Ver-mont!

This morning we visited Lisa for our coffee, picked up some supplies and returned home.  On the way, Chris filled up his water bottle at the "mountain spring" down the road from us.  That's where the post's title (and picture of Chris mid-run up the hill) comes from. We were able to almost finish the electric prep work.  I was able to wood fill some holes/ cracks on the last unpainted exterior wood.  It was so cold though, we were unable to paint and barely able to get the wood filling completed. It was freezing too quickly. 

Another weekend in the books and we're looking ahead.  Warmer weather should bring some big picture thinking: tree work, electric, water, garage, etc.  The possibilities are endless.  Back in a few more weeks for the local Maple Sugar Festival and another trip up with Chris.

The future is bright.  Just check out that sunset. 
Not too shabby.

Shingles-Check

Finally, after what seems like months, the shingles are done.  And stained too. Just a little more work on the outside and we're pretty much done!  It will be so satisfying. 

Chris and I got into a few of our patented working grooves this weekend.  Chris on the ladder, me on the saw and the cuts.  He calls out the cuts, I make them and hand them back up to him, he nails them up.  You wouldn't think it would be that time consuming but almost every shingle needed to be cut...and cut precisely too. 

There's still some snow in VT so I got to take out the snowmobile for the first time which was pretty sweet.  We also bumped into a real estate agent checking out the property across the street.  Chris and I have sort of been eying it for a while.  It has a huge house that's about 75% done, but totally abandoned and rotted.  What we like is the land though (complete with brook frontage), not the house. We put a bug in the agents ear, so who knows, maybe we'll hear from him some day with a deal we can't refuse.

Another highlight of the weekend was our dinner Saturday night-wow!  We went to a place we've been to before, just a little tavern, but the food there is insane!  And the owner even remembered us--Vermont!  Duck "fingers", mac n' cheese, gnocchi with short rib?  Yes, please.  Oh, and the obligatory few Switchback's.  And also the best NFL game of the season ending in the outcome we wanted.  All in all, just about a perfect night.

We talked a long time about goals for this summer and even longer beyond.  Our aspirations are high, and it's very exciting.  Just a little teaser of the future---more clearing, electricity, more culverts, more material, a longer driveway (+ a wraparound??), timber framing???, a garage, a truck and plow, and the real deal cabin.  Maybe summer 2014???  Maybe, just maybe. 

Have I Got a Story for You...

Have I got a story for you...

I had been waiting all week to get to the cabin for a night with my wife, 3 year old daughter and 5 month old daughter. I LOVE going up with my family because I usually only get to go up with my brother so I look forward to these trips.

So, about half way up (about 125 miles total trip), I start thinking to myself, "Wow, traffic is thick today. Pay attention". Twenty minutes later, I get locked in a lane behind an Ohio license plated car with about a foot of snow the roof. Every few seconds huge chunks of snow come flying on the roof and narrowly missing my car. Before I know it, a chunk about half the size of the roof comes hurtling toward my car and lands directly on the windshield, right in front of my face. Instant shatter.

Luckily, I kept my poise and kept driving, even though millions of tiny little shards of glass were all over me, my car, and more importantly, my 2/3rds full coffee. Worst of all this Ohio lady won't pull over after it all...so I chase her down for about a mile, honking and pointing to the side of the road.

She finally pulls over and we talk, I call the police and eventually things get squared away. We wait for about an hour for a tow truck and a transport for me and the kids. At this point, I'm pissed about the windshield and totally crushed that our VT trip that probably isn't going to happen at this point.

We get to the Auto glass place after a 30 minute ride and by now it's about 12:00. The glass won't even get to the shop until 1:00, then it's about an hour job to clean the car and get the glass on and then an additional hour of waiting while the glue sets. A 3:00 PM departure under perfect circumstances.

Things went just about perfect and we were on the road around 3:00, with a fresh cup of coffee (damn you, Ohio lady). We had waffled over whether or not to go up or go home. It would be 4:45 by the time we got to the land, dark, and I would still have to snowshoe 125+ yards uphill carrying all our junk through 2+ feet of fresh powdery snow. Finally, we decided to give it a go...and I'm glad we did.

We got to the land, I showshoed up (it was beautiful, but tiring), got a fire ready in the stove, headed back down to the fam, got in the car and we drove to town for dinner. Dinner was amazing, that's all that needs to be said there. Incredible eating after a horrible day.  Things were looking up!

We got back to the land, strapped on our snowshoes and headlamps and each carried a kid up to the cabin. Within minutes the fire was roaring, the kids we going to sleep and things were looking better by the second. What a day. The moon was so full and bright last night we kept walking outside in awe as it was so bright out we could see our shadows against the snow at 10:00 PM. Awesome!  I lay in the loft for about 10 minutes, just looking out the window at the beauty of nature under a bright-ass moon! :)

Today we drove some beautiful roads and saw some beautiful mountains covered in snow. We made some visits to some local friends, did a few errands, putzed around the land for a while before returning home, just before the snow really hit.  Oh, and we bought some new VT maple syrup from our favorite sugar shack (sadly, no "sugar on snow" today)

A crazy, but awesome (in the end) few days. A cold beer definitely tastes better at the end of a trying day.

...oh, and we bought a snowmobile last week that I saw for the first time today. I didn't have time to take it out for a cruise, but I must say I'm pretty pumped about it.

Happy New Year

Inching Closer

Well, Chris and I made it up there for our first overnight in close to 5 months.  Things should start picking up for us soon as we'll get back to our monthly trips up together through the winter months. This trip was cut a bit short, but we were still able to be productive and have some fun.

In the end, we were able to replace the window above the door, stain the back shingles and begin the shingles for the front side.

It was cold up there this trip so we were definitely glad to have the wood stove.  Sleeping was comfortable and it's always nice to work outside in the cold and then be able to come inside to warm up.

I'm excited about finishing the outside and then moving to the inside. 

Staining, More Staining...and a Porcupine

Awesome day in Vermont today.  Six of us in total, including my whole family!   It was great.

The weather was perfect-80's with a breeze.  We had a great time, got to relax and also got some good work done.  I was able to see the work that had been done earlier in the summer and was able to show Amanda the work from the last few months.  Both of us were psyched with everything.

We all worked together today and got the entire cabin painted.  Chris is planning to finish shingling tomorrow and then stain the shingles a lighter tone than the clapboard.  Hopefully, if all goes well, the outside will look just about finished by the end of this weekend.

We had an awesome lunch break with some special maple sausages and local green beans.  We all sat around the firepit and scarfed it down. 

Just before we were about to leave I spotted a porcupine eating flowers across the street.  It wasn't long before the whole family was there checking it out, including Birch.  Good thing we had a hand around his collar or I think he would have ended up with a nose full of porcupine quills.  Finally the porcupine scampered up a tree and Birch barked at him from below, causing the porcupine to pee all over him from above.  It was pretty funny.

Things are happening.  It's great.  Long range plans are already being made.  This fall Chris is going to install the extra support beam underneath (sonotube holes have already been dug and await concrete).  Longer range (this winter) we turn our attention to the inside: wiring for "electric", walls, something cool behind the wood stove.  Next spring, there's already talk of a big wrap-around porch.  Beyond that, who knows.

The fun never stops.

Another New Window. And Some Trim

Another new window went in this weekend.  This is a little guy over the loft where we sleep.  Will be great in winter when it gets roasting up there with the wood stove.  And it will be nice to have some extra light as well.

Also, the trim was painted as we're one step closer to what will at least look like a finished cabin from the outside.  The color choice came out great.  Labor Day should provide us more time to get things done.  On tap is finishing the shingles on the gables and painting the clapboard. 

It won't be too long before we're back inside on those cold winter nights.  It will be fun to turn our attention to indoor projects, like walls, floors, electricity.  Lots of good times ahead.

Driveway In

This summer, our big project was going to be finishing the driveway.  Well, as of today, it's done.  And it looks great.

We've wanted something more permanent for a long time, but it just seemed to take a back seat to other projects.  It took us close to 200 yards of material to do it, but the wait and the process is all worth it.  I think we've got something that will work for us for a long time.

I can't wait to drive all the way up to the cabin next time I'm there and not have to park at the landing and walk the rest of the way.  Luxury.