LET'S GO CEDARING.
We already knew that covering the house entirely in cedar shakes we made ourselves was a little unrealistic.....but it's a little unrealistic. I personally love the process, the felling of the trees, the wrestling with the shakes, the entire physicality of it––but it is a long process. So this week, we've decided to start cutting down logs to help take some of the pressure off of the shake-making. Eric and Cher are planning to bring a portable sawmill to the farm, and we thought we'd have some lumber of our own milled while we had the chance. So, the house is now going to be partially sided in shakes, partially in rough sawn cedar lumber, and we're actually looking forward to how it's (hopefully) going to turn out.- Jesse.
WENDELL WEDNESDAY.
It was like springtime here in Nashville yesterday, so we got a lot of work done with the cedar shake project. Wendell was a big help, as always.- Hannah.
LONG DISTANCE CABIN BUILDING.
I would like to go ahead and apologize for the amount of times you will no doubt see or hear about me making cedar shakes on the blog over the next few months––it's gonna get ridiculous. Making enough shakes to cover the house is a huge endeavor and is going to occupy a big portion of my time. But one of the beauties of it is it's something we can do while we're in Nashville, right in the back yard with plenty of help!- Jesse.
A LITTLE MORE PROGRESS.
I got to make another trip back to the farm this Wednesday. Unfortunately, Hannah had to work, so once again she didn't get to come. It's a bummer––truly. It's not just that we're one of those obnoxious couples who suck at being apart––though we totally are––it's also that she hasn't been back to the farm since December and she misses it, the Smiths, the animals, the work. I am, however, excited for the next time she does get to go for her to see all the progress we've made. We've just about got a threshold for me to carry her through!––we just need to build some stairs to get to it...My goals for this trip were to cut some cedar logs to bring back and turn into shakes here in Nashville (check); finish the wiring (nearly check––ran out of wire again); put up some insulation (check––though still a lot left to do there). And although mulching a third of the high tunnel was not on the agenda, I ended up getting that done, too. It was bitterly cold working in the cabin, so when I would get a chill––which seemed embarrassingly often––I would go work in the high tunnel to warm up. It happened so much that I eventually accomplished an enormous task: mulching enough area for our early tomatoes. Starting early tomatoes, however, is a whole other issue. But more on that another time.
This week, our goal is to get a wood stove. We don't need a big one for our tiny cabin. Just something like the Smith's that we can cook buckwheat pancakes on, perhaps!- Jesse.
