Posts are in!

It's official! We've begun construction on the cabin. After digging the 24" deep by 24" wide holes we got them inspected by the county last week. This is part of the building permit process. It took longer than anticipated to get the borate treated posts in because they had to be special ordered by our local lumber supplier. Fortunately the wood was still from Virginia. We also got our temporary electric pole inspected so we now have electricity. Woohoo!




Looks like she's on a payphone, eh?

To recap: The cabin will be 216 square feet with a 120 sq ft loft for sleeping. It will also have an additional 216 square feet of porch on two sides. We're hoping to use some of our lumber for the siding.

The Big 5-0

Fifty years ago a young German woman beamed as she bore her first-born son. A saviour come to... oops, sorry, wrong story. Anyway, in post-war Berlin, as a single mother, she was never-the-less ecstatic. And now, fifty years later, I too am ecstatic. Happy to be living a life that I've chosen to live. A life that's full and complete. And to be doing this with someone that's equally as motivated as me - Christy, you're the best!

Today, Christy and I spent the day in Blacksburg, Virginia - the home of Virginia Tech. We visited the Blacksburg Farmers' Market, the Virginia Tech Bookstore, a local coffee shop, various shops, lunch at Gillie's (a vegetarian cuisine restaurant), an Italian pizza joint for Gelato, and finally a Thai restaurant for dinner. What a way to celebrate my birthday!

Next weekend our family and friends will be coming to town to celebrate my 50th. Some will be coming to camp on our property and others will be staying in more comfortable accommodations. In addition, some of our new friends and neighbors will be joining us as well. I can't wait!


One of the most incredible gifts I received this week was a letter from my biological father accompanied by pictures of him and his family. I had requested pictures because I had never seen any pictures of him to know what he looked like. So now after 50 years I have finally seen my father. The picture is now complete. I'll get around to scanning the photo and posting it on this blog.



Blacksburg Farmers' Market

Monarchs, Rainbarrels, Water & Temporary Power

Monarch caterpillar

When I was in the fifth grade I became fascinated with insects. I would go out in a nearby field and spend hours watching and collecting insects. It was during this time that I took a special interest in monarch butterflies. I think it was a combination of their appearance and the fact that they have few predators due to being distasteful. This is the result of milkweed poison being stored in their bodies from when they were caterpillars. I get to relive some of those childhood memories because we have a stand of milkweed plants that have monarch caterpillars. I now get to monitor their growth, pupation, and subsequent emergence from their chrysalis. I was never able to experience any of that as a kid. This is just too cool.

Two of a kind

A few weeks ago, Christy, Nancy and I went to a local vineyard and participated in a wine tasting. As we entered the building I noticed two wine barrels sitting on a dock out back. I inquired as to what the owner does with unused barrels. Suffice it to say I ended up purchasing them. Christy and I have been wanting to get rain barrels and well... this opportunity was too good to pass up at $40 a piece. Considering that they're American Oak and not blue plastic it was an easy decision. We'll capture rain from a roof structure that we're getting from David and Annie, who are tearing down an old house on their property. I'll attach faucets and cut holes for the inlet and overflow. I'm thinking that I'll make the inlet opening the same size as the downspout. Typically the inlet is over-sized and covered with a screen. Making the opening smaller will minimize particulates and mosquitoes from entering. Even with screening material, unwanted material still seems to get in.

Ain't she a beaut?

In order for us to get temporary electricity we had to install our own temporary electric pole. Included with pole are the circuit breaker and ground rod. The pole has to be 14' tall and be buried 48" below grade. The 8' ground rod has to be completely buried 6" beneath grade. Neither requirement was easy as there's shale/schist only 24" down. Lots and lots of digging. My poor wrists were begging for a reprieve.

Everything is in place and ........ we've got water!

After attaching a 4-position 120/250V plug to the well wiring we were ready to power up the well pump. D & A, always generous, lent us their generator. Another homesteading friend who lent us his 150 gallon tank. We'll use this as a resevoir for watering the garden.

The tank, coupled with the ~100 gallon reserve in the well, should provide adequate storage capacity. Once the cabin is built we'll of course have a compression tank and eventually a cistern for catching rain water.

Christy has single-handledly dug most of the post holes for the cabin. We probably have another day of digging to do and then we'll be ready for the holes to be inspected. The building inspector has to verify that the holes comply with county requirements to be 24" x 24" x 24". Once that's done we'll pour an 8" concrete pad into each hole and then mount 6" x 6" posts. We'll be using borate pressure treated wood as this is less toxic than the standard treated material. See here for why this method is preferred.

We're off to our friend Starroot's party. Speaking of parties, when we first moved here I asked our neighbor, Ed, about parties in Floyd, he responded with "Man, there's a party every weekend." And it sure seems that way. It's always nice to have that option. The parties are always potluck and they're a lot of fun. So many new people to meet.

To Well and Back

The good news: our well has been dug. The not so good news (although not bad): we're only getting a gallon per minute. That flow rate was achieved at about 70' but in order to provide us some reserve, in light of the humble flow rate, they drilled down to 174'. Next week we'll get the pump installed along with an outdoor spicket. Until we get electrical service (hopefully sometime this month) our neighbors have offered their fossil fuel generator. Not all visions come to fruition as planned. But all is good.

Lance Armstrong with a Beard?

All this work and little play has had the effect of me shedding another 8 lbs. I'm now at 180 lbs. Not sitting at a desk and snacking is a contributor, too. I haven't been at this weight since my early 20's. I feel really good. Running feels good. Bicycling feels great. Fortunately I haven't lost any muscle mass as a result. I attribute that to carrying multiple 42 lb containers of water, moving logs, shoveling, and pushing wheelbarrows. At this lower weight, bicycling up the local hills and mountain sides are less of a challenge. Although I say less of a challenge, they're still challenging.




During a weekend ride with Christy and sister-in-law, Nancy, on the Blue Ridge Parkway.