Our version of retirement: Living a childhood dream
- Thread starter Gary O'
- Start date
Well, the dust has settled
All is calm
The cabin calls this time of year
Doubt it'll ever cease
Yeah, think it's time to head up there
One's spirit changes even on the trip there
We'll stoke the fire
maybe grab a book off the shelf
maybe just snuggle and look out, sipping something hot
It's where, at times, you can feel the weight of the sky
or the onset of its passion
seeing, feeling its remorse
Yeah, I need to again hear the moon dog's mournful wail
wandering thru the pines
If one flirts with creation long enough, it'll take hold of one's heart
never letting go
Becoming an eternal romance of the soul
it's time
All is calm
The cabin calls this time of year
Doubt it'll ever cease
Yeah, think it's time to head up there
One's spirit changes even on the trip there
We'll stoke the fire
maybe grab a book off the shelf
maybe just snuggle and look out, sipping something hot
It's where, at times, you can feel the weight of the sky
or the onset of its passion
seeing, feeling its remorse
Yeah, I need to again hear the moon dog's mournful wail
wandering thru the pines
If one flirts with creation long enough, it'll take hold of one's heart
never letting go
Becoming an eternal romance of the soul
it's time
Thinking of the times up there
The first year
Folks visiting from the city would question my sanity
'You can die up here!'
'Yes, yes I can.....what better place?'
One learns things when living in the rough
and learns quick
Learning 'the hard way' can and will get you killed
One concern was the trees
Lodgepole pine trees have a shallow root system
They get a certain size, they're comin' down
High winds up there
Had two trees of considerable girth
Both leaning
One seemed a threat
It wasn't quite obvious it would miss the cabin
Learned to figure the height of a tree;
• Hold a straight stick by its base vertically at arm’s length.
• The stick’s length above your hand should equal the distance from your hand to your eye. • Walk back from the tree, staying level to the tree’s base.
• Stop when the stick above your hand is the same length as the tree.
• Sight over your hand to the base of the tree, and sight over the stick to the top of the tree.
• Measure how far you have moved from the tree. The measurement, in feet, is the tree’s height.
It would clear the cabin if it fell the cabin's direction
Good to know
It fell
Cleared the cabin
Became our first few cords of wood
Gary O'Bunyan
(before losing 60 lbs..... via hard labor)
The first year
Folks visiting from the city would question my sanity
'You can die up here!'
'Yes, yes I can.....what better place?'
One learns things when living in the rough
and learns quick
Learning 'the hard way' can and will get you killed
One concern was the trees
Lodgepole pine trees have a shallow root system
They get a certain size, they're comin' down
High winds up there
Had two trees of considerable girth
Both leaning
One seemed a threat
It wasn't quite obvious it would miss the cabin
Learned to figure the height of a tree;
• Hold a straight stick by its base vertically at arm’s length.
• The stick’s length above your hand should equal the distance from your hand to your eye. • Walk back from the tree, staying level to the tree’s base.
• Stop when the stick above your hand is the same length as the tree.
• Sight over your hand to the base of the tree, and sight over the stick to the top of the tree.
• Measure how far you have moved from the tree. The measurement, in feet, is the tree’s height.
It would clear the cabin if it fell the cabin's direction
Good to know
It fell
Cleared the cabin
Became our first few cords of wood
Gary O'Bunyan
(before losing 60 lbs..... via hard labor)
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Well, today the roofers came to that corner house
My feathered buddies are a tad displaced
They're still in limbo
One seems a bit castigated
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Heh...best laid plans.....
Got a good snow for down here in town
About half a foot
Woody seems given to the ability of becoming a do it yerself snowman
I'll be in the shop
looking out
After shoveling paths and sweeping snow off the truck and Wrangler
Got a good snow for down here in town
About half a foot
Woody seems given to the ability of becoming a do it yerself snowman
I'll be in the shop
looking out
After shoveling paths and sweeping snow off the truck and Wrangler
RadishRose
SF VIP
- Location
- Connecticut, USA
LOL @ Woody!
MarkD
Keeper of the Hounds & Garden
- Location
- San Francisco Bay Area
Gary, nice reading the beginning. Then I skipped ahead to see how it’s going. Looks like you’ve moved back to town but get up to the cabin regularly. I’m amazed that you made smaller quarters work so long, to say nothing of the extra effort required for off grid subsistence. I’ve enjoyed the photography and poetry. Thanks for sharing. I probably shouldn’t ask a gentleman his age .. but I’m wondering how old you you were when you built your first living cabin.
Began building the first cabin (A frame) when I was in my late 60s
The 2nd cabin (our main residence) was a bit of a rush.
It doesn't rain up there much, only when the walls are up but the roof isn't.
Three days for torrential down pour
Bed, clothes, food, tools, guns, cameras...soaked
Drove to town and got a huge tarp
Somewhat akin to closing the barn door saying
Finished the shop at around age 70 or at least pushing 70
Yeah, we were pretty ancient
Showed the 30 something wannabes a thing or two
I've gotta credit my woman
She rocked it
Cooking on the wood stove
Baking in the BBQ
Kept perishables in best places
But laundry.....whoa
She found the key;
Do it every day
Use the old scrub board
wash in one pot
rinse in the other
I built a rack for behind the wood stove
Learned there's clean, then there's cabin clean
Hung bath towels up to dry
They'd last about a week
She said 'it's not like we're wiping off dirt, just water'
No argument from me
MarkD
Keeper of the Hounds & Garden
- Location
- San Francisco Bay Area
Looks like a team win. Well done!
Heh, when I was a kid, old enough reason, I thought the winter season started on the first of December
Turns out if you wait long enough, it does
Our raised beds are pretty much done
(except for that resilient kale)
The neighbors in back seem to be handling the weather just fine
It's a cemetary.....but still
Heh, one of our trees appears to be having a nice crop of cotton
Meanwhile, up on the hwy to the cabin....
Whiteouts can be exhilarating
'bout a 9.5 on the pucker scale
Turns out if you wait long enough, it does
Our raised beds are pretty much done
(except for that resilient kale)
The neighbors in back seem to be handling the weather just fine
It's a cemetary.....but still
Heh, one of our trees appears to be having a nice crop of cotton
Meanwhile, up on the hwy to the cabin....
Whiteouts can be exhilarating
'bout a 9.5 on the pucker scale
Finished my project for the week
This live edge bookcase came together rather nicely
Not the usual for live edgy stuff
It's rather smallish at a tad over three feet high
I'm starting to like 'smallish'
The corners are always a challenge for live edge
This one came easy (after several hours of careful selection)
This live edge bookcase came together rather nicely
Not the usual for live edgy stuff
It's rather smallish at a tad over three feet high
I'm starting to like 'smallish'
The corners are always a challenge for live edge
This one came easy (after several hours of careful selection)
katlupe
SF VIP
- Location
- Norwich, NY
That is beautiful! I loved bringing the outdoors (or nature) into my house. I used tree branches for curtain rods for years when it was all I could afford. Then I realized guests always complimented me on them and wanted to know where I got them? In the forest.
MarkD
Keeper of the Hounds & Garden
- Location
- San Francisco Bay Area
Well, the dust has settled
All is calm
The cabin calls this time of year
Doubt it'll ever cease
Yeah, think it's time to head up there
One's spirit changes even on the trip there
We'll stoke the fire
maybe grab a book off the shelf
maybe just snuggle and look out, sipping something hot
It's where, at times, you can feel the weight of the sky
or the onset of its passion
seeing, feeling its remorse
Yeah, I need to again hear the moon dog's mournful wail
wandering thru the pines
If one flirts with creation long enough, it'll take hold of one's heart
never letting go
Becoming an eternal romance of the soul
View attachment 252294
it's time
Gary I love these photos and the ‘verses’ you wrote to go with them. I wonder if I could share them on the Christian forums (BioLogos) I visit where there is a popular ongoing thread called Creation Photos. This post would be very appreciated there. Naturally I’d credit you and link back to here.
Absolutely
My sole intent of anything I write is for any and everyone's enjoyment
You can share anything I write or any photo I post.
MarkD
Keeper of the Hounds & Garden
- Location
- San Francisco Bay Area
Thanks. I feel the same way exactly.
Oh to post to their website the photos have to be hosted so I’ll have to put them on my Flickr account, but I’ll credit you there too.
MarkD
Keeper of the Hounds & Garden
- Location
- San Francisco Bay Area
Just so you can see how it turned out and how it gets received, here is a link to my post of your photos and captions at BioLogos.
https://discourse.biologos.org/t/creation-photos-around-the-world/41998/2313
https://discourse.biologos.org/t/creation-photos-around-the-world/41998/2313
Thinking about summer up at the cabin
Heh, folks would spend big money to 'sun' bathe with nobody around for miles
We did that ever day
around two or three every afternoon
felt so very good after a morning of chopping wood
Letting ol' sol dry us off
We'd get migrations/swarms of different bugs/critters
Taking a moment to observe was prized
One comes to a bit of a grasp of creation, and how delicate yet balanced it all is
For a week or two the meadow was filled with these tiny beings
Heh, folks would spend big money to 'sun' bathe with nobody around for miles
We did that ever day
around two or three every afternoon
felt so very good after a morning of chopping wood
Letting ol' sol dry us off
We'd get migrations/swarms of different bugs/critters
Taking a moment to observe was prized
One comes to a bit of a grasp of creation, and how delicate yet balanced it all is
For a week or two the meadow was filled with these tiny beings
palides2021
Well-known Member
- Location
- MidAtlantic, USA
I guess you'll need to move the bird feeders up higher, lol. Nice photos capturing the moment!
I gave it a strong consideration, but it's juuuuust high enough for 'em to reach.....with their tongues
Too too fun to watch
Meanwhile
guess who's nestled in, chewing their cud.....waiting for breakfast
