Blog

We’ve been permanent residents of Moosicorn for two weeks now.  Things are changing quickly around here.  So far, the plumbing has been roughed in, a vac system has been installed, numerous framing changes have been made, new walls are up, the blocking has been done, rocks have been moved, the tractor has been started, knuckles have bled, shoulders have ached, and backs have strained.

I already feel stronger.  Replacing my typical stagnant office existence with 15 days of physical labor has already begun to change me.  I’m four pounds lighter and noticing more energy.  My tolerance for cold has changed.  My attention is more focused.

Tomorrow I will wake up a half hour or so after the sun has peaked over the horizon.  An hour before Alexandra is likely to rise.  The mornings are already warmer than when we arrived.  No more frozen dishwater or iced over dog bowls to contend with.  My first duty, even before answering nature’s call, will be to put the kettle on… Then after brushing teeth and washing up I will sit with coffee and read.

Al will awake and breakfast will be made in our outdoor make-shift kitchen.  We will eat together and then I will begin the day’s work.

Tomorrow I’m likely to spend as many hours as I can tolerate on the nether rungs of an aluminum folding ladder.  Clip after clip attaching radiant heat piping to the ceiling of the space that is to become our shop and studio.  I will stop for lunch and we will sit on the deck and look out at the birds.  Al will tell me their names and explain which ones are brand new residents, the first time they’ve been seen all spring.

After the day’s work is done I will shower outdoors with water heated by the sun (unless the weather prohibits, then we’ll get a little help from propane).  Then dinner as the sun sets and the hills go from green to orange, to purple to black.

…The next day and the day after that are looking quite similar to this as well. 

So far it’s been an amazing two weeks and I’m more excited now than ever before for what lies ahead of us on this journey.  The days haven’t been without their struggles but they have been as close to perfect as I could fairly imagine them being.  Things will change and one of these days I will have to go back to “real” work full time.   But I’m enjoying not, at the moment.

-scott