My World Tuesday ~ The Dune Cabin

 I have been going on about cabin building so I figure I had better show you what we are doing.  This is the site location....

on the edge of the dunes.

We asked Donald if he would cut down some "regen"(regenerating new growth) and level the site.  His little hoe just picked the trees out of the sand.  We harvested the new spruce tips to make beer, tea and cough syrup and burned the trees.

The levelled site.

We mixed and poured concrete pads and drove the three front posts into the ground.

These old hand milled timbers are from a garage that was taken down on the property.

This is the "critter proof" floor, tar paper was placed on the timbers and then a sub floor was pieced together with old 3/4" plywood....recycle, reuse, reduce!  Another frame will be laid for the installation of 1.5" tongue and groove pine flooring and insulation.

Celebrating the completion of phase one.  The cabin is 12' x 16' with a 4' deck.  As the weather comes directly at the front of the cabin from the southeast the door will be to the left(north side) with firewood storage.  The cabin will be clad inside and out with red cedar.

Our stash of locally cut and milled dimensional timber.

The documentation of each days progress with the walls was lost when my Olympus camera died.

It took five days to put up the walls under the watchful gaze and attack of  "no-see-ums" and "black flies"!

The best part......the view!

There are wall to wall windows in the front and around the corners overlooking the dunes and the ocean.

Several days ago we headed to the beach to look for some character wood for the porch supports.

The choice was a little overwhelming!!!!

Trying out the pieces we found.

I think they add character...

Looking towards the southwest from the dunes.

Looking northwest from a higher dune.  In the forground is a picnic shelter and campfire.

And the cabin as we left it tonight.  The roof line is temporary to see if the pitch is what we want and the rafters won't be that long.  There will be a sleeping loft over the deck, wood heat, composting toilet, cystern for water collection and outdoor rainforest shower.

P.S.  To those who stop by my blog for the first time or those wonderful regulars I apologize for not visiting your blogs as regularly as I would like.  Out on the islands we have to "make hay while the sun shines" so between cabin building, painting contracts and technical difficulties I haven't had much time or energy to connect but this to will pass!

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My World Tuesday ~ One person's interpretation

To appreciate the detail in this post please click on the photos to enlarge.

The circle of life....we are all one!

This is a pretty busy week on Haida Gwaii, with the returning of the name "Queen Charlotte Islands" to the Crown (Canadian Government) on Thursday officially returning these islands to their original name, the returning of a totem pole from Jasper, Alberta which was removed from the islands in 1931, the raising of six (6) totem poles (including the returned one) on Saturday and the celebration of National Aboriginal Day and the first day of summer on Monday, June 21. 

So I thought I would start the celebrations with some remarkable wall "graffiti" I discovered in Prince Rupert on my way home to Haida Gwaii in May.  The work was painted on the back of a building covering a full city block.  It has taken the artist several summers to complete the work and when it starts to deteriorate he will be back to paint a new story on the wall!

DFO is the Department of Fisheries!

The artist is Tsimshian from the Terrace, BC area and his work is truly remarkable.  I can interpret some of it but not all....I would love to meet the artist so he could share his story.

Some of his designs are so very obvious

I wish I knew what this meant

and others you have to think about.

The butterfly represents the wandering or lost spirits of those who died at war or away from home.

Some tell the First Nations story,

The missionaries had the First Nations cut down and burn their totem poles.

and some tells ours.

Many chinese immigrants were brought to Canada to build the railway.

Some you just have to wonder about.

Detail

This one I can't begin to explain but it absolutely captivates me.(make sure you enlarge)

Paddling into the after life(these are life size)

The great canoes

Spirits leaving(note the detail in the smoke of the long houses)

The wolf and the raven (note the detail in the mountains and the grass is real!)

The mighty bald eagle.

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My World Tuesday ~ Introduced Species

Bunchberry Dogwood (Cornus canadensis)

When I first arrived on Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands) I took a job as a research assistant with a crew that was working with introduced species.  I knew about introduced species but I was not aware of their impact on native species and especially on islands.

Fairyslipper (calypso bilbosa)

Islands often have rare or genic specific species which are found nowhere else in the world therefore making them vulnerable to extinction by invasive species

Visitors often comment on how beautiful the forests of Haida Gwaii are with all their moss however this is a result of introduced deer which dine on the understory.

 

The above photos show the difference between forests of Haida Gwaii on an island with deer (left) and on an island without deer (right). Photos courtesy of RGIS

Scotch Broom (Cytisus scoparius)

Other destructive forces are introduced plants which are fast spreading and change the chemistry of the soil therefore killing off native plants and taking over.  Scotch broom was introduced by settlers in the early 20th Century.

BC Parks has a vigorous removal program but if individual property owners don't "buy in" the problem is an on-going one.

Wild Strawberry(Fragaria vesca)

The lands of Haida Gwaii are home to endemic species 

Grey beach peavine (L. littoralis)

 which have been used for centuries by First Nation peoples for food and  medicinal purposes.

Seashore Lupine (Lupine Littoralis)

With the lose of these plants due to man's carelessness by introducing animals and plants many of these unique plants have and will become extinct.

Early Blue Violet (Viola adunca)

It is important to know what you are planting in your gardens, they may look lovely but can change our world as we know it.

Western Bitter-Cress (Cardamine occidentalis)

The only plant in this series of photos that is introduced is the Scotch Broom, all the others are native to the islands.

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MyWorld Tuesday ~ Family

Grandson Hudson Daniel ~ born March 11, 2010

Daddy's boy

Proud Grandpa and Great Aunt

Melting Grandma

Mother Love

All photos taken by Genevieve Georget-Smyth(mom)