SkyWatch Friday ~ Morning Skies

Each morning I wake and if it is not raining or blowing too hard I take myself out to my meditation bench about 50 steps from my cabin.

Even though there is a temporary protected porch on the cabin

the bench on the dune always draws me that extra few steps...

 to witness the beginning of a new day

 and another

 and another

and another.

Each different and each so beautiful!

 Some of you have asked about the progress of the cabin......all I can say is slow and sometimes very frustrating!

The stove is a tiny but very efficient Jotul, the floor is 11/2" tongue and groove pine with a built in ceramic tile stove pad.  This was the first fire!

The insulation is here, the outside is sided, wiring is in for solar power and wind power

the scaffolding sits waiting for the pine siding to be milled and plained so sometimes I sleep out here and sometimes I come out and vent my frustration with a glass of wine and a warm fire....the stove needs to be broken in!!!

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SkyWatch Friday ~ First night in the Cabin

As many of you know I started building a cabin on the dunes on Haida Gwaii, B.C. this time last year.  Several of us worked dilligently on it over the summer learning some lessons as we went along.  Getting supplies here and not being able to do everything ourselves were some of the lessons.   When I left in September to visit my grandson and family we were still waiting for the tin for the roof.  It was never our job to do the roof and it finally got put on with little time to spare.  Windows still hadn't arrived. 

When I first saw the above picture I thought it was someone's hut in the Alps(a friend had just come back from visiting family in Austria) until I realized it was our cabin!  Snow like this, we never see on Haida Gwaii!

 So this spring we were back at it.  The lower windows arrived back in February however the big plate windows front and back for the loft just arrived. 

 With the help of a friend who also just arrived back on island we moved the big plates of glass into place and secured them.

 Between putting in the lower windows and the loft glass we sided the cabin in cedar and trim out the windows.

 Some of you may remember our beautiful driftwood posts on the deck.  We thought they were great but anyone who built things said "take them down" so unfortunately down they came.

 So even though the doors were not in I decided to spend my first night in the cabin.  The cabin faces eastsoutheast so I had to get my first sunrise from the cabin.  When I first awoke it was just after moonrise at 2:52 a.m. (this photo was taken at about 3:30 a.m.)

 The night sky had been clear and full of stars as it neared new moon however as the sun began to dawn the clouds moved in.  Sunrise was at 5:10 a.m.

 Daybreak was beautiful... 

 and reflected a rising tide.

 So we are waiting again, for insulation to arrive on island so we can complete the inside and I can move in and enjoy more of these beautiful sunrises!

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SkyWatch Friday ~ The tin is next

The Yoga Retreat is over so cabin building started again however the weather has been a little wet and stormy.

We did get the sheathing on as the weather started to change.

We never got the rain but we got the wind and rainbows!

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SkyWatch Friday ~ A perfect day

The weather has been stunning the past three weeks, with blue skies, warm temperatures, and refreshing ocean breezes.

The tides have also been great for swimming, high in the middle of the day.  While relaxing on the beach between swims I looked sideways and was overwhelmed by the simplicity of my view!  I can still feel the warmth of the sun and sand on my body.

We are hosting a ten day silent yoga retreat so cabin building is on hold for another seven days!

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My World Tuesday ~ Finally the roof goes on!

When I last posted about the Dune Cabin here, we were taking a breather as we discussed how we were going to make sure this little place does not end up on the west coast of the island during one of our winters storms!

In the interim we built a wood shed and as you can see there is plenty of wood waiting to be split and stacked!

Finally....solutions worked out the trusses begin to go up.

Trusses up(had to use all our decking material!) the perlins and strapping goes on.  For the high up work we let the pros due the work!

The neighbours came to watch the progress and give advice!

We recycled more hand hewn timbers from the old dismantled wood shed on the property.

More discussion on whether there should be a wrap around deck.

The post go in for deck on the north side of the cabin...so there will be a deck on half the cabin!

The rafters are on over the deck and the sheathing is going on the cabin.

The next step will be the sheathing on the roof, the ice and rain shield and the tin!

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My World Tuesday ~ Make sure you want the answer

Having coffee just after sunrise from the deck of the cabin yesterday.

So we have a good friend who is a building contractor and is building a home a couple of kilometers down the road and beach from us.  As you know we are very proud of what we have accomplished on the Dune Cabin so far.  We invite Phred and his family over for supper and to show off what we have done.  As we walk out to the building site, which he likes there is silence, a long silence!  I don't have to look at his face, I know what he is thinking..."what the heck are they doing!"

Let me put this in context.  We all know what happens when people build homes on cliffs overlooking the ocean, or up the side of mountains or too close to the water.... Mother Nature is the great equalizer!

The prevailing weather for these islands is out of the southeast, the winds that come with this weather are warm, wet and feasome strong.  From October through March "southeasters" can be an almost daily experience with sustained winds anywhere from 80 to 110 kph.  You can lean into the winds and not fall over!

The cabin has been built on the edge of the dune along the tree line.  The site and cabin face directly into the southeast but is set back into the trees...just barely.  It is sitting on pads and posts on and in the sand and has a loft overhanging the four foot front deck.  The ability of the wind to get under the cabin and the "kiting effect" caused by the loft over the deck CAN (but may not) put the cabin at risk of no longer being where we built it!  So we are taking a break from the cabin building for bit while we anchor it more securely and are building the wood shed.

Despite not wanting to hear what Phred had to say I personally am very grateful for his input..I really like terra firma! 

The wood shed

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The Loft

We worked hard today even though the weather was not promising.  The view from the loft looks east across Hecate Strait towards mainland British Columbia.

Todays project was to get the floor in the loft installed so that meant putting in the the floor joists.

Can you tell how professional we are....Work Safe BC would have a field day!

"Now where did that nail go?"

Finally the loft floor was installed, 9 p.m. Wednesday evening!  There are three of us working on this cabin....Cacilia and myself and Peter who is a WOOFER from Switzerland who is pictured in the previous post.  It has been an interesting excerise at times as we are working without plans, by consenses and in two languages!!!!

Celebrating with friends who are building a real home down the road.

The cabin as we left it tonight!  We were exhausted but extremely satisfied with our accomplishment.