The May magic is working. I'm remembering how marvelous this place is. What was a desert of snow a few weeks ago is now so alive and wild it's a little disturbing. This past Wednesday while we were up putting shingles on the roof 90º air came cruising up through the woods on a hearty gale. Occasional gusts would send me crouching to keep from being blown off of the ridge. One of them was exceptionally fierce and there was a snap and in an instant this 85-foot-tall spruce lay on the ground, narrowly missing the house on the side where we were working. Here are before and after pictures. The one of Aya and my mother at the base of this tree is from a few weeks ago.
At the suggestion of a few people I bought a lottery ticket. It was a winner! I got my money back plus a dollar. It's nice to reflect on what you would choose if money wasn't a factor. I don't know if I would change that much about my situation. It would be nice to pay my friends what they're worth when they come and work on this place.




Lake and John were up on the roof with me this week, a couple days got very long. Tuesday the delivery guy came and his conveyor belt was electric and it wouldn't work with our little generator. So we slid the bundles up the ladder using ropes on the ends and all three of us heaving in concert. Wednesday was long by way of being hot,Thursday was a little rainy but a good day to set up scaffolding and deal with the fallen tree, and Friday we stayed until about 7:00 (or was it later) to git-er-done, if you will. Roofing is simple, brutal, dangerous and satisfying. Here's John tarring on the last shingle.


Saturday's work party was a most perfect fit. The week's work of roofing had taken a lot from our family balance. It was grounding to be among the neighbors of this small area, to share the space, the projects of the day, and a meal together after. Rock on, west side of section 23.
Michael and Ryan were able to put in a south facing sliding door which slides smooth and lovely, and the very last window opens up the north side of the house. The children debated what to do with their playtime. I think they settled on a bike ride, a creek ponder, game of hide n' seek, with a little cabin picnic to follow. Just before dinner, they joined in the work effort by gathering and baking lasagna with Heidi and stacking wood in the nifty new shed.
It's wonderful how different we all are. The shed project met me with head scratching. And I'm sure if it was left all in my hands, I'd have done a lot of staring into the trees. Courtney's sensible self cut all that away and left the task an easy one, enjoyable.




Mr. England, whose camp is next door, came by and finished up the bird blocks with Ryan. We then sat down to sup. Some sat on pottys, that were imaginarily flushed down during the meal, thank you Seamus.
This week we're focusing on closing the space in in hopes of keeping the bugs out. June is the height of bug season around here. There are doors to hang and this big one to slide into place.