The Pithole Hermit

I looked up earlier and saw a strange rainbow light in the sky.

Then I looked at the other side of the sun.

They are sun dogs.

I’ve never seen rainbow sun dogs before.…

Yes. I’m still here. Just taking a break during the winter. Not much to say. Cut firewood. Build a fire. Cook meals. Read. And write.

Things will pick up real fast, real soon.…

And I mean finished. We got about a foot of snow last night and the tarp shed just couldn’t take it.

After

Before

At least all my tools are protected underneath. I will be building a solid wooden shed when the weather improves.…

1. I started with these two poles.
   

First I designed it.

Then I cut them to length.

Then I drilled the holes and bolted it together.

I still need one more crossbar and a handle for control.  Plus spacers to keep the blade from hitting.  But here it is with the electric chainsaw attached.

Not as fancy as this $140 one, but mine only cost $10 in nuts and bolts.

…

I ran out of long boards for the roof, but the rest of the frame is pretty good.  Right now there are poles holding the roofs center up.  When I’m done the roof will have trusses so the entire inside will be clear of supports.  I need to make door flaps on each end.  Should be a nice work area and tool storage.  I also need more duct tape to strengthen the sharp corners.

And seeing it nearly completed makes me think of covering it with clear plastic and also use it as a greenhouse.  But I think it might be too shady.

UPDATE:  It is finished except the door flaps.

…

I have planned and started a couple projects.  First is the tarp shed mentioned earlier.  The first timbers are in place.

Next, I am going to make a portable chainsaw sawmill.  Something like this.

Only with my own plan using just these two shelf posts and some bolts.

…

There are some things I don’t want to keep in the the cabin.  But many of these things are better not being left outside.  My solution?  A tarp shed.  I am building an about 10ft by 8ft shed on the deck.  I am mostly building it from poles harvested on my land.  When the frame is finished I will cover it with a 16 by 20 tarp I already have.  The shed will hold my storage bin, things like lawn chairs and shelves for other item.  There should still be room to have a small workshop for my various projects.

I…

After several snowfalls I realized having the solar panels on the roof wasn’t a good idea.  The snow and ice just build up on them.  But, since the sun is so low in the southern sky I can get just as much light on the south side wall of the cabin.  And the eves keep the snow and ice off.

Plus, from a distance they look like windows.…

Today is the first real snow of the year.  We have had some snow flurries in October but this is the first to really accumulate.

The temperature is down in the 20s at night.  In a couple days it should be in the teens.…

I don’t prepare a huge amount of firewood. There are plenty of downed branches I can access all winter. I do keep a couple weeks worth available.

The small branches are easier to cut up with no splitting and burn nice in my small wood stove.…