New Project

I need a monster project that I can throw myself into completely and escape from other things going on that I can't change. After looking around and thrashing out ideas with T, I think I have it.

One of the things on my 20 wishes list is to build an off the grid small home, and this might be a big enough project to get me through the next few months. I've been walking through the two acres of woods behind the house looking at what's there. If there isn't enough lumber there to build a house, a small barn, a chicken coop and finish the goat shed, it will be close. What isn't already down needs to be cut down for one reason or another.

The first step will be to clean up and sort the timber there. There is pine, red cedar and white ash that will need to be cut for various purposes. The pine will be cut into 1 and 2 inch boards for framing. The ash will be 1" boards for shelving and furniture. The cedar will be barn poles, fence posts, fence rails, cordwood and if I'm really lucky there will be some that can be cut to 1 and 2 inch boards for porch swings a bench and a wood strip canoe.

I picked out the house site that has the best view and actually it will be the easiest to clear. I'm thinking the south wall will be cordwood with lots of windows to generate passive heat in the winter. Solar power, compost toilet, earthen floor.

T says clean up and saw lumber this year, build next year, but I want to build this year as well. Things I'm not sure about are moving big logs and keeping a chain saw running. I guess I'll have to learn some basic mechanics.

Bird Watching

Several years ago at the Friends of the Library Annual Book Sale, I picked up a Smithsonian Birds of North America, a beautiful hardcover book with a page devoted to each species which tells you everything you need to know about each bird.

I don't use it every time I see a new bird, but sometimes a species unusual enough shows up and I have to go look it up.

Yesterday morning while I was fixing a bowl of cereal, I saw a pair of birds swimming on the pond. That doesn't happen often so I got out the binoculars to see what they were. As soon as I saw the black and white head on one bird, I remembered seeing them last year, but I couldn't remember what it was.

Hooded Merganser
Originally uploaded by Rick Leche

I pulled out the bird book and sure enough I did write down that February 27, last year there was a pair on the pond. They were Hooded Mergansers. This year I tried to get close enough to get a photo which didn't work. If I had waited maybe he would have given me a show like he did last year. They must be on their way back home.

Last Sunday a young Red Hawk landed on the deck railing. I've never seen one get so close.