Kindling Kollection

On Saturday, I shared about filling our shed with large pieces of wood to dry for the upcoming winter months. In addition to large pieces of wood, kindling is an important part of fire starting. We could split wood for kindling, but plenty of small pieces float in for easy retrieval.

In the fall, we store tubs of dry kindling in our floating wood shed. We bring the wood in as needed to replenish the tub next to the wood stove. We learned long ago not to bring the full tubs indoors. We transfer the wood by hand so that mice that might be nesting in the bottom don't take up residence in our cabin.

Just as our firewood needs to be replenished throughout the winter, so does our kindling. First we collect it in buckets from around the cabin's float. Next, the wet wood is dumped into our repurposed dinghy. It many not be able to float any longer, but it's leaky bottom makes it a perfect container for drying kindling.

Next, partially dry wood from the dinghy is transferred to tubs stored under the porch roof. On relatively warm, sunny days I dump the wood from the tubs onto the cabin deck and spread it out for faster drying. I call this "cooking wood." I rotate the wood from top to bottom several times and in about a month it is ready to go into our burning rotation. -- Margy

Reflections of Granite Lake

Granite Lake in the Powell River back country is a favourite destination for a quad ride. Our last trip was in October when the sun was brighter and the leaves were turning,

There's an island in the middle of the lake. It looks like a beautiful spot to take a kayak or canoe. As we sat on the shore, our good friend John told us this story.

Hey Wayne and Margy, see that island? One time Eldon and I rode our quads out there. It's a beautiful island to explore. Can you figure out how we did it?

Wayne and I tried to figure it out. My guess was that they got a running start and the air in the tires on their quads gave them enough flotation. (OK, that was an airhead answer). Wayne thought maybe they had a raft stashed somewhere along the shore. That was more reasonable. People have made rafts for similar purposes on other lakes. We never did come up with the answer until John told us. Can you? -- Margy

p.s. Here's a hint.

Wood Rotation

We start using our woodstove for cabin heating in November and keep it going pretty much every day through May. That takes quite a bit of firewood. We try to get our woodshed pretty full in the fall when the wood is dry and lighter, but it's never enough to last the whole season.

Our floating wood shed has two constraints, the size and weight of its contents. If we put too much wood in, the float logs submerge and saturate. That's bad for the logs, and also lets water get to the bottom of our dry wood. Consequently, we have to use a wood rotation system.

This year we were lucky. John redid his cedar deck and gave us all of his old wood. We stored about half of the precut lengths on our log work float. Wayne pushed the float up to the dock and tossed the wet boards across. I tossed them into the woodshed and stacked them criss-crossed so the wood would dry quicker. We have enough dry wood to last another month. By then, our wet would should be ready to use.

Thanks again John. You help us in so many ways. -- Margy

After the Storm

We don't get snow very often, so I love it, especially when we are at the cabin.

Almost as good are the clear blue skies after the storm. Above is a view of my floating garden with Goat Island beyond.

This shot is from our friend John's deck looking up Powell Lake to Chippewa Bay. Want to come visit? There are float cabins for rent by the day and week. But be careful, you may never want to leave. -- Margy

Tiny Homes: Simple Shelter

On January 7, 2010, I was surprised to find my garden float featured on Lloyd Kahn's blog. I left a comment thanking Lloyd, and not long after I received a unique request. Lloyd wanted to feature our float cabin on Powell Lake in a new book he was putting together about tiny homes. I was thrilled.

Two years later, Tiny Homes: Simple Shelter by Lloyd Kahn is finished and available for purchase. I've already got my copy and it's an amazing book. It has 1,300 full-colour photos of a wide array of small homemade shelters.

Tiny Homes on Foundations
Tiny Homes on Wheels
Tiny Homes by Architects
Prefabs and Kits
Earthy Materials
Treehouses
On the Road
On the Water (that's me!)

Check out pages 210-211 for Our Little Cabin up the Lake.

Links for more information and purchasing options:

Lloyd's Blog
Shelter Online
Shelter Publications on Facebook
Shelter Publications on Twitter
Amazon.com
Amazon.ca

Check it out online and get a copy for yourself. -- Margy

My Snowy World

Last week in Coastal BC we had storms move through that left us with several centimetres of snow on the ground.

I was at the cabin during two of them. Here are the results.

Where we live the snow doesn't last much more than a week, sometimes less.

So I enjoy it when I can get it. -- Margy

Saving Socks

Dress around the cabin is pretty casual. Summer is shorts and T-shirts. In winter, I bring out sweatsuits and slipper socks.

I've had this pair for several years now. The tops are fine, but the soles have worn through several times. I've had to patch the holes with cotton cloth inside and out more than once.

A cold spot on the ball of my foot told me I had a new hole developing. I hated to give up just yet, so I decided to give them one more lease on life.

I rummaged in the rag box and found old flannel pillow cases. I used the finished edge and there was just enough cloth in one case to make two new soles that are four layers thick.

I sewed the new soles in place with a tight whip stitch. I turned under all the raw edges, and rounded the square corners into the shape of my foot.

My favourite slipper socks have been saved from the trash. It feels good to put them back in use for another winter season.

Have you saved something lately? How did it make you feel? -- Margy