Then the framing began and the small house I had imagined, quickly became large, as did the muscles of my hammer arm. By late summer we had a shell framed and closed in, and hopefully weather tight.


Over the next year Tanya and I installed the interior- plumbing, wires, insulation, floor, walls, window trim, kitchen, and wood stove. Stepping back and taking a breath, I was aghast- What had we done?

We had just built a plywood box in the woods, revealing our middle class bourgeois  roots!


But that sensation passed soon enough as we moved in. The old cabin became storage and studio until its decay required a teardown. After years of living in this house I have identified a million things I would have done differently, but, it has successfully housed years of comfort and memories.



RIGHT: the house is just peeking through.

This picture is from the same vantage point as  above with the grassy field in the foreground, The same pine tree on the left.



THE LATEST FACELIFT 2013: after some water damage was repaired, and the aging shingles re-roofed, our little box in the woods has a new lease on life.


THE NEW GARDEN BEGINS.