Cabin Living North of Seven - Spring 4

Well it's June 2, so it's still technically spring. It's been a very wet spring so far. Rivers are running high and the swamp is extremely wet. The blackflies are loving every minute of it and the mosquitoes are hot on their trail. Seems like we have to cut grass every third day. I sometimes wonder why I'm so keen on planting more grass all the time.

But spring has brought us some wonderful things. Our propane gas lines have been installed and we are now 'cookin with gas'. It's wonderful to have four burners again and an oven. The fridge is nice and cold. Small but efficient. Propane appliances are very costly. And last week we FINALLY got our solar panels working. Just in time too, cause we've actually had some sun this past week. (4000 watt/60 amp system with 12 deep cycle solar batteries). Total cost of system was around $18,000.00.



It was one long scary year having purchased these and then the company went out of business. We didn't know if it would all come together. But thanks to a wonderful little Mennonite man named Thomas it's all good in the end.

This is the time of year that I truly appreciate where we live. It is absolutely gorgeous right now. The trees seem to be a thousand shades of green and the lakes are so beautiful. Next week we plan to take the boat out and perhaps do a little fishing.

Sometimes in the middle of the week I give a moments thought to the people who are at that moment caught in rush hour traffic on the 401 or DVP and just give one long blissful sigh. Aaahhh it's good to be alive.

Until summer starts I bid you adieu!!!!!!!!!!

Cabin Living North of Seven - Spring - 3

The rain is falling on the steel roof over my bed. It is one of the perks of the season. It's such a comforting sound. It is reminiscent of the sound of rain on the canvas tent that my family camped in when I was a child. All of the kids tucked in, snug and comfortable while my parents sat under a tarp by the fire outside. And all was right with the world.

Spring! The ice on the lakes is almost gone. Just a little slush remains here and there. Snow is fighting a losing battle in the forest where the crisp and cold winter gives way to a warm, lush and fresh season of rebirth. I've walked along the trail below the ridge fairly consistently right thru the winter which has given me the opportunity to investigate all different types of animal tracks. I've been fortunate that nature has given me the snow as a canvas with the prints as the artwork. But alas, the snow is gone now and it will prove to be much more difficult to figure out what animals are close by. We have just recently seen three doe right outside our door. So with any luck they may calve near here and we can have the pleasure of seeing the fawns again. Last evening two pair of moose were spotted not far from us. And I've seen lots of elk tracks.

The stream below the ridge is absolutely raging right now from all the snow melt. It's such a comforting sound together with all the birds calling in the forest, beginning their mating rituals, building nests.

This past winter has been challenging and has taught us a few things but we made it, stronger for the cause. Spring is also the awakening of our muscles and minds getting ready to rectify some of the problems we were faced with through the winter. 

In a couple of weeks the gas fitter guy is coming to run gas lines around the house. I will then be able to cook on a proper propane stove and have a fridge with a freezer and have 40 gallons of hot water! We've been 'making do' with an electric fridge and electric 10 gallon hot water heater. So it's off and on all day. Can't run this when that is running. Rather tiresome. And frustrating running out to the generator at all times of night and day. No more barbequed cakes. I might miss that!

But I'll keep you posted.

Cabin Living North of Seven - Spring -2

I did not write this but I HAD to share it!

This is an interesting perspective on today’s “New” concern for the environment....

In the line at the store, the cashier told the older woman that plastic bags weren’t good for the environment. The woman apologized to her and explained, “We didn’t have the green thing back in my day.” 

That’s right, they didn’t have the green thing in her day. Back then, they returned their milk bottles, Coke bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, using the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.
But they didn’t have the green thing back her day.
In her day, they walked up stairs, because they didn’t have an escalator in every store and office building. They walked to the grocery store and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time they had to go two blocks.
But she’s right.  They didn’t have the green thing in her day. 
Back then, they washed the baby’s diapers because they didn’t have the throw-away kind. They dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts – wind and solar power really did dry the clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing.  
But that old lady is right, they didn’t have the green thing back in her day.

Back then, they had one TV, or radio, in the house – not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a pizza dish, not a screen the size of the state of Montana . In the kitchen, they blended and stirred by hand because they didn’t have electric machines to do everything for you. When they packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, they used wadded up newspaper to cushion it, not styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.

Back then, they didn’t fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. They used a push mower that ran on human power. They exercised by working so they didn’t need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.

But she’s right, they didn’t have the green thing back then.

They drank from a fountain when they were thirsty, instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time they had a drink of water. They refilled pens with ink, instead of buying a new pen, and they replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.

But they didn’t have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar and kids rode their bikes to school or rode the school bus, instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. They had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And they didn’t need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

It’s a crying shame that we didn’t have “the green thing” back then!