Oh Deer!

I met up with this little guy on the road to the (new) house. As soon as I drove close, the mother made a dash for the bushes and this guy quickly lay down, spread-eagle on the road. After a few moments, he timidly got up and gained his wobbly balance. A few days old at best, he didn't have the ability or instinct to run away and posed nicely for the camera. (yes, mom came back for him)

straw bale house update: The weather has been spectacular to say the least. Often reaching the mid 30's by early afternoon. We've switched to an earlier start to the day in an attempt to escape the late afternoon heat. There's just a few final touches in preparation to baling. The soffits are nearly completed, with just the dormer portion to go. I devised a continuous venting system....(mostly stolen from a design I saw on the Denman Island Home & Garden Tour... see video below) The electrical is about 1/2 done. All the switch and receptacle boxes in the straw walls must be placed as the courses go up. The electrical inspector seems to OK with the wires being buried prior to inspection.... I did get busted for having the wrong speaker wire though.... who knew speaker wire is covered in the electrical code?

The good weather along with some smoke (from a forest fire on the mainland) has made for some nice sunsets. We're looking forward to sitting on the deck with this view.... minus the scraggly trees (which I shall call "standing firewood"for now).

Ants and Uncles

On a short hike last weekend we came across this skyscraper of an anthill. (Uncle) Bill was kind enough to give the picture some scale (but not for too long).

straw bale house update: T&G soffits for most of the week, with some electrical work thrown in.  I decided to take out the electrical permit myself as electricians are an expensive lot.  For a mere $300 permit fee you can wire the house yourself.  One thing the wiring book doesn't cover is speaker wire.... and that's the first thing that had to be replaced after the first visit from the inspector. (the only inspector that we have to please here on Denman) Who woulda thunk.... busted for speaker wire "not to code".

I don't watch a lot of TV, but I've watched the last few seasons of American (and Canadian) Idol.  It's becoming more than obvious that the results are fixed. It seemed that even the judges were aware that there had to be some surprise ending (to the show) to keep the viewers coming back for another season. The New York Daily News survey concluded that 61% of people polled also believe the results were bogus.... even the winner thought the results were wrong.  I don't have a problem with the whole charade.... just don't call it reality TV.

Not sure how, but I missed the ZEITGEIST: ADDENDUM   Likely the most thought provoking movie you'll ever see. (every bit as good as the original)  It makes one want to fast forward time a few thousand years.

I'm Baaaaack

A sabbatical was in order.  What can I say?

Two bloggers that I read faithfully have have called it quits.... or not....James (UK) who has proven that we can change the way we live... and Paddy K (Sweden)  a very talented writer that just plain "burned out" then had second thoughts. 

straw Bale House update: Lots of building since I last posted...

Front entry is near completion... (waiting on some custom flashings)

Mason heater has been faced.

Doors and windows have been set.

Trenches for the power and greywater have been dug.

The "toe-ups" that anchor the straw bales are in place.

The pine T&G ceilings are about 1/2 complete

Went to Demxx on the weekend to pick-up a door for our pantry... it's part of the old door from the Fanny Bay Inn. It seemed only fitting to stop there on the way back and have a pint. Kind of a reunion of sorts. Afterwards, we stopped to see the sea lions, (which we can hear from our house). They arrive well before the herring spawn and leave well after.... and make their presence known to everyone within several miles.

The new kitten, Taz, has fit in exceptionally well. He and Boo are now fast friends. Boo has shown him all the best places to hide and hunt. Here in this picture Taz gives Boo a "high five", or however many fingers cats have.

Strawbale House Update: The trench is in, the meter box has been mounted, the panel is installed.... now we wait for BC Hydro to come and hook us up. After a year and a half of construction, we shall soon have construction power. Most of the wiring for the house will run either in a wiring chase or within the bale walls, like where a switch box would be. The other wiring, for overhead lights, is beginning to be pulled. Permits for the construction power and workshop will be done by the local electrician. I'll be attempting the house wiring myself.... with as much advice as I can scrounge.

We've been back to a three-man crew for the last couple of weeks. All the interior beamwork is complete! A huge undertaking. Now the rest of the back-framing can continue. The only beamwork left is the front entrance, (exterior). All of the cedar components were stained last fall and are ready to go. Now to find a way to cut the ten inch square posts... Nice to have friends with big construction tools.

It's a Boy

Wow, we've had such a run of good weather.... nothing but sun and dry days for the last couple of weeks. Now that all changes, as rain is in the forecast for the next week. Led by Kari (closet pyromaniac) we did some brush clearing and burning on the lot over the last two weekends. This could be never-ending.... except I think we've resolved to claim the first 30 feet or so around the house and driveway and leave the balance of the acreage to the wildlife.

Saturday, there was a community "farewell" event for the retiring fire chief. It was extremely well attended. John had been chief for 21 years and there were many humorous stories to be told by members of the community.

Strawbale house update: We worked all week on the interior beam-work. I'm somewhat bias, but I think it's going to look spectacular. I'm determined not to post pictures until it's done. (another couple of weeks, as my post and beam expert has taken a brief vacation).

Our oldest cat, Tig, died a couple of months ago. Boo, who had a love-hate relationship with Tig has been very demanding of us ever since. So we began "talking" about getting another kitten. On her way home from work last week, Kari dropped into the local animal rescue center and of course was chosen by a little grey kitten. "Taz" fits his name. he's four months old and weighs about a pound. (About 1/6th of the sumo, Boo). That has not stopped Taz from letting everyone know who's in charge. This includes Sienna (our Auzzie Shepard) who gives Taz a wide berth.

Am I the only one that thinks the "bailouts" on both sides of the border are simply a bolstering of a system that is flawed? As we quickly deplete our world's resources, our government(s) spend billions (or trillions) to prop up our bad spending habits.... My apologies to my future grandchildren.
I thought I knew where money came from.... I was wrong!

"V" Day

Those that frequent this blog are likely waiting for a rant. No, I haven't gone soft....As soon as I can word things civilly, the rants shall continue.... there's not shortage of stupidity, is there?

I read recently that Valentines day is THE most stressful day of the year for men. Followed closely by anniversaries and her birthday. Yes, men are romantically challenged by nature.... it's not our fault. I say, an evening at the Fanny Bay Inn (our local biker bar) can be romantic! Anyway, I dodged a bullet, mostly (I think) because of the low expectations.

Straw Bale House Update: The shop is ankle deep in sawdust and shavings. My friend Charlie, (post + beam builder extraordinaire) has been helping me for the past few weeks to get the last of the beam-work ready to go up. The entry hall is framed by two beams that run most of the length of the house... about 34 feet. Between those two beams are 10 cross beams.... all which have to fit like rungs in a ladder. The cross beams have been shaped with a slight upward curve on the bottom, giving the effect of ships ribs as you enter the house. (beam sawing thanks to another friend with a well equipped shop) The pictures show the "rails" into which the curved crossbeams will be fitted. If it sounds complicated.... it is. Although the weather has remained rather chilly, I can get the shop warm enough to stain the beams before they go up. The support posts that have been installed lately have been stained in place during the warmest part of the day.... with fingers crossed that the stain will not fail.
I found a great buy on some pine T+G for the ceiling, so I bought, and had delivered 6500 lineal feet.... enough to do the house ceiling, the soffits and the loft ceiling in the garage. (can be seen in the picture stacked in the garage with curved beams on top).

Middle of Foguary

Returning home from Akumal (temps in the mid 30's) to Denman in the month of Foguary and near freezing temperatures is shock enough to forget to blog. A prearranged webcam snap (at the Lol Ha, Akumal Bay) did not go exactly as planned however here's the result (that's me front and center) and no, I wasn't looking at the girl in the bikini.... Honest !!













The highlight was diving with the turtles in Akumal Bay.
More pictures of our Yucatan adventures can be seen here.

It's been so foggy here..... how foggy is it? It's foggy enough that the ferry must blow it's horn every few minutes while crossing from 6:40 a.m. til 11:10 p.m. Coincidentally this has also been my exact sleeping time in reverse. The temperature in my woodshed on Sunday morning was -2c. At the same time it was +13c at Raven Lodge on Mt. Washington.... a major inversion.

The first structure fire since I joined the fire dept. was last week. Thankfully nobody was injured. The home however was likely a write-off. The response time of the department was second to none with the first equipment on the scene in nine minutes. I was on the pumper truck which arrived in fourteen minutes. (the drive from the house site to the hall is seven minutes, but seemed much longer at the time.)

Straw Bale House Update: After 3 weeks off, it's been a butt dragging time at work. The interior wall framing is almost complete and it's time to get back to the beam work. It's been a little hazardous as the fog condenses on the concrete slab of the house and then freezes creating an unwanted skating rink. This week I'll insulate the garage so that there will be a nice warm place to work (and the stain on the beams will actually dry). There's still about 16 posts and beams to plane and sand before help arrives next week to begin the assembly.

I was just saying the other day.... Obama should have a quiet lunch with spam and cheese whiz sandwiches to celebrate his inauguration. It would have sent quite a different message than the $125 million (projected) expenses planned. ($75 million for crowd control and security alone). But we can top that with our estimated one billion for Olympic security. I'm hoping the whole thing (Oh-My lympics)can be paid off by tolling the Sea to Sky Highway.... you know, that whole "user pay" thing.