If April showers bring May flowers, What does April snow bring? April started out looking like we were going to have a short spring and roll right into summer. The snow had all melted out and the ground dried up enough that I was able to drive into camp two weeks earlier than last year. That is critical to getting started with this year’s projects. But it turned out that winter still had a few tricks hidden under its parka. Over a week, we got nearly 2ft of new snow. The days are long enough now that there is enough sun to melt out any new snow before the next storm rolls through. The good side is that I was able to keep my water jug full and my ice box cool with the snow longer than I expected. The downside is that the temps fluctuated between either side of freezing for 2 weeks so it was just a cold muddy mess and a long walk to the car.
I am happy to report that my Cabin build permit was approved and I can start working on it once I
can reliably drive in and out. I am not happy to report that the cost of building it has gone through the roof of a much taller building than I have planned. I am trying to figure out what I can get started on that will leave me at a good place to close up the build when rainy season comes back or I run out of money. I can’t leave it unsealed and exposed to the winter weather or I’ll come back to a mushy pile of lumber. I’ll see what the foundation effort will be and decide after that.
But regardless of the cabin costs, I am starting to lose my appetite for Peanut butter sandwiches and canned chili. Its time to get some budget cushion. As a result of the higher and still rising cost of living, I have blown the dust off my resume and thrown it out into the ether. Not a lot of response as I would need to put it in a wind tunnel to blow that much dust off of it. I did have one video interview that was going well until my crappy internet decided to just go full on craptastic and lock up totally. Probably a bad omen for any remote work job that I might be offered.
As I wait for the internet gods to drop a crazy easy but still lucrative job right into my lap, I have been doing some drywall work for some cabin owners around here. Drywall is easy work if you do it everyday. The rest of us rely on buckets of spackle and a lot of sand paper to get it passable. But since there isn’t a Home Depot parking lot anywhere near, I am as good as it gets. Which is a my advertisement for sending your kids to trade school.
April was not very productive unless staying just ahead of frostbite is your idea of productive. Now that it is at least not freezing every night and maybe dry season is starting, I can move on to cleaning the piles of mud that have accumulated throughout the Wintershed and trailer. I am going to need a shovel.
The nice weather came in a day late to meet my post a month target but decided to include my one property project before I forget that I did it. May 1st was a sunny 60 degrees day sandwiched between two wet dismal days. I took advantage and replaced the wind damaged plastic roof on the outhouse with the metal sheets that I salvaged from the collapsed roof. There were just enough to cover it. To be honest, they were a few inches short but that is what flashing is for. I was using the winter weather as an excuse for not climbing up and doing the work. The nice day pushed me through the procrastination, I also was seeing a bit of water damage down the wall so it had to be fixed regardless of the weather. The rainy forecast would be a disaster. It was easier than expected but I was hoping my winter sofa poundage would make me bouncy in case gravity got the better of me. No drama in the end and am looking forward to seeing how it holds up through the soggy weather.
I typed this up from the wintershed using my phone hotspot. I will check it the next time I get on a proper internet connection,
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