And on the Second Week

Well, I have been overwhelmed by the response that I have received to my first blog post and I thank all those who have offered words of encouragement, support and frankly who just showed an interest. It has all helped enormously to boost my morale and encourage me.  Thank you.

I should start by answering a few questions.  Several people have asked me to show a map of exactly where I am and so please see below:

Bear Country

Sorry about the quality of the picture but it was the only map I could find that would allow me to save it as a jpeg, add an arrow showing where I am and import it into this blog.  Anyway, I am at the bottom of the arrow in the bottom right hand corner of the picture.  You can see a much better picture of the area in Google Maps or Google Earth.  For those who want to get a more accurate idea of exactly where I am, the precise Lat and Long of my property (from Google Maps) is 49.403001, -115.419606.  Google maps should show it as a green arrow a couple of miles south of the village of Wardner, not in the village itself.

Some people have asked how to post a comment.  First, you have to have a Google account.  It's free and has no spam or other drawbacks attached it and it can be quite useful for creating photo albums etc.  Just create an account on one of the Google search engine pages, sign in and you should be able to post a comment.

One or two have asked about fishing in the lake and if there are many fish in it.  I am (probably unreliably) told that there are more than 20m fish in Koocanusa lake.  Actually, it isn't a lake but a reservoir, about 100 miles long, created by the Libby Dam in Montana.  It was part of a three dam flood control scheme for the Columbia River basin devised by the USA and Canada in the 70s.  It gets its name from the KOOtenay river, CANada and USA hence KOO CAN USA.  There are several varieties of fish.  This whole area is very big on hunting and fishing with an abundance of game and fish of all sorts.  We have even got wild turkey and I have been watching an Osprey hunting fish on the lake for the past few days.  It was sitting in a tree outside my caravan a couple of days ago but moved off before I could get a close up photograph of it.  The lake is also good for all water sports but I haven't witnessed any really strong winds for windsurfing yet, maybe in the autumn.

Not a particularly good example of water sports but this gives you some idea of the scale of things and my property in relation to the lake.

The weather has been holding with only a couple of thunder storms interrupting play.  A good test for the caravan, which came through with only a couple of minor leaks.  I can't help feeling that all this good weather is the quiet before the Canadian winter storm and therefore I am not wasting any time trying to get things done.  My aim is to try to have the cabin up to weather proof by the end of October and then move in for the winter, essentially camping in the shell while I do the interior.  I have been researching wood burning stoves to keep me warm.  I shall also be able to get my stuff out of storage and thereby save a few pennies on that expense.

Hale Storm.

One of the biggest constraints on work is taking care of my own personal admin, which is not difficult but is time consuming.  It's a 30 minute drive into Cranbrook for shopping, laundry, bank, post office, chain oil for the saw etc. I am eating mostly cold food at the moment, salad, fruit, tinned tuna, cold meats etc and that means I don't have to cook. Fortunately, the caravan's fridge is quite large and works well and therefore I can store plenty of fresh food.  Occasionally, I miss the hot water window in the evening and wind up having a cold shower, but am I complaining  - no.  I just have to think of the millions around the world who don't even have enough water to drink and that puts things into perspective.

Another constraint is the hot weather.  It isn't as hot as some places around the globe but the temperature is in the high 20s to mid 30s C and, with the intense manual work in the sun, dehydration is a bit of a problem.  I have found that lemon ice tea is about the best answer to that little problem although cold water melon hits about the right spot as well.

Injury is also a constant concern.  I am by myself out here most of the time and quite isolated from the nearest help.  The phone system is unreliable, even in different parts of the caravan it can vary from three bars max to no service.  The axe and the chain saw are probably the biggest threats at the moment although, I did disturb a bees' nest a couple of days ago and didn't realise what I had done until I was stung six times.  My right hand has swollen up like a boxing glove, much to the amusement of the ground work team.

The cleared building site - note the rock climbing wall in the background.

Talking of which, the building site has been cleared of trees, which have been carefully dumped near my wood pile ready for me to cut up and stack.  A couple of weeks work there me thinks.  The basement and foundation holes have been dug and I am hoping to pour concrete next week.   I was lucky to be able to take advantage of the availability of the digging equipment, otherwise there could have been a delay while it was doing something else.  In the meantime the log package is being prepared and once the foundations are in it should not take that long to erect the logs.

The hole for the basement.

I thought I would try to show you what the finished article is going to look like.  The nearest I have been able to find is the photo below but, there are a few significant differences.  My basement will not be a walk out one as shown here but rather more like a cellar and the dorma arrangement above the garage (on the right of the picture) will be different.  The decking will also be very different.  There will be a wrap around, covered deck on the sides and the front of the house with open decking in front of the great room gable.  There will be small balconies to each bedroom either side of the main gable and for the room above the garage, which will be a guest room.

The finished cabin should look a little bit like this.

I have managed to locate a couple of watering holes, one on the main highway, which is a bit on the pricey side and another off the beaten track, which looks much more suitable for me.  I have promised myself one visit a week to at least get one decent meal every now and again.

One other tip about the blog site.  If you click on the photos they will open, enlarged, and you can get a much better look at the detail in them.  Just press the 'back' button to return to the blog.