The Snow Has Returned

The snow and cold temperatures, as predicted, have come back with a vengeance and consequently no visible progress was made on the cabin this week. Altogether, we have had about a foot of snow, which doesn't sound much but it is a significant amount to clear off the floor spaces of the cabin by hand. In the local ski resorts they have had about 5ft of snow and they, at least, are smiling. However, the real enemy this week has been the temperatures and on two days Owen's work teams were unable to work on any of his projects. The ambient temperatures have dipped to below -20C but the wind chill has brought this down significantly and on a couple of occasions I have even resorted to wearing two pairs of gloves. The snow compacts and shrinks quite quickly, even in these very cold temperatures, and a foot of snow one day is usually only about five or six inches the next. It is important to clear it off the decks while it is still light and fluffy as it settles into heavy solid blocks in only a couple of days, which makes it much more difficult to push with the snow shovel.

The roof framing beams, posts and trusses have not yet been finished because the weather even interrupted work at the mill, where they are being produced and, where the low temperatures caused one of the saw blades to brake. That said, the framing is almost ready, there being only one (of four) large 28ft x 16" x 8" beams still to cut. I hope that it will all be moved to the site during next week where final trimming will be needed before this heavy wood work can be lifted up on to the top floor and put in place, for which we will need a crane.

I have taken the opportunity to confirm with designers the layout of the kitchen and I have received two out of the three quotes that I have asked for. I will fit the kitchen myself, with the possible exception of the counter tops. If these are hard surfaces, which I would prefer, they will be bespokely made and fitted by the professionals. So far the quotes have been excessively high and I may be forced to source the cabinets, if not the counter tops, from over the border in the States. I have designed and will make the kitchen island myself. This will be crescent shaped with a breakfast bar on the outside and the cooking hob on the inside. I will tile the kitchen floor and probably install electric underfloor heating to make it more comfortable underfoot in the winter.

I also took the opportunity, while there is plenty of snow cover, to burn some of the brush wood I collected in the summer and fall.

I burnt the first pile in place and ...

... as the fire was still smouldering on the following day, I decided to use the same fire to burn the larger brush pile, that you can see here to the left of the brown box.

Within three hours there was nothing left of it and, as it vanished rather quicker than it took to collect and stack it all, its sudden absence left an emptiness within me that was both satisfying and a little sad at the same time.

Now all that remains is wood that I want to use as fire wood or for decoration and making stuff with (the stumps).

On Friday, 'Tex' (my new next door neighbour at the cabins where I am staying) and I went ice fishing on Tie Lake, which is close to the cabins. I haven't done any of this sort of thing since Norway in the early 80s and so it was fun re-learning the techniques and skills.

Using Tex's power screw we quickly drilled half a dozen or more holes in the ice, which was 12 inches thick and crystal clear, and we got to work.

Tex the fisherman. He really knew what he was doing and soon we were both pulling fish out of the holes almost as fast as we could bate the hooks.

It was snowing most of the time but we didn't seem to notice. Here is yours truly at the same hole. In all we caught over 30 fish in about two hours fishing but we only brought 21 home as some were really too small. We shared the honours equally although, I think Tex threw back one or two more than me. The catch included perch, bass and sun fish. I took some (9) of the perch and fried them in butter and seasoning for my supper. Quite delicious they were too. 

Scarce has been the day, summer, fall or winter, when I haven't seen our wild cousins with whom we share this wonderful wilderness. This lot are so familiar to me now I am even starting to give them names. The one on the left is 'Dakota' and the big one leading the herd is 'Sacagawea' - look it up.

The slow pace this week has also given me a bit of time for reading and thought. I have recently read a couple of really interesting books about life in the Canadian wilderness and they have served to wet my appetite for exploring not only my local area but also some of the more remote corners of this huge and wonderful country. I am currently reading 'Three Against the Wilderness' a Canadian classic about life in British Columbia in the 1930s, when squatters could still claim Crown Land without fee or deed.

We have also had another tragic death. This time one of the prominent local citizens who owned one of the best eating and watering holes in the area. He died suddenly of a heart attack at the relatively young age of 63 and he will be sadly missed. It has reminded me that

Tis all a chequer-board of nights and days,

Where destiny with men for pieces plays;

Hither and thither moves, and mates, and slays

And one by one back in the closet lays.

so

Make the most of what we yet may spend,

Before we too into the dust descend:

Dust into dust and under dust, to lie,

Sans wine, sans song, sans singer and - sans end!