Tuesday, October 08, 2013

A cistern arrives

Building an off the grid cabin in the woods, at least for us, is a marathon; not a sprint. The goal is to never be done and to always improve which makes this week's activity worth mentioning.

Brother John had plans at his farm in Carter County Kentucky that included installation of an underground cistern up on a hill at a fresh water spring. The plan would provide fresh spring water at the house below. Unfortunately, after purchasing the cistern, the project was never completed and the cistern sat idle beside the barn awaiting a future use.

On Sunday, Kuma d.o.g. accompanied me on the 85 mile drive to Carter County to pick up the cistern for ManCamp. After much effort and struggles, it was loaded on the trailer for the trip back to Ohio.

With the cistern at Fosson Family Trail in Ohio, I'm now looking forward to digging a hole and installing it for rain water collection from the cabin roof.

The cabin continues evolving to a self-sufficient off the grid dwelling. Sometime soon, we will enjoy a sufficient supply of fresh water.
1200 gallon cistern for underground installation.
 

Thursday, October 03, 2013

Summer's pace

Summer's pace has robbed me of evenings like this where sitting with a lager while watching wildlife oblivious to the cabin porch becomes a most peaceful way of passing time. Today I watched a beautiful red fox, a young doe and a crafty wild black and white cat visit the view below before the sun set behind the western ridge. I'm more than ready to slow down and enjoy fall's beauty. The cabin reminds me that most of what we must deal with on a daily basis distracts us from truly seeing God's creations.

Such a pleasure to hear the acorns falling and rolling down the metal roof above before being launched into the leaves for squirrels to find.

Fall is my favorite season and southern Ohio provides an opportunity to enjoy it's full beauty.