Seasonal Shiftings
Here in the Rocky Mountains of western Montana, we typically have 2 solid months of summer, followed by a quick cooling down in preparation for autumn’s arrival in late August/early September. We had a long stretch of triple digit days this past summer and now we are cooling on down. This morning, it was 38-degrees here in the woods. Cold enough to inspire us to kick on the ole propane heater in the van and also light the fire in the wall tent.
As we slowly edge our way into mid-September, we are becoming acutely aware we need to start gearing up to head south for the winter, which means: finishing our hermitage, figuring out what we’re doing for winter storage for all the building materials and tools we’re accruing here on the land, and making preparations to be gone until spring.
Our hermitage now has framing, rafters, and as of just yesterday, insulated floors that are sealed up from underneath to help keep the critters out. Up next comes sheeting the rafters, insulating the roof, and putting on the walls.
This has been Mike’s full-time work, with me as a helper once in a while. But largely speaking, Mike has been a one-man band. And really, that’s the way it’s needed to be. We’ve talked about organizing work parties out here but we’re really not set up well for that right now. Maybe down the line with a different build project. Or maybe once we get a little more settled in and set up. Our friends Robert & Kim came and helped us last weekend, which was much appreciated, and our friends Nelson & Theresa came and lent a hand yesterday (so great!), but for the most part Mike’s been in learning mode himself through this build, so he’s been needing to take his time and figure stuff out on his own. I mean gosh, he’s self-taught himself how to mill his own lumber from trees on the land! It’s all been pretty darn impressive, if you ask me.
What few deciduous trees we have around are starting to turn yellow and red. The light is noticeably fading earlier and earlier. And up until this morning, we haven’t seen 38-degree temps since mid-spring. So things are a-changing here in the north country. Our plan is to get the hermitage ready to rock-n-roll so we have a place to return back to in the spring that is better able to shelter us from the cold than our van. And we may simply have to hold on to our storage unit in Lolo until we can build or buy something to house everything in next year here on the land. We’ll see! Something no doubt all project doers come to learn is that things take more time than one tends to think. One thing at a time, that’s all anyone can do. Then, the practice is to allow things to unfold over time; enjoy the process; and celebrate the small wins and victories along the way.
