AWOL: Season Lost

Sorry, regular followers... I can tell that people have been loyally checking my blog all summer looking for updates. In spite of all of my plans and intentions back in the early spring for making great progress on my build, many other things intervened and took priority.

Below is my new daughter-in-law(!) standing in a canola field in England with her dog. Motivated by love (and no shotguns involved :-), my son got married. I had two weeks advance notice; yikes--that felt like a scramble, and I really had no responsibility for pulling it off.

Other family-related things and projects leap-frogged everything else and took priority and filled up my summer. Below is my last photo of George. This sweetie died during the third week of August. He had a good long life, but I do miss my companion of the last 19 years. When I feel up to it, I'll post a George tribute.

Now I'm trying to sort out some health-related things of my own. I'm not going to turn my blog into a litany of my health complaints but, so no one worries, just know I don't have anything life-threatening--just a shoulder that does not work, and a poorly-functioning thyroid. Both of these things really get in the way of making progress with house building.

It turns out that, if you leave anything alone for any length of time, nature tries to re-claim it.

While some of those photos may look like kudzu is trying to take over the JayBee, the worst culprits are actually grape vines.

I did finally manage to clear out the vines and shrubs that were crowding the JayBee.

I replaced the tarp on my tool/storage shed, so it no longer leaks.

I haven't yet repaired the interior of it, however.

Remember the latest/newest nest? This masterfully-built gem appears to be abandoned--finally. When I feel really confident I won't be displacing anyone, I will be removing the nest and crafting some kind of new nest arrestor to install...

I'm not really sure how much progress I will be able to make with what's left of the fall. After all, I will have to prepare the old wreck-of-a-house to survive yet another winter... I'm trying to keep breathing, put one foot in front of the other, take things as they come, and not get too discouraged.

Spring Reset

Finally: a day with no rain! Goal: get some momentum going with the JayBee project.

Not so fast. During the last few weeks of winter, I noticed that the JayBee was pivoting on its cinderblock foundation posts. This post is leaning into the hillside...

...and this post is leaning away from the hillside.

The tongue--obviously having shifted significantly left here--shows that the JayBee is pivoting.

I didn't think it was too bad because this other post has remained straight. Until I looked up under the JayBee today--and found out that only a tiny bit of the trailer frame is still sitting on the back corner of the post.

Goodness! I can't be running in and out of the JayBee when it's in this precarious position. The solution is not jumping out at me. I hope I think of something...  by tomorrow.

In the meantime, there are other issues...

Remember how I removed an old nest from the bathroom vent a few weeks ago? Today I went to install a nest arrestor on the vent. Look what I found (see photo below)? Arrgh! The momma bird was very unhappy with me even though I stood there only a few minutes. She's quite busy coming and going. At least this nest isn't right outside the front door. I think I can leave momma alone for this baby-raising season and still get construction work done.

Looking at this picture reminds me that this bathroom vent poses another problem as well. I learned while watching This Old House last weekend that a bathroom vent that shoots out air right under soffit vents will allow warm moist air to be sucked up under the roof, which will cause mold to form under the roof. Nice! Gotta find a solution for this problem, too.

One or more birds have been messing with the nest arrestor that sits on top of the vent for the air exchanger. No nest behind there yet but the other side of the nest arrestor...

...is covered in bird sh__--er, droppings--illustrating just how much time someone has spent fluttering around up there.

Before the snow flew late last year, I installed this tarp over the portable garage I use for construction storage. I thought it was a good preventative measure, since the tarp was beginning to tear at both ends of the seam that runs along the top ridge. Good thinking because...

When I went inside the portable garage today, I discovered that the entire top seam has let go. Yikes! Major repair job required.

Not a fun start to the building season. Lots of problems to solve.


We have had a lot of flood tides this spring. Fast moving, very full river.

I've been keeping an eye on the eagle nest up in the top of these trees. Haven't caught anyone moving in yet.

George is enjoying his spring.

See the theme? George is only looking up in some of the shots because I woke him up while taking the photos. In other words, pretty much all he is doing is sleeping and baking in the sun--in one spot or another.

Changin' My Mind (another in the "You Know You're Taking Too Long" series)

You know you're taking too long to build your house... when the multiple years slipping by give you endless opportunities to re-think and alter plans.

Thankfully, even all these years later, I am still very happy with the floor plan I designed for the JayBee. When I designed the house, there were very few tiny-house designs to find. Now... just about every design possible has been done. I think my design holds up. It still feels like the most functional design for me. (Wouldn't it be horrible if I was trying to finish a house I now thought was fatally flawed?!)

This winter, though, I surprised myself by doing a complete about face with my energy plan for the JayBee. Many years ago, I wrote this post about my plan to use propane appliances for cooking, heat, and hot water--primarily because those things would still function just fine when the electric power went out, which it does with some regularity where I live. Last summer, I decided I needed to let go of my plan to bring my beloved range/heater into the JayBee. At 40,000 BTUs, it would have heat-blasted me right out of the house. (The skepticism of several propane installers sunk in at last, I guess.) I still was thinking, though, that I would use a propane range (just smaller) and a propane water heater. I planned to add a propane wall heater with a nice little fireplace-like window.

A few weekends ago, I changed my mind. After years of staying on the same steady track, everything just shifted. I decided I will not use any propane appliances in the JayBee. These things all finally coalesced in my mind:

• I didn't want propane appliances that use electronic ignition since that would render most of them useless when the power went out. But why would I want open pilot lights in my tiny house compromising the air quality?
• Every winter, getting routine propane deliveries is a challenge. While I generally don't have a problem getting my car up and down my icy driveway, the propane delivery trucks have a huge problem with all that ice. Did I really want to spend my future winters worrying about the timing of propane deliveries?
• Even though I have pre-purchased all kinds of fixtures and appliances for the JayBee and have been building with them in mind, I have not been able to commit to any of the propane appliances I have researched endlessly. Hmm... maybe there are good reasons for all that hesitance?
• The only propane wall heater I like is one that does not have a thermostat so really shouldn't be left running if I'm not home. Not reliable heat for the winter.
• The one system I have never started in the JayBee is the propane system. No pipes yet installed. No holes drilled. Why not simplify and save all those additional punctures to the building's envelope?
• The salesperson for the electric-radiant heat system I'm planning for under the floors of the JayBee pointed out that their system uses so little energy, it works well with solar panels.
• I had always planned to add solar panels at a future date. Maybe the future is here?

New plan: Everything in the JayBee that requires energy will be electric. Electric-radiant heat under the floors, supplemented with one or two electric wall heaters. Electric induction cooktop (cooks faster than anything else, and won't add heat to the space). Electric convection oven. Electric on-demand water heater. Simple. No fossil fuels. No open pilot lights.

I don't know that I can afford the solar panels this year, but the plan is to install ground-mounted panels on the south-facing hillside behind the JayBee. When I was at the Maine Flower Show a few days ago, I talked with a solar installer who told me that their grid-connected systems are usually installed with a battery backup system that automatically kicks on when the grid-supplied electric power goes out. Perfect.

Small Winter Projects

Even though I didn't work out in the JayBee during the worst of the cold and ice this winter, I tried to keep the project moving forward by thinking through plans (like totally changing my mind about energy and appliances--for a future post), designing some storage cupboards, sewing curtains, and creating a few small things. The project below turned my old house into a wood shop. Sawdust everywhere--what a mess! Can you guess what it is? The answer is at the bottom of this post.

I also made a number of functional, decorative boxes...

and put them to use in drawers that will be used in the JayBee. Everything in its place!

I also made some extra boxes that I haven't put to use yet.

And that wooden rack? It sits on top of my pot rack (that will be installed in the JayBee) so I can store stock pots on top.

Beginnings of Spring

One recent day, while pursuing a shot of the horse and sulky training on my road, I turned around and caught this view of the JayBee. So cute!

It's been a number of years since there's been someone training for harness racing on my road. 

They turn around at the foot of my driveway on each loop.

Crazy cardinal is still doin' his thing.

 

I imagine the eagles will be building nests soon.

For the record: Three sightings of foxes and one barred owl in my yard--though not caught on camera. First owl I've ever seen in my yard! Apparently barred owls are flourishing in Maine this year. (See story.)

Incredible early moon rise--before the ice went out.

Looks like an ordinary empty box, right?

Surprise! Even elderly cats love boxes.

Due to worries about potential flooding, the Coast Guard broke up the river ice before last Friday's heavy rain. Open moving water!