How I Spend My Weekends
I just got back from my place in the sticks. I own 20 acres of woodland on a ridge in the Ozarks near Clearwater Lake and the Current River (which is part of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways.) I bought this land about 5 years ago from a local who had bought it from a timber company (logging is the principle industry in those parts)and this property was cheap and had easy access to State Highway 34. There were some overgrown logging trails which were easy to clear, so I have decent access, plus the ground is so rocky that no amount of rain will flood the road. (Unfortunately, those rocks make it a bear to dig any kind of hole.)
In my exalted position as property manager, I travel all over the St. Louis area, and have access to all sorts of boards and plywood, so I built myself a little one room cabin with plywood walls covered in tarpaper. I built window frames from some old windows I found in an alley, and I have a decent door with peeling lead-based paint. They say that causes brain damage,they say that causes brain damage, they say that causes brain damage, but I don`t believe it! I have a deck made from old pallets in front of the cabin, a Weber grill which someone left at an apartment serves as my kitchen facility, kerosene lanterns are my (poor) lightsource, and I have to bring all of my water. (I have creeks which run in wet weather on both the east and west sides of my land, so I could probably drill a well eventually.) My bathroom consists of cinder-blocks on which I place a toilet seat. I haven`t even bothered to enclose the ``privy``; you can walk around buck-naked there and nobody will ever see (although you may get bug bites in anatomically uncomfortable places).
I have yet to finish the cabin; right now I still have to insulate the interior and finish installing interior walls (I build the walls by nailing up strips of carpet and stuffing newspapers in the airspace.) I built a fireplace out of cinder-blocks and sealed it with an adobe mixture. Unfortunately, my seal was imperfect, and the fireplace smokes something awful. I`ll have to do something about that before next winter or I`ll end up with emphysema! Still, the fireplace heats wonderfully (I was there in 10 degree weather and was able to lounge about in my underwear!) I also still have to put a roof on the structure; right now I have several old tarps draped over the rafters. I want to put a steel roof up, but have no way to transport it and haven`t had any great need (since the tarps work well) so I suppose it will be a while before I have everything complete.
Someday I would like to hook the old place up for electricity, but not right now; my property taxes amount to $7 per year! Any improvements will cost me money, so I can do without power. In fact, there is something quaint about the simple life-for a day or so! I wouldn`t want to live like that permanently! I especially wish I had a/c (or at least a fan) and a shower-although I could perhaps rig something up for showering. Still, there is nothing like being in the woods at night with the coyotes howling and the stillness of the dark! You feel like you`re a million miles away from your problems!
I can understand why the old fur-trappers and gold prospectors liked their life-styles. They had a sense of freedom which we civilized folk just don`t get to experience! Of course, everything has it`s price, and the mountain men had to pay with shorter lives, untreated health issues (Imagine yanking your own bad tooth!) the stresses and problems of having to provide everything for yourself. It was an uncomfortable and lonely life, but some men would live no other way.
I like to go down (it`s about a three hour drive), barbecue a thick, juicy ribeye, wash it down with some homemade Norton wine (I grow the grapes in my backyard at home; those of you in the D.C. area should head down to a winery in Virginia and try this variety-you can only find it in Virginia, Missouri, and Arkansas and it makes a very good red wine, although a bit overpowering) then settle in for the night with a book while listening to the wind whistle through the trees and the coyotes howl. All of the tensions and worries of the week wash right out of you! Of course, you have to do without television, but a battery operated radio will pick up 5 or 6 stations, covering all of the major musical groups; country, bluegrass, and western! I do manage to pick up one station which plays disco on Saturday nights, so I can strut my funky stuff to the groovy sounds of the BeeGees and Donna Summers. Disco in the wilderness! If I can just figure out how to mount that disco ball on my tarp roof...
At any rate, it`s always good to go, but I`m always glad to get home to clean clothes, showers, and air-conditioning. I have the best of both worlds!
In my exalted position as property manager, I travel all over the St. Louis area, and have access to all sorts of boards and plywood, so I built myself a little one room cabin with plywood walls covered in tarpaper. I built window frames from some old windows I found in an alley, and I have a decent door with peeling lead-based paint. They say that causes brain damage,they say that causes brain damage, they say that causes brain damage, but I don`t believe it! I have a deck made from old pallets in front of the cabin, a Weber grill which someone left at an apartment serves as my kitchen facility, kerosene lanterns are my (poor) lightsource, and I have to bring all of my water. (I have creeks which run in wet weather on both the east and west sides of my land, so I could probably drill a well eventually.) My bathroom consists of cinder-blocks on which I place a toilet seat. I haven`t even bothered to enclose the ``privy``; you can walk around buck-naked there and nobody will ever see (although you may get bug bites in anatomically uncomfortable places).
I have yet to finish the cabin; right now I still have to insulate the interior and finish installing interior walls (I build the walls by nailing up strips of carpet and stuffing newspapers in the airspace.) I built a fireplace out of cinder-blocks and sealed it with an adobe mixture. Unfortunately, my seal was imperfect, and the fireplace smokes something awful. I`ll have to do something about that before next winter or I`ll end up with emphysema! Still, the fireplace heats wonderfully (I was there in 10 degree weather and was able to lounge about in my underwear!) I also still have to put a roof on the structure; right now I have several old tarps draped over the rafters. I want to put a steel roof up, but have no way to transport it and haven`t had any great need (since the tarps work well) so I suppose it will be a while before I have everything complete.
Someday I would like to hook the old place up for electricity, but not right now; my property taxes amount to $7 per year! Any improvements will cost me money, so I can do without power. In fact, there is something quaint about the simple life-for a day or so! I wouldn`t want to live like that permanently! I especially wish I had a/c (or at least a fan) and a shower-although I could perhaps rig something up for showering. Still, there is nothing like being in the woods at night with the coyotes howling and the stillness of the dark! You feel like you`re a million miles away from your problems!
I can understand why the old fur-trappers and gold prospectors liked their life-styles. They had a sense of freedom which we civilized folk just don`t get to experience! Of course, everything has it`s price, and the mountain men had to pay with shorter lives, untreated health issues (Imagine yanking your own bad tooth!) the stresses and problems of having to provide everything for yourself. It was an uncomfortable and lonely life, but some men would live no other way.
I like to go down (it`s about a three hour drive), barbecue a thick, juicy ribeye, wash it down with some homemade Norton wine (I grow the grapes in my backyard at home; those of you in the D.C. area should head down to a winery in Virginia and try this variety-you can only find it in Virginia, Missouri, and Arkansas and it makes a very good red wine, although a bit overpowering) then settle in for the night with a book while listening to the wind whistle through the trees and the coyotes howl. All of the tensions and worries of the week wash right out of you! Of course, you have to do without television, but a battery operated radio will pick up 5 or 6 stations, covering all of the major musical groups; country, bluegrass, and western! I do manage to pick up one station which plays disco on Saturday nights, so I can strut my funky stuff to the groovy sounds of the BeeGees and Donna Summers. Disco in the wilderness! If I can just figure out how to mount that disco ball on my tarp roof...
At any rate, it`s always good to go, but I`m always glad to get home to clean clothes, showers, and air-conditioning. I have the best of both worlds!
posted by Timothy Birdnow | 7:30 AM
1 Comments:
Very interesting. I have sad news.
Keep Caroll, from American Housewife in your prayers. Her husband just passed away. Come over to my site to see how you can help her out.
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