Permanent rain water collection!

Sourcing water is a high priority as we need it for washing and concrete mixing in the future. Since we have a permanent shed now we can collect rain water off of it.

We are still getting our drinking water from our neighbour though!

Back on the land - Solar Array !

Well we are back on the land and this is how it looks!

Our first project was adding a second compost pile. Our compost outhouse survived winter - WOO HOO!

Adam lend us his solar panels so we built a solar array! Woo-hoo more power than we know what to do with. Thanks Adam and the SUN!

Recycled Snow Shed

Up here at Lake St. Peter, the locals tell us snow loads can be quite troublesome for trailers. You could get more than 7 feet of snow. We were concerned for our trailer so we decided to build a snow shed. Well given that we just cleared/leveled the land and snow maybe upon us soon, this will probably be our last endeavor on the land - sigh - the build hasn't even started and we will have to head back to Toronto to make more money for next Spring.

Anyways we decided to build a pole barn with a truss roof, because we had some nice tree poles from clearing our build site and we had some used 2x6x8 lumber donated to us from a friend.

At a party we mentioned to some friends about our pole barn and they offered up some of their used galvanized roofing! Woo-hoo recycled shed!

 Dash in a precarious position! Yikes!

This was a scary moment. To see that two can of those trusses we built on the ground could actually stand close to square and straight was a relieve! Phew!

 I had to show proof that I was actually helping on the ground! :) !

Thanks Greg! This was a three man job and we were glad we had a burly great (in more ways than one) Dane with us!

Half the roof up! Woo-hoo!

Finito!

We did end up buying the hardware (screws and nails), plywood joins for the trusses, and the strapping wood that the roof is nailed to. Total cost for shed was about $300 - thanks to all our friends who shared their leftover used materials and labour!

Brush Pile Bonfiles!

After clearing the land we had lots of brush piles everywhere.... soooo on the suggestion of a Greg - we burned it all!

To make sure we were clear of trees we burned it on our newly leveled build site. The second photo is what happens when you throw in a small spruce tree.

We Have an Address!!!

A truly momentous occasion

Let The Tire Hunt Begin

Ontario has been recycling tires since 2009 under the Ontario Tire Stewardship program. While it is great that we no longer have piles of unwanted scrap tires lying around, collecting them for your own personal use has become difficult. Nonetheless, local garages are very helpful in letting you take whatever they have onsite. Be prepared to take them on the spot or lose them to the tire collectors!

Only 300 more to go!

Final Clearing of Build Site

Last tree cut down

Bring on the big machine for tree stump clearing and rough leveling

Site is now ready for final leveling and tires!