Shedding It - In a Different Sense

When I started this blog, I was thinking about shedding in the sense of unloading - cleaning out my house, my mental blocks, and my habits. Lately, things have been going in a different direction. I mentioned to my friend Melanie that I have a waterfront property in western Quebec that I have never developed. A few weeks ago we went up and spent an busy afternoon cutting trees and bush, and exploring a route down to the water. Melanie is convincing me that with a plan and some gradual updates each time I go up, I can eventually have my cottage getaway. In the meantime, it will be a great place for a small group of friends to camp and do experiments. This weekend we went up again, accompanied by our fiend Mila. We found a better route to the water, cut more brush, and Mila cut the locks off my old trailer so I could open it and assess the damage from sitting in the open for nearly a decade. It was still dry inside but had mouse damage, so she recommends gutting it and putting in a cot if I don’t want to use a tent. It will make a good temporary storage area too. The site is now in good enough shape that we could camp overnight, though there will likely be a day of chainsaw activity first (or maybe at the same time). The next step will be to build a thunderbox and clear out some abandoned junk, both of which will be easier once some fallen trees are cleared off the roadway. Camp cooking experiments could happen before it gets too cold this year – I’m excited! A proper outhouse and a shed will likely wait until next spring, but we are on our way.