Drought of Summer 2010

The water is flowing nicely at the new outdoor shower, but this summer has been bone dry. The nearby Little Cacapon River is completely dried up, and several trees and plants at the cabin have died. Below is a shot of me doing a rain dance in the dried riverbed. Please, please rain!

Click on any image for a better view . . .

Plan for a Pan

Now that the wood structure of the shower is built, the plumber will be connecting the water lines to the shower. Simple enough. But he'll also be installing a complicated drainage system.

When the contractor tried to obtain a permit to build the shower, they discovered that Hampshire County regulations prohibit the waste water from draining into the woods. The water must be collected and diverted into the cabin's septic tank. I was frustrated because none of my research into designing an outdoor shower mentioned this problem, let alone offered a solution. For weeks, it seemed like this project would not move forward.

Bill Sawicki offered a solution. His plan called for fabricating a metal pan which would sit underneath the shower's wood floor to collect the water. Then, a drain at the bottom of the pan would connect to a line into the septic tank. The shower's wood floor would need to be removable to access the drain and clean leaves from the pan. Thanks Bill!

Here's Bill's plan, plus an image of the removable floor to access the pan underneath.

Click on each image for a larger view.

Shower Structure Complete

The wood structure of the shower is now complete! I'm really happy with it, and it perfectly matches the design I created a couple months ago. Now, the interesting part begins: the plumbing still needs to be completed, including the fabrication of a metal pan which will collect the water and drain it into the septic tank.

Weekend with Friends

Designing an Outdoor Shower

Isn't it time the cabin had a water feature? I think one of the joys of life is showering outside, so let’s build an outdoor shower! Checkout these photos of my design showing a small, paper mock-up and where the shower will appear at the back corner of the cabin. The plan will provide screening from the front, but the back side will be open to the woods behind the cabin to provide a connection with nature. This month, I’ll have a local contractor build the shower. Stay tuned for more updates on this project!

Spring Arrives (finally!)

After a long, snowy winter, flowers are blooming again at the cabin.

Aliens Visit Cabin; UFO Lands on Front Lawn!

First Snow

This weekend was the first snow storm of the year. Just a few days ago, it was 65 degrees. And now, the cabin and the woods are covered in a blanket of heavy, wet snow. Enjoy the pics, and click on any image for a larger view!

Dramatic Fall Skies

All of these images are taken from the deck of the cabin

This is not a sunset, but a moonset!

It's the Harvest Moon setting at about 8:00am

Stunning sunset

This rainbow appeared before an approaching rain storm

Fall Begins

Fall color along Little Cacapon Mountain Road

Acorns I found along the nature trail

Fall color and fog seen from the deck early in the morning

Seeds on a dogwood tree

Late Summer Wildflowers

Ant Invasion

Around this time of the year, every year, the ants take over. These are Allegheny Mound Ants. Near the road, they build three-foot high mounds. In the woods, they find rotting wood and set-up shop. By the zillions. If you disturb their nest, they come out to defend it in a frenzy. They’ll crawl up your legs and start biting. (Check-out the video below!)

This is all very fascinating--until they find their way inside the cabin. By the zillions. Last weekend, they crawled all over the house and found little cracks to invade OUR nest. We vacuumed several times a day, sucking up hundreds of dead ants at a time. Help! How can we stop the ant invasion?