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Eliguk Journal – May 5, 2024
Tied off for safety The transformation a new metal roof brings to a quaint little log cabin is remarkable! It enhances the cabin's aesthetics with its black tuxedo-like sophistication and adds to its durability and longevity. With its modern and sleek appearance, the gleaming metal roof creates a striking contrast against the rustic and earthy tones of the wood, making the cabin stand out in its natural surroundings. The new roof also provides security and protection, shielding the cabin from harsh weather conditions and ensuring it remains a cozy and comfortable abode for years to come. The addition of a sound-deadening, leakproof barrier was welcomed, and now, when it rains…
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Eliguk Journal – April 22, 2024.
Very unique cloud pattern highlighted by the moon. Spring is in the air, although it's been a fairly cool transition over the month of April, you'd never know it; with the arrival of all the song birds. Well, all but one of the perching chorus has yet to arrive, and I'm grateful for that - for when the barn swallows do show up, so to do the mosquitos! Come and Cut Again Lettuce. Tomatoes begging for a bed My soil additions must be spot on this year, as the growth rate on the tomatoes is almost an inch a day. I don't think they have ever out-grown their small pots…
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Eliguk Journal – April 6, 2024.
A Rainy Day... The transition to Spring, when the warmth of the sun melts the snow covering the land, and the robins hop around tugging at worms from a barely thawed landscape. A day of cloud, wind, and rain closes in all around Eliguk, immobilizing that husband of mine - you'd think the world had come to a stand still! These are the days I have to drop everything and play counsellor, chef extraordinaire, inventor of new exciting games, and line-up a really good movie he's never seen. A time when I'd love to just sit and write in a quiet corner of the log cabin, while the soothing raindrops…
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Eliguk Journal – March 27, 2024.
Too tired to work anymore... I'm not quite sure where March went, but I do know I'm over fire mitigation! This type of bush work day-in, day-out, is not something I'm built for; they call it Lumberjack for a reason, not Lumberjill! That mountain man of mine has not given up the fight just yet, as the Category 1 & 2 fire ban doesn't start until tomorrow at noon - in fact, he hasn't let up this year at all! The chainsaw runs for an hour cutting all the dead logs into 16' lengths where they're salvageable, then the rest gets cut into manageable lengths to pick up with the…
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Eliguk Journal – March 18, 2024.
The start to a slushy lake Lake travel will soon be over... The lake is melting quickly along our shoreline, making my watering hole hard to get to now. St. Patrick's Day, slipped by without so much as acknowledging it - that's the first time in our lives together that it's ever passed us by, and we hadn't a clue! I can't let that happen for the middle of this week, because someone is another year older on Wednesday, and he's ordered a big Greek feast for two. Mountain Man spent the two of the most beautiful days driving the snow machine back and forth across the lake, to…
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Eliguk Journal – March 6, 2024.
Lake walks with dogs... Maybe interviews aren't my thing? I was asked to participate in a scientific study from a Sociologist who is doing a paper on lifestyles based on geographical location. The course study is 'Modern Hermits'. The results will be published by a University as a study on why humans purposely choose solitude and seclusion, with the undertone of loneliness perceived as a social problem. My two and a half hour session with this young female student from France, went into the depths of many aspects of my life. "Was it hard to break free from societal norms and become a hermit?" Came the first question. "Let me…
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Eliguk Journal – February 20, 2024
Mid-February cold snap ~ A window I could stare out of for a long while! New Ice Chisel The only 'sad' thing about this view is the short time it lasts, as the wood stove you stoke upon awakening, leaves little time to enjoy the frosty view before it melts away! I've used a sad iron now for eight years, here at Eliguk. They were known as sad irons, ‘sad’ being an old English word for ‘solid’, though the term ‘flat iron’ became more common later. Another Ice Chisel, hand made, cut and welded from one of the old broken leaf springs on the Jeep. The last one hubby made…
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Eliguk Journal – February 10, 2024.
We can finally walk on the lake! The rain compacted the snow and froze up the top layer of overflow! Letting the sun shine in! It's been a productive Winter, and amazingly enough...I'm not tired of it yet. Usually by February, I'm all for the snow disappearing, and getting into the greenhouse to ramp up growing season; that and enjoying that first hot shower since freeze up! Things are different this year, the weather is phenomenal, and I have a bathing hot tub that allows me to feel as-clean-as one can get without the luxuries of running water. I don't remember a day this Winter, where we didn't have a…
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Eliguk Journal – February 2, 2024.
Well that puts an end to the longest month of the year! I'm sure we all agree that January is that 'hump' month, and once you pass-over, it's all down hill until December. The warm temps that arrived in last week of January have stuck around. The snow has melted down around us, and while I didn't think the lake could get any worse for accessing to fetch water, it has! If you don't stay on the track that was made by snow machine a month ago, you fall through the top layer and end up with water to your knees. I know, because I did that last time I…
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Eliguk Journal – January 28, 2024.
A January Aerial Drone Photo The cold snap of January We made it through the first cold snap of the year, bottoming out at -45C! As cold as it may have been, the beauty of the frigid temperatures can be seen everywhere. Thick designs of intricate frost etchings, adorn the windows every morning. It's like having an interior designer working nightshift, while you sleep. Staring into the many magical scenes, sipping hot coffee, as the sun rises, reflecting through them. Cold as it may look, the cabin is warm and cozy - so toasty in fact, that I often open the door for a few minutes even at forty…