Our growing forest

We love to see our forest grow with the addition of new trees every week.

Here is the link so you can all view. http://createyourforest.ca/visit/turn-a-new-leaf

We started this forest project after seeing so much of the forest around us being cut down.   We once enjoyed our hikes through these lush forests with our children, the beauty of the moss, lady slippers, nests and so much more to explore. Much of this is now gone., but we can do our part and give back and so can you. The trees that are being planted in this new forest will never be cut down and will contribute to a renewed Boreal Forest environment.

A big thank you for all the contributions so far.

Another reason for this initiative is to help offset the shipping aspect of our products which has always been of concern to us. It was so disheartening to send out single item parcels on a daily basis knowing full well that the same customer would be ordering more single items from me later on or from other sources elsewhere in North America. Think about the impact this shipping creates overall. When I send out one item through the mail, I am using envelopes, cello packages, tape, shipping receipts and lets not forget the gas required for this one item in it’s delivery. We feel this is far too much embodied energy required for just one item, what a waste!

Sales at Highland Wood and Turn A New Leaf Designs will contribute a tree to this forest.

To make a positive change that will directly impact our concerns with shipping I am in the process of phasing out single item shipments. The Turn A New Leaf Designs shop will now have listings of larger quantity diapering items and accessories. This does not include the already large items like bedding. To further contribute and enhance our natural environment and as an incentive for our clients we instituted this “Plant a Tree” concept.

We are making this change within our business to better ourselves, our lifestyle, you as our customer and most importantly the world we all share.

Ode to my Father

As a craftsman I place a significant amount of value upon the various tools required to create things or provide services. Many tools are a basic necessity for my work, among them only a select few have intrinsic values bestowed upon them. Today two very special tools arrived in a wonderful Easter parcel sent by my mother. One is a small hand broad axe and the other a Latthammer. A Latthammer is the tradition style of hammer used in Germany by Carpenters, Joiners and Roofers. It has a square striking face while the other end sports a pointed spike. The spiked end is intended for various purposes such as maneuvering hard to grasp lumber and timbers, or as a steadying and climbing assistant around the building site.

This hammer and axe came into my possession on a rather sad note. My father passed very suddenly and unexpected in late January of this year.  I feel fortunate that I was able to be at his side before he passed, and to be there to console my mother and siblings. While helping my mother to adjust and settle back into her new environment I discovered the axe and hammer carefully stowed in their respective places on the wall of my fathers work area. It is said that a smell or taste can evoke memories from ones childhood. Seeing the hammer hanging on the wall immediately brought to mind my fathers words and the image of his powerful hands deftly making the hammer sing as it drove nails into place.

Of these two items the hammer is most significant, my father brought this with him when he and my mother immigrated to Canada from Germany in 1961. It was the hammer used in building their house in the 70′s, a tool my father cherished and used with delight. He admired it’s quality and would proudly display the polished unmarred striking face which had driven countless thousands of nails through 5 decades of rigorous use.  Seeing the hammer hang there I immediately envisioned a new purpose for it. Rather than become a dusty relic among the many other forlorn tools on my fathers wall it will be the hammer used in building our house this year. A fitting legacy bestowed upon a simple tool.

The axe brings to mind a different perspective of the tools on our family farm throughout my childhood. It is one of the countless tools acquired from the many small farm auctions that occurred throughout the 60′s and 70′s.  A sad reminder to the demise of so many family farms at that time, the loss of a unique and sustainable lifestyle and the institution of mega-farms, quota’s and government intervention. This like so many other tools became an item used on a daily basis to accomplish specific tasks prevalent on a busy small farm.  In some respects these tools were used somewhat inappropriately for their designed purposes however they did accomplish many task. This axe was designed to be used as a tool for finishing hewn timbers or other refined chopping tasks mainly involved in log and timber construction. On our farm it ended up being used as an all round chopping tool including making kindling, chopping wood, de-limbing trees and of late to help peel poles for my mothers trellises. The tools on our farm where always respected and well cared for, something that our father instilled upon us.    I quickly rummaged through the old shed and found some appropriate tools for my mother to use as a replacement to this axe. This wonderful tool will become my right hand when I refine the timbers and logs for our house this summer.

I miss my father greatly, his appreciation of life, hard labors and deep love for his family are profoundly rooted within me. These tools are an Ode to his hard labors as he forged out an existence for his family amid the wilderness of central Alberta.

In loving memory of my Father ….   Heinrich Krieger  ….  1933 – 2013

Thoughts “Turning to Stone”

The sap has started running in the Maples and the other hardwoods. Buds on most trees are starting to swell, showing promising signs that Spring is approaching.

At the building site bare patches of soil are starting to peek through however most of the site is still under two to three feet of hard crusty snow. The two piles of  crushed stone and gravel have consolidated with a large snowdrift over the Winter and are just vaguely perceptible. Even with the grips of Winter still evident my thoughts and efforts have turned to “Stone”.  As soon as the snow disappears I will begin the next phase of construction, the stonework for the house. The lower half of the house will be built with stones taken directly from the site. There will not be enough rock on site to complete the project so the remainder will be trucked in from a local quarry.

Stone is a prominent feature in many old barns and homes here and was used extensively for foundations and basement walls. In later years when concrete became readily available it fell to the wayside as a primary building material.  In some cases only loose stones were piled up and interlocked, called the Dry Stone method, and in other instances a lime mortar was used to create very stable walls, many surviving 100 plus years of sustained use and still holding strong.

 

 

Today …..up here on MacMillan Mountain

Making fresh Soy Milk for Silas is a daily activity, it’s much easier and cheaper than owning a cow and he loves drinking this.

Two bottles finished and more beans soaking for tomorrows batch. This soy milk is so much better than even the organic store bought stuff which has a ton of unhealthy additives.

Snow, snow and more snow,  maybe later some rain if the weatherman is accurate. It’s pretty stuff but makes our move a bit more challenging.

Add a bit of wind to the snow and you get a supreme frosted look to your house.

Peeking through the trees along our driveway. I’ll miss the daily strolls through snow filled meadows and forest up here once we’ve move down to Middle River.

 

 

So this is “Forest Stewardship”?

Once again the Once-ler has been up here on the Mountain wreaking havoc amongst the trees. The destruction has been somewhat more devastating and thorough this time, totally displacing and destroying a small Watershed and altering several other natural drainage’s.  Adding insult to injury MacMillan Mountain Road has also sustained a major pummeling with the heavy equipment and trucks. It’s quite the obstacle course trying to avoid both potholes and large debris everywhere on the road. It definitely demonstrates that our public roads are a” Free for All” for these contractors with their “Hit and Run” method of forestry. The reprehensible fact is that the wood from this – and other clear-cuts of this nature- is destined for processing facilities that have FSC Certification.

The picture above demonstrates the complete disruption and upheaval that is created by the heavy equipment tearing through the forest.  It will take many years before this tract of land is able to begin regenerating and once again sustain anything resembling a viable forest environment. The 4 foot wide ruts left by the tree skidder/forwarder have created deep murky, festering pools – up to four feet deep – in place of the natural seeps and runoffs that once contributed to the lower Rice Brook watershed. The debris on this lot is piled three, four and five feet deep in many places. How many years will this require to regenerate?  This demonstrates one of the reasons why I am not a proponent for FSC certification and believe it to be a misleading farce at “Green-Washing” the public.

Santa is sure to find some good branches to put in this contractors stocking from this lot, along with the coal I hope he will get.

For a more thorough view of this woodlot you can preview a slideshow at this link    http://www.flickr.com/photos/28959174@N06/sets/72157632211216898/show/

 

12 km before noon

Today home schooling for Hanna and Liam was a 12km hike up the abandoned Rear Hunters Mountain Road to explore a beaver dam I had discovered there about a year ago.

With Silas strapped to my back we headed out on our early morning hike. Having all the kids out of the house gave Tracey some much needed quiet time to focus on completing several urgent orders. The fog cleared and for the first time in about a week the sun came out. The beaver pond is about 5kms up Hunters Mountain through  dense Maple and Balsam forest. Both the trail and forest floor are covered in thick moss, strewn with colorful fall leaves.

Hanna and Liam were extremely excited to visit the beaver pond with hopes of possibly seeing an actual beaver. We carefully crossed the dam to get a close look at the lodge were the beavers live.

There were tracks and signs of recent  activity everywhere when we got close to the lodge.  We didn’t see a beaver but noticed several spots in the water where a curious head popped up and some bubble trails along the surface.

After our exploration at the  pond it was time to start heading back down. We decided to take an alternate route back, taking us along the highway.  As we walked I mentioned to the kids that I knew about an old house in the woods not too far off the road. When we got near to where the building was we scooted into the woods.  This place would have made a great haunted house for Halloween.

Hanna and Liam loved exploring this old building and wanted to find out more about who had lived here. It will be fun to incorporate this into their lessons as they learn more about the local history.

At some point someone seems to have made an attempt to remove the old tub but given up, probably because of its weight. This structure is in remarkable shape for its age, a testament to the effort that went into placing it on a solid foundation.

As we started back on out trek down we passed through the remains of an old apple orchard that had once graced the grounds surrounding the old house. Tall old apple trees gnarled with overgrowth from lack of care and pruning. They were so big that there was very little undergrowth and walking among them was quite easy and enjoyable. Who had lived here and why had this place been abandoned? I can’t wait to research this with the kids.

Once we turned the corner and started walking up Macmillan Mountain Road we knew we were home ….. well almost …. only 2 more kilometer’s, but we’ve walked this so many times that its just a short stroll. We were fortunate enough to see a Spruce Grouse as we walked up the drive. It was well camouflaged among the rocks and hastily flew off as we approached.

It was truly a wonderful morning for both students and their teacher. Silas got in a great nap and Tracey had some quiet time to finish orders. The kids are already planning our next adventure.

Taking it all in.

Time is flying us by. So very much to do, get done and think about.

I decided to walk papa’s lunch down to our land and see how things are coming along. Each time I go, I still need to remind myself that this land is ours. After 11 years of wishing and dreaming, we own our part of heaven. 

My favorite part of the walk with our children is our driveway.

Papa had to clear this out first to get to the perfect spot to build our home.

This OLD road is still closed in as you pass the spot where we have cleared.

I see many adventures ahead with our children exploring these parts.

At the end, there is a stream where there once was a bridge.

Hanna and Liam love climbing the mounds of roots that had been torn out from the clearing.

I can’t wait to burn them but for now they serve as forts and secret hide outs.

My days are hard homeschooling 2 kids and chasing a crawling baby. Keeping our home organized, feeding everyone and still trying to run my studio.

Some days I want to pull my hair out and give up…. then I see papa.

The hardest working man I know.

I’m glad I stopped to take it all in.

Topping Out

The last of the heavy framing is done for the shed/workshop, with the ridge and rafters firmly in place. I’ve made it a tradition throughout my career to fasten an evergreen bough to the ridge of my buildings once the rafters are all in place. “Topping Out” is a signal that the uppermost members of the structure are in place, all heavy framing is complete and most important the bough is a token of appreciation to the forest which provided the materials that went into creating the frame.

It has been the wettest September on record, greatly hampering the progress with construction. With fair weather yesterday and today I made quick work of placing the ridge beam and rafters. I pre-cut all the blocking that fastens the rafters to the ridge and top plate.  Several hundred trips up and down the ladder and the rafters are up.

I’ve never been an advocate for “toe-nailing” any framing members when building a house. Toe-nailing is minimal at best, yet it is extensively used in modern construction. I always devise a method to properly nail any framing member in place, thus the blocking for the rafters.

This not only holds the pieces in place it also straightens out any twist it may have. With precisely cut blocks layout is extremely easy and once I fastened the final rafter in place I had less than a 1/16″ deviation in my final measurement. I know it’s not a cabinet I’m building but I aim to be within a sixteenth of an inch with all my rough construction.

It would have been nice to sheet the building in before roof assembly, however with pending rain I really want to get the roof in place. The rafters were notched so the sheeting will still slide into place properly sealing the walls top plates.

Walls

A large square looking box is emerging in the woods. The walls are up and ready to be sheeted in. With the walls in place it is beginning to feel more like a building than just a dance floor.Rather than use 2 x 4 blocking diagonally between the studs, I “let in” 1×4′s at the corners for braces. This method is quick and extremely stable. It also reduces the amount of thermal bridging in the walls if I ever want to insulate them.

It looks like we may be getting a bit of rainy weather over the next few days so the pace may slow down a bit here at the building site. Good time to catch up with all the furniture orders.

Rainy Day Projects

We’ve had our first late summer storm systems rumble through, dumping lots of much needed rain. There’s been flooding in low lying areas of Nova Scotia but up here in the Highlands the water drains off quickly. With all this rain, work down at the building site came to an abrupt standstill. I placed a large tarp over the floor to shed most of the torrential downpour.

The rain provided some time to catch up with several of the furniture orders needing completion and also gave me some time to prepare the windows that will go into the shop. The windows are salvaged wood framed sealed units I saved from a job I did earlier this summer. With a couple of minor alterations and a coat of fresh oil these windows are perfect for the shop.

First I cut the beveled edge off of each unit, then the grooves off the ends. This provides a nice square simple window which will be easy to install and frame in.

The next step was to plane and sand all the cut surfaces. Then the whole frame received a thorough scraping and sanding. A fresh penetrating coat of linseed oil/turpentine was applied and the windows are ready to install into their new home.

Typically with most windows I salvage I remove the sealed unit and replace the old wood frame with a new one, however the wood in these is still solid and sound. They have a pleasing patina and will weather well. Only a small portion of the frame will be exposed once they are installed. They will also be well protected from the weather by a deep roof overhang.