Jo got a buck!

Jo got a buck 15 minutes after sunrise on opening morning. Makes for a short season. Another perfect shot like last year. He may have some skills.

We Got Wood

Spent a couple days at the cabin this weekend. I cut up the remaining 5 or 6 peeled logs that were left over from the cabin and used them to build a wood shed. The rest got split and stacked. We will have plenty of campfire material for awhile. Have some hardwood I need to split for the wood stove. It will be nice for heating the cabin when/if we are there in the winter. This will probably be one of the last trips for us this year until hunting season. School starts in 2 weeks so not much summer is left.

Strange Clouds

We had one storm in the midst of 85 and sunny for the whole week we were at the cabin. The storm was on 4th of July night and produced the following clouds. Anyone know what they are? Very strange.

*Edit - Apparently these are Mammatus clouds:
Explanation: When do cloud bottoms appear like bubbles? Normal cloud bottoms are flat because moist warm air that rises and cools will condense into water droplets at a very specific temperature, which usually corresponds to a very specific height. After water droplets form that air becomes an opaque cloud. Under some conditions, however, cloud pockets can develop that contain large droplets of water or ice that fall into clear air as they evaporate. Such pockets may occur in turbulent air near a thunderstorm, being seen near the top of an anvil cloud, for example. Resulting mammatus clouds can appear especially dramatic if sunlit from the side.

Weme Picnic

Everyone was still around after the 4th and we decided to use the Weme picnic grounds. They stand on the site of the original general store. Larry and Norma worked hard on getting the structures built and we decided it was time they get used. Larry drove his whole crew up in his classic Chevy truck. Dave had caught a huge northern pike late in the afternoon and brought it up to show. Nice fish and it will be mounted. Jonah got to drive a RZR and the rest of the kids had fun too. We will definitely be going back for happy hour in the Weme picnic grounds!

Tile Work

The hearth still needed to be tiled and we found time for that in the past week. Had a collection of great tiki themed tiles that we wanted to incorporate but weren't sure how. We were going to mix them randomly among other 4 inch tiles of various colors but couldn't find the variety we wanted. We found some clearance 12 inch tile at Lowe's and decided that was the way to go. It came out pretty cool and Shelly found out she loves to tile. I found out it is tedious and I never want to do it again. I have a tough time seeing things in my head but Shelly assured me it would be good. She was right, this time :) (Actually most of the time). Also including a picture of the new vanity. The old plastic washtub went to the shower.

Yotiki Spa is Open for Business!

We were at the cabin for a week so we had plenty of time for projects. The Spa is officially open for business and is probably the best thing I've ever built. Almost nicer than the cabin. Pictures are below but may not explain what is going on. I put up gutters and will collect rainwater off the roof and run it into a rain barrel. There are filters in the gutters and in the rain diverter to filter out the pine needles, leaves, etc. Once in the barrel the water is filtered through a 6 micron filter attached to a float that will allow the input to pull from the middle of the water level. That is the cleanest water in the tank. When the barrel is full I will also add 2 cups of bleach to kill off any bacteria. A DC water pump pulls the water from the tank via power from a 12 volt marine battery. This battery is charged via a solar panel on the roof of the cabin. Flipping the power switch starts up the pump and sends water to a propane powered on-demand water heater. Hot water arrives 10 seconds after you hit the switch. The water pressure is even good. Couldn't find a decent system to buy and came up with this. VERY pleased with the results. It's feeling downright civilized these days!

*EDIT - Check out that picnic table. Thanks again Dad for your awesome work!

4th of July

Had a great 4th with all of the various family and WEME residents around. Participated in the Trail, MN parade again this year. Went all out with a float and came in #1 with the theme "Future Leaders of WEME". Shelly really outdid herself and was rewarded with the $25 first prize to help pay for supplies. There were only 6 entries but still pretty cool! We were able to have fireworks at the cabin since we had a short rain early in the evening. I was lighting and supervising Jonah (who is at the prime firework lighting age. No G.I. Joe's were left alive) so no pics of those but everyone said they enjoyed the show.

Shed and Shower Work

Brought in a load of gravel and leveled up the shed. Also sealed up the cabin so we don't have any 4 legged critters living under there. Put the shingles up on the shed as well so that project is off the list. Got done with the other stuff fast enough that I had time to start the shower project. It's framed up and the pavers are down. I'm not happy with how they are sitting right now so I will be pulling them out and leveling better. Over the 4th of July I will be putting up galvanized steel panels and finishing the actual shower setup. 58 gallon rain barrel will collect water from the roof. A DC pump that is solar powered will pump it to a propane on-demand water heater. I did a temporary setup to try it out and it seems to work pretty good. Looking forward to taking showers up there without taking the time to heat the water.

Year 3

Memorial day weekend and the kickoff of summer! We did have a good day on Sunday but Friday and Saturday were mostly rain. Didn't matter too much since I had to get a railing on the loft on Saturday so the kids could sleep up there. I think it came out pretty good. Was tough to figure out what to do with it but the final plan was a good one. Another project off the list. Now need to get a load of gravel to get the shed leveled out. Then need to shingle it. That will leave the final 2 projects of the summer: An outdoor shower and a wood shed. Should leave plenty of time for fun without as much work this year.

Winter cabin

Spent christmas day and night at the cabin. The wood stove ran us out before we learned to only burn one log at once. We got snow shoes for christmas and spent the day exploring the trails. Totally different place in the winter. Coyotes were going crazy during the night. Sounded like a person getting butchered in the woods.

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