The thinking tent, cooking with fire, and a solstice party

I can't believe it's been six weeks since our last update. And phew! We have been busy! We're so grateful to those who have come out to lend a hand or offered advice and encouragement from afar! 

Trail work

The trail down to the creek (now officially dubbed Pondering Trail by AJ's mom) is continuing to take shape. We've put in quite a few more stone stairs, which is heavy but satisfying work. Most of our trail drainage has worked as intended as the fall rains appear. But, unfortunately, one of our stairs got taken out last week in a huge thunderstorm. But hey, the bright side: we now know with certainty where all the run-off streams are and can plan for better water management so our trail lasts through many storms to come. 

The thinking tent

Our first major project is 95% complete! AJ gets tons of partner points for not killing me for designing an octagon structure with chevron decking. I think it looks gorgeous, but I have to admit that those angles were a lot!

My favorite bit? Our little hammock dock that lets you slip right out of the tent and over to a hammock with a view of the creek. That's luxury in the woods!

Many, many thanks to the friends and family who carried lumber down the trail, put boards on, and generally helped us figure out what in the world we were doing! The inside of the tent isn't quite ready to share photos, but we're almost there! More on that in the next update.

A spot for reflection

Most of you know I can't resist rescuing a piece of furniture, so I just couldn't let this old pew escape when it popped up on Marketplace! I refinished it, and it's now perched on the little bench above our "swimming hole" where we can sit and watch the fish and froggies. And yes, it was heavy, and yes, we carried it all the way down the trail! We are getting farm strong! 

Glowing mushrooms

AJ was beside himself when he realized that, in addition to the delicious chanterelle mushrooms all over our land, we also have bioluminescing Jack O' Lantern mushrooms! You can see them glow with your bare eyes, but he also spent hours out in the woods capturing this beautiful long-exposure photo. There is no end to the surprises in these woods.

Next up — the quincho

We fell in love with the concept of the quincho in Chile. It's really just a big outdoor kitchen with lots of ways to cook on fire — primarily a big grill! But we want ours to also have a pizza oven, smoker, gas burner for a big wok, and of course a huge fire pit for open fire cooking. We've been gathering bits and pieces of salvaged and generously gifted materials, including some incredible stainless steel cabinets, lots of cast iron, enough gorgeous tile for the countertops, reclaimed lumber for cabinets, metal roofing, and a giant paella pan! We're hoping to have at least a skeleton of the structure up by mid December, which leads me to ....

Winter solstice party on December 20!

We are so excited to open our little paradise to a few brave early visitors, so we're having a winter solstice party! 

The situation here will still be VERY rustic in December, but we've got the thinking tent (which will have its own little heater by then), a few indoor beds (generously donated by my parents who will be out of town and/or available at the cute local inn for pretty reasonable rates), lots of space for individual tents in the woods or meadow (and some gear we can loan if you don't have your own), and a promise of lots of great fire-cooked food, nature, music, cocktails, and lively conversation. And, if you want to hang around for a few extra days before or after and pitch in with whatever projects we have cooking, we always welcome extra hands and perspectives — and pay in beer and food!

December 20 will be the party (we'll welcome in the solstice at midnight). That time of year can be fickle weather wise, but we've got enough shelters that we can all make a cozy party inside if super cold or wet weather hits. If you're interested in joining the fun, let me know and we can work out the details! 

That's it for now. Thanks for continuing to follow along and for being so generous with your support, advice, physical labor, and encouragement.