Rowan's Tiny Home

Spring is here and I have been celebrating by not being on the computer, so apologies for the lack of updates. While there is still much to do on the house, I have been enjoying the other aspects of life- the reasons why building the house was so appealing in the first place. Spring began with my trying my hand at sugaring. Tree identification during winter turned out to be not as easy as I originally thought, and accidentally tapped some ash (although no sap, so the harvest was safe- and yes, please enjoy the pun). I did ultimately find 3 new trees, and I think a few more for next year. I went low tech with a fire pit out back this year, although I think I'll try making a barrel stove for next year since my teaching schedule conflicted some with the needs of the sap boiling process. Still, was able to produce almost a gallon of syrup this year, and had a reason to enjoy the brisk beginnings of spring outdoors. The harvest after one was already given away. The ga...

This winter has certainly been the one to put the house through its cold weather tests. I am very happy to report that it has passed with flying colors, and has proven to be more comfortable than some of the apartments I have lived in. I wouldn't even consider the house as fully winterized as of yet (skirting was not completed, some of the older windows still need storm window), but if it could make it through these past few months without a hitch, than I am certainly not worried about future winters.  The cold, unfortunately, was the least of my worries this winter. On New Years Eve I found out that my cat, Willow, had Injection Site Sarcoma, an aggressive tumor cause by one of her previous inoculations. Lesson learned... cats should get injections only in their hind leg, where the surgery is more apt to get all of the tumor, or in the tail, which won't be missed if needed to be removed. The only option was radical surgery which required amputation of her front left leg. ...