My off grid log cabin is quickly transforming into a comfortable home, easily keeping us warm on the coldest nights with minimal wood in the stove. I add more drawers to the kitchen and prepare the sink cabinet for cupboard doors using a variety of rough sawn lumber - oak, walnut, pine, maple, birch and ash. On the woodstove in a cast iron crock pot, I cook a tourtiere meat pie for dinner and leftovers for lunch the next day. With a cabin full of freeze dried and canned vegetables from my garden and freezer full of wild game, fish and grass finished beef, I have months of interesting and nutritious food to choose from.
With short days of February, long evenings are a good time to catch up on wood arrow making for my traditional archery equipment. A new hybrid longbow keeps me entertained as I slowly get ready for spring and fall seasons, allowing plenty of time to tune the bow and arrows and work on my shooting form. These are the first shots with this new bow and I'm really struggling with it. The handle is completely different than my other bows and I can't get the pressure into the right part of my hand, which is distracting and putting my entire body out of alignment. I'm working on it daily to form a better bond with the bow.
Breakfast is cooked daily in cast iron skillets on top of the wood stove, and typically consist of eggs from a distant neighbour along with home fermented kimchi, homemade cheese, side pork and assorted vegetables.
I am intending on making a new ladder to the loft but for now, I decide to extend the loft area to make it easier to get on and off the ladder safely. In preparation for framing in the bathroom on the main floor, I clad the ceiling (the loft floor) with pine to match the rest of the cabin.
Using organically raised beef from the freezer in the cellar, I make cheeseburgers and chili for dinners.
My wife D and daughter Emily are away for a few weeks so I take care of a three wheels of homemade cheese, using salt brine to wipe away any unwanted moulds before putting them back down in the cellar.
A important upcoming project is to install stairs to the basement. To prepare for that, I use bricks leftover from my sister's house renovation a few years ago to install a floor in the breezeway so that I know the finished floor height to connect the stairs to. I will cement it down and grout the joints in the spring when I can work with the door open and in warm enough weather to mix the cement outdoors.

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2022 OFF GRID CABIN LIFE:    • 2022 Off Grid Cabin Life  
OFF GRID LIVING:    • Log Cabin & Off Grid Living  
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BUILDING LOG CABIN WITH HAND TOOLS:    • Building a Log Cabin Alone in the Wil...  
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