Building a Firepit

Campsite

The big house up the hill is no longer ours for the using as of July 26, so we've set up camp on our property. Our good friend Sibylle came up to help. Our neighbor Ramona has very kindly let us use her barn to store furniture and boxes and stuff, but most of the garden tools and other garage/shed type things will be stored under this tent, which is also where we'll live when we're up there. It's a cozy tent and we have an air mattress for extra comfy sleeping. It's very romantic. We have a little stove, a BBQ, a solar sun shower, and even a bucket with a toilet seat that fits right on, complete with bio-degradable bags. I've started a little herb garden and plan on cooking up some gourmet-roughin'-it-style meals.

Background...

There has been a mass exodus from NYC of the Humbert-Droz-Colebrook-Lloyd family to Northhampton, MA where there is space and green mixed with a healthy dose of culture and like-minded people. It's an exciting but also sad change, as the "family compound" in Liberty (home of the infamous Connell-Colebrook wedding) has been sold. But the good news is that 2.5 acres of land has been donated to Ben and me, so that we can continue to enjoy getting out of the city when we can. So begins our homesteading experiment. Since there is nothing but a driveway on this property, we are going to have to put up not only a structure but also dig a well, put in a septic system, bring in electricity, and everything else that one needs for a house with all the modern ammenities. We will be acting as our own General Contractors as well as doing much of the interior work (i.e. sheetrock, walls, kitchen, etc). For those of you interested in following the trials and tribulations, musings and milestones, I will document the process here.

The Land

Looking east. This is the spot where the house will go, just to the right of the apple tree.




The pond, with Margaret and her reflection. The house will be to the left of the apple tree in this one.