Ed has decided (and I have agreed) that I should learn how to build a shed. It’s not hard, really. And if you are successful, you can have yourself a hut to do all sorts of things in – for example, to hibernate and make progress on your Big Book Project.
I am in favor of gaining such skills. For instance, I am learning how to heat a shed creatively, given that it will sit in frigid Wisconsin, in an exposed position and will be used as shelter by a person who hates having to wear multiple sweaters, year round, indoors.
But I am getting ahead of myself. The first stage is to knock down the shed that is cluttering the space for, let’s call it the Writer’s Shed (to distinguish it from the Sheep Shed on same property, providing shelter not for sheep but for Ed).
Early this morning, we removed clutter from the Dilapidated Shed (different from either the Sheep Shed or the Writer’s Shed) – metal scraps, turned in at the recycling center.
And, here’s the first lesson I offer you in shed building:
Lesson 1: if you’re clearing space for a new shed, try to recycle the clutter. Ed’s metal clutter netted him $212. Sure, Ed probably had more scrap metal than you or I, but still…
Okay, so watch for further updates. And consider this the first photo of the Shed that is NOT the Writer’s Shed, but the one that is to be knocked down to make room for a Writer’s Shed. (BTW, anyone need fine, weathered, antique-looking lumber? Yours, for pennies!)
Farming, part 2
The farmers were plowing, hoeing and staking today. I envied them. I was off to the Law School, they were off to the fields. I would very much enjoy being a fair weather (hobby, so that my income doesn’t have to depend on it) farmer. When I am not traveling, writing, etc etc.
The “I’d rather be fishing” people
There were a number who would say this today. Indeed, there were a bunch who were fishing. On my way to work, following the now much more climatically hospitable bike path along the lake, I encountered these:
And just outside my office, there were those who fished for the pleasure of simply being outside. I leave you with their playfulness. Ah…. spring. I love you so.
Henry David Thoreau built his cabin (aka: writer's shed?), 10 feet wide and 15 feet long, with an attic and a closet, two windows, and a fireplace. It cost 28 dollars and 12 cents to build. The biggest single expenditure was $3.90 for nails. Thoreau lived at Walden Pond for two years, two months, and two days. And he wrote it all down (like in a blog?!), trying to capture how the experience changed him and his views of civilization. He published "Walden; or Life in the Woods" in 1854. It sold 256 copies in its first year. It has never gone out of print. And has been translated into virtually every language. So. "The Writer's Shed Project" sounds like an inspired idea.
ReplyDeleteI built a shed to sit in six years ago, taking plans from The Shed Book. 8 feet by 10 feet, one window, no heat unfortunately. I go there to sit and read and write and sometimes smoke if I am sad. In bad weather I can sit on a stool in the doorway and watch. You should have a shed. Everyone should have a shed.
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