The Man, The Mill & The Build

Over the last week or so, Mike has been building a new loo for us to put up in Morning Sun Meadow for folks to use during our program events and summer camping retreats. He milled up some wood to use for the framing and made use of leftover material from when we did the wall cladding inside our cabin to fashion it together, after working for a while to come up with a design for the build. It turned out great! He even got two sets of hands to help him finish it up and then trailer it up to the meadow with the ATV. Mike’s dad and our son Jaden were both here visiting from out of state, so the new loo was a multi-generational endeavor.

The fact that Mike is able to make use of the sawmill we did a fundraising campaign for 3 years ago in order to make lumber from trees here on site is a wonder and a gift. I find it simply amazing and rather miraculous that he has such talents, abilities and skillets, which are, it’s worth mentioning, entirely different from my own. As someone who is not a builder or building-minded, Mike has superhero capabilities as far as I’m concerned. He doesn’t see it that way, of course. But I do.

Since we operate on a Humanure composting system for our toilet set up, it’s pretty easy to put outhouses around where we need them. We’ll be building another one here soon to put by the guest hut.

Having our own mill has been such a gift. We are so very grateful for all the folks who donated to make the mill possible for us to purchase. 29 people in total donated to our fundraiser back in 2023, and 5 of those people donated more than once during our campaign.

With our newest build of the loo now complete, next up on the mill is making lumber to make the wall cladding and flooring for both the guest hut and the sauna building, as well as the siding for the sauna building. After milling the wood, we’ll then stack and dry the boards for a little bit before installing them, as if we install them too soon after milling we’ll get a high rate of shrinkage.

Ode to the loggers, to the trees, and to the woods. Ode to the builders who build things. Ode to the elements of earth, air, water, fire that make life and living possible.

Ode to the path we walk here at EM with heart.