The Cabin

My folks bought property on Shirley Lake in Willow, Ak the year I was born.  My dad then went to the bank and asked "What's the biggest loan you can give me ?"   It was about $2500.  So he took it and bought cheap, second rate lumber to build a cabin which, with help from friends, was built in 1972.   It was the 2nd structure on the lake - no power and no running water, but endless space for running through the woods, exploring the swamps and creeks, and endless time for canoeing on the lake, fishing for rainbow trout, and watching the loons.  In winter, my brother and I learned how to ski on a track made around the lake by my parents.  Later, dad would pull us on our skis behind the snowmobile.  We would gather on the lake late at night, bundled in sleeping bags, and watch the northern lights.  I love this place to my core.  We had our first family winter trip up there this last weekend.

  

An early winter wind storm had blown many trees down on the property and one of these was deposited on the roof of the cabin.  The first half of Sat. was spent winching it off the roof and pulling it out of the way.  I did the sweaty work while Jess and the kids tended the fire and got the cabin up to temperature.  The newspaper pile for starting the fire is getting pretty low - which means these papers date back to quite a while ago.  Here is some of what Jess found in a paper dated to 1979.

After the work was over, the play began.  We made a sled run for the work sled from the cabin down onto the lake and then played wheel in the deep snow.  

After warming up with a cup of hot Tang, we went on a walk into the swamp.  The kids wanted to test the snow to see how deep it was and decided, of course, the best way to do this was to throw them into it.  

It was pretty deep!

As the daylight started to seep from the sky, we made our way back through the alpenglow of late afternoon.  The cabin was toasty warm and lanterns and oil lamps were lit.  This is the best part of day when (save for a few snowmobilers) the quiet settles in and we start to settle too.  Dry clothes, warm slippers, peanut M&M's, and a book at the end of a snowy day.  And this is the true essence of the cabin...