Lake View

 

Our property is just a short walk from this access point to Hague Lake. Once we get settled we plan on adding a canoe to the collection on the lake shore so we can enjoy some lazy paddling on this lovely little lake.

Back in the city

For the past week I've been back in Vancouver getting organized to move out of our house in April. It's two moves really... the first is to a condo in Burnaby which will be Danielle's home base for the next few years and the second is to Cortes where I'm currently looking for storage space for stuff we don't want at the condo but do want in our house on Cortes. A major logistics challenge! At the same time, my mind is still working on planning and design ideas for the house and land on Cortes. It looks like this year's agenda will be building a couple of small sheds for the electrical service and the pump/pressure tank, plus a workshop where we can store stuff, keep tools etc. I also hope to make a good start on landscaping and that's where volunteers are extra welcome! Fencing, clearing brush and deadfalls, ploughing and mulching the garden area... there's lots to do!

Meanwhile, I found this nice little video about a family vacation on Cortes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTCDqhuxlX0&feature=related

Here's a link to a Google Map of our property on Cortes .
I've inserted some place markers to show where different things are located.

http://maps.google.ca/maps/ms?client=firefox-a&hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&ll=50.056643,-124.964418&spn=0.006062,0.01929&t=h&z=16&msid=105018198575337013090.0004813afd502f134b1cd

Yesterday I said goodbye to Cortes and returned to Vancouver for a couple of months of intensive organizing, packing and moving as we vacate our house, move into the condo we bought in Burnaby and arrange to have my tools etc moved up to Cortes. However, before leaving Cortes I was able to get a report from Robbie Driediger on the septic field. He thinks it will work well in the location David and I marked out. He also thinks it can be done with minimal impact on the cedar trees. All good news. I also left with some nice sketches David has done of how the house and workshop might be located as well as some preliminary design ideas for the house.
I caught the 11:50 from Cortes and drove down island hoping to catch the 3pm out of Nanaimo only to miss it by 5 minutes. After a 2 hour wait I was compensated by a front row seat for what was one of the most spectacular displays of the setting sun hitting the north shore mountains that I've ever seen. There was even a nice little rainbow. (photo taken with my phone, sorry about the poor quality)

March 1st

Got power hooked up to the trailer with David's considerable help. He loaned me two heavy duty extension cords one of which I wired into the breaker panel in the shed and then joined the two cords to reach the trailer which is about 150ft away. After making all the connections I flipper the main breaker and... nothing exploded! I checked out the lights and appliances in the trailer and everything seems to work.

Next I took some measurements so that David can start creating a plan of the site. We discussed various options for locating the house, driveway, parking, workshop etc and made, what I think is a good start on a workable plan.

We also looked at the area designated for the septic field and discussed how we can have the field built without losing too many of the lovely cedar trees. Unfortunately some will have to go but there is a bit of a clearing that should be big enough. We need to get a professional opinion from Robbie Dreidiger. Hopefully that can happen tomorrow.

Feb 28 2010

Today Ron Croda and Mike delivered the trailer and did a great job positioning it and levelling it. The ground was still wet from the rain and traction was a problem for Ron's two whell drive truck. Luckily Mike brought his 4 wheel drive along which we used several times to pull Ron's truck into position for the next jog of the positioning manoeuvres. It was a two hour job but now I have my temporary residence in situ. Running power to it is a simple matter of a long extension cord from the power shed. Water is a bit more of a challenge although the trailer is only a few feet from the well there is as yet no pump in the well. Meanwhile I can manage by pouring water from containers into the tank. The trailer has its own hot water system, fridge, stove, stereo, heater etc etc.

Here is the trailer seen from the south gate on Hague Rd. The actual gate leaning against the tree is not yet functional. Hopefully I can get it installed tomorrow.
A view of the inside looking through the "living room" to the kitchen. It's all nice and clean and pretty much everything works. The decor is definbitely 70s but hey, it's very liveable for now.

In summer, I will build a deck in front and have an outdoor living area under the canopy that comes with the unit.

Saturday Feb 27th.
This is the electrical shed at the entrance to our property as it looked a week ago. The door lying on the ground has now been replaced. The broken glass cleaned up and plastic put on the window. More importantly, Ted Hansen, the electrician came over today and took a look at the connection, the breaker panel and the shed. He pronounced it all good and useable for our immediate needs which are power to the well pump, power to the trailer and power for construction. This is a big relief because any electrical work is expensive and a new connection costs $3500. Yeah!

After meeting with Ted, Tasha and her daughter Bella paid a visit to look at the garden. They live close by so they walked over. Bella is 5 years old and very bright eyed. Tasha is a professional gardener and landscaper witth clients all over the island. She would love to garden on our land but feels she can't invest a lot of time, energy and money into building fences and preparing the land. So I realized that this year will be about just that. We will repair useable fences and build new ones. We will get someone in with a rototiller to turn the soil and then, on Tasha's suggestion, mulch the heck out of it with cardboard, straw or whatever. Then we'll leave it until next year to start a garden. At which point she is very keen to get involved.

After saying goodbye to Tasha and Bella, I drove over to the Jim and Diane Henschel's place on Taka Mika Way. Their house overlooks the entrance to Manson's Lagoon and is in an absolutely gorgeous spot. They had invited me for a simple lunch and we enjoyed a very happy hour together. Their house has many of the features and ideas that we are looking at incorporating into our place... open plan with kitchen, living and dining areas all in one big open area centered around a wood stove. Their "big room" looks out onto a big covered porch with skylights and a lovely post and beam chunky feeling. Inside they have used beach logs and rough cut wood extensively yet the space has a very nice "finished" look to it. Upstairs is a big multi-purpose room with skylights, a separate bathroom and extra storage under the eaves.

Di also showed me their guest "cabin" which is closer to the water on a rock bluff with a view to die for. It's a beautiful space with a bedroom entrance I must photograph and post here.

Moving on, my next stop was Good Libations where Doug had saved me a sample of their Malbec which I am sipping as I write. Very good. I think I'll go back on Monday and put a batch down.

I then drove over to Squirrel Cove for gas and some plastic to cover the window on the electrical shed. Went back and installed the plastic and then came "home" to David and Annie's place. Another very enjoyable day.