June 21: Happy Solstice! Bittersweet day. Longest day of the year and the traditional start of summer, but also the day that marks the beginning of the gradual shortening of daylight. We love December 21 because we know that days will be getting longer, but we really cannot hate June 21!!
I left a little early from work, but since I had to stop for gas and a quick eat-it-while-driving dinner, it was still nearly 6pm when I hit the highway northbound. I watched towering thunderheads encroaching on my glorious blue sky with some trepidation as I travelled up the valley. There was evidence of recent rain on the little dirt road into the camp, but the clouds rolled back ahead of me and I arrived to a perfect evening at the Cabin.
Storm over fields of Palmer
Unfortunately the heavy rain had gotten into my bin and my cooler that I had left on the deck, ruining my Jiffy Popcorn and a 36-pack of batteries as well as a few granola bars. My clothes were double wrapped in garbage bags and were dry, and the rest of the groceries were fine.
I spent some time drying things off and storing them away. The little pantry shelf is groaning! Then I got ambitious and set up the new composting toilet behind the Cabin on Dad’s shower platform of cinder blocks. I hung the shower curtain as a door and stapled plastic bags to the “shower stall” posts for the other two walls, transforming the space to a throne room. I won’t secure the toilet to a base yet until I have a more permanent home for it. The rest of the set-up involved attaching the handle that stirs the compost mixture, and adding the peat moss. Done.
A new throne!
Funny story about the peat moss…when I was in Home Depot getting a truckload of cedar cut and paid for, I mentioned to the check-out gal that I was going to have to go back to the main part of the store to get peat moss. “I can probably look that up here” she says, being helpful. “Then you can pay for it now and just pick it up on the way out.” Awesome! So, she types into her computer and finds peat moss, confirms that I want the smaller bag, and rings it up. While my friend supervises the loading of the lumber, I go to collect my moss. Turns out there are several types on the shelf, so I peer at my receipt. I probably should have confessed to the gal what I was using this for…she sold me Miracle Grow Sphagnum Moss with added fertilizers! We got some good chuckles thinking about fertilizer’s ability to make things grow!
Anyway, with all these little tasks, it was fairly late before I settled in to read and wind down for the night. Tomorrow will be a busy day, weather permitting…
alaskacabinliving 