She Digs It | The Forest Kitchen | Off Grid Log Cabin Build, Ep.4 S1

Description

She digs it at the off grid log cabin build - Cali helps excavate the foundation of the forest kitchen as I install another post and dig a trench to support the stone grill and stove. I fabricate log support bracing and install them, attempting to make the upper framework of the timber frame shelter look like a network of tree branches to fit into the forest. I will continue adding smaller branches once the barbeque is finished and then I'll install cedar shakes with moss to make it look like a forest canopy.

The weather was interesting again this week with cool days, intermittent rain and dramatic skies. The insects liked the weather too, with one day of bad mosquitoes and a few blackflies to contend with. I burn a couple of smudge fires to keep them away, which works very well. I also treat my clothing with permethrin, which can be seen drying on the clothes line. I will upload the permethrin video this coming Wednesday.

My "online" diet is healthy this week. I cook a soup made with tomatoes, rice, wild rice, beans, split peas, hot peppers, dates, garlic onion powder, turmeric, black pepper and maple syrup. This simple meal feeds me four times for a very small price tag - lunch and dinner times two.

For breakfast, oatmeal with blueberries and maple syrup with a side of chaga tea.

My self reflections is back. This week I talk about reflecting back on childhood and our propensity to glorify youth, forgetting that we had just as many stresses as children. We had big hopes and dreams when we were young, and as we get older, we realize many of them are never going to come true. My solution for that is to not waste a single day and do not go to your grave with regrets.

Please subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIMXKin1fXXCeq2UJePJEog?sub_confirmation=1

https://bit.ly/2G7ncW9

Playlist Links

Log Cabin Build Step by Step Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-UbUksm4nPmy72sCsMtEbyUOr4XojCsG

Building the Forest Kitchen: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-UbUksm4nPlVGOcybOEauGzfSseb3W68

Food, Wild Edibles, Recipes: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-UbUksm4nPnS6ZJ30i4ACtpMlmz7BrzT

Bushcraft: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-UbUksm4nPk2dpiJb-wfPrpJkodkS7g7

Outdoor Gear: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-UbUksm4nPkhZQ-7stfXYfRD-Kje0Go9

Log Cabins: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-UbUksm4nPkGrISWOKvY_0uMOjJI-Chv

Links to gear used at the cabin:

Fjallraven Vidda Pro Pants - https://amzn.to/2rhEiMn

Tilley Endurables Airflo Hat - https://amzn.to/2Ia4xy1

Apeman Trail Camera - https://amzn.to/2HRZSNT

Cabelas Trail Camera - https://www.cabelas.ca/product/86944/cabelas-outfitter-14mp-ir-hd-trail-camera

Mora Knife - http://amzn.to/2BOiv35

Agawa Canyon Boreal 21 Saw - http://amzn.to/2BPV6OF

Axe - http://www.torontoblacksmith.com/

Eagle Claw® Multi-Purpose Jet Sled - https://www.cabelas.ca/product/34435

Wall Lantern (candle lit) - http://amzn.to/2Dpa0MK

Moka Pot - http://amzn.to/2DEomvO Canada http://amzn.to/2ndmtw6 USA

Virtus Knife- http://www.virtusknives.com/

Canon 6D - http://amzn.to/2EdaZjs

DJI Mavic Pro - http://amzn.to/2DHuJib

Solar LED light bulb 15W - http://amzn.to/2BQvSQ2

Copper Fairy lights - http://amzn.to/2BCmF0X

Solar String Lights - http://amzn.to/2DvgU2n

Banneton 12” round - http://amzn.to/2ByxwsF

Lodge Dutch Oven - http://amzn.to/2kHuxDQ

Flamen heat resistant gloves up to 500 degrees - http://amzn.to/2l1mRMm

Rocksheat baking stone - http://amzn.to/2kF6eql

Lamp OiI - http://amzn.to/2qz0nZ1

Bragg’s Sprinkle - http://amzn.to/2EdouzK

Cabelas Ice Hut - https://www.cabelas.ca/product/80349/cabelas-ice-team-five-sided-360-full-thermal-ice-shelter

To see what I’m up to during the rest of the week, please follow me on my other online channels;

Website: http://myselfreliance.com/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/MySelfReliance/

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/myselfreliance/

My Mailing Address:

P.O. Box 20042

Barrie, Ontario

L4M 6E9

Canada

CABIN LIFE T-SHIRTS -https://teespring.com/stores/my-self-reliance

Tags: Self Reliance,off grid,log cabin,homestead,diy,alone,wilderness,survival,primitive,bushcraft,forest,wood,cabin,solo,tiny home,woodworking,maker,woods,My Self Reliance,Shawn James,self reflection,the forest,the forest kitchen,forest kitchen,kitchen build,log cabin build,log cabin building,build a log cabin alone,cheap log cabin,nature,canada,wilderness living,she digs it,digs

Video Transcription

(fire crackling)

(bird chirping)

- No, hey, out. You'll get hurt. Dig.

Good girl.

(fire crackling)

(wind rustling)

Good girl, stay there. (birds chirping)

(wind rustling)

Can you bring that here, please? Thank you Cali. Cali, bring it here, please. So, I know a lot of you haven't seen that video of me showing where I grew up and where I learned how to hunt and fish and do bushcraft and learn about nature and all that kinda stuff. Now if you haven't, might wanna click on this video up here and just see where I came from. But, that was filmed a couple days after Mother's Day. Yeah, here come the mosquitoes again. Thought I could take the hat off. So, I was thinking back on my childhood and getting quite nostalgic and I was thinking why is it that we're so nostalgic about our childhoods and, you know, back while they're occurring just as stressed then probably as we are now with different problems. And, I guess what we think now as we reflect back is that those problems were simpler. But, I'm sure at the time and I'm sure you're young people watching this video right now you're thinking, you know, how could it be more stressful or more anxious than your situation right now dealing with school and chasing the girls or the boys and all that kind of stuff, all that competition. That's stressful as well of course but it's not just that we reflect back and dream of those simpler times and we were younger. I think it's also that when we're younger we have so much hope, we have so much anticipation for the future. We think about all the great things we're gonna do, these great lives that we're gonna have, and you know, just the places we're gonna see and all that kinda stuff and the people we're gonna have in our lives. And, then you get older and you hit these milestone years. Like I know 30 for me was a big year. For some reason it really impacted me. I was kind of depressed for at least six months maybe a year after that and just couldn't believe that I hadn't accomplished what I had set out to accomplish. So, that really impacted me. I had a really tough time with it. But, I think more than anything, what I realized looking back at my, say, post-18-year-old years, did I live to the fullest at that point? You know it's a reminder and if I could go back and tell my 18-year-old self or my 25-year-old self or 35-year-old self, it's just that. Don't waste a single day because you aren't going to get that back and you don't know when health is going to cripple you so you can't get out there and enjoy those things or get out there and see those places or meet those people that you always wanted to. You know, the worst thing that you can go to your grave with is regret. And, for me, you know, I built that cabin when I was 21 and I lived in it for awhile and I thought that was the life for me. In hindsight, I'm glad I didn't stay there. There's just too many things I would've missed out on in life. But, it was in me and I did want to do it still. So, there was a part of me that just never let go of that dream. You know, when you set your mind to it and you don't have a plan B to back up to, like just focusing on plan A, I was able to get to this point in my life where I couldn't be happier. I'm so pleased to be doing exactly what I'm doing right now and talking to you. So, I had to interrupt this video to say that. I just felt so passionately about that, Father's Day coming up. I can't wait to see my father and spend time with my own kids and maybe get outside and do some fishing or something like that together and reflect back on childhood and those dreams I had back then and ask myself whether I'm working on them still or not. Hi, Cali.

Anyway, I need to get back to work. It's starting to rain again, but I got a fire going and it's only a light rain so I can keep working. So, anyway before I go I do want to thank you for watching this video and I want to ask you, if you haven't subscribed, if you could do that. It really helps to keep me motivated, keeps the channel growing or going and I really appreciate it if you could do that and hit the like button. So, enjoy the rest of the video and take care, have a great week, and I'll see you up at the cabin next time. Take care.

(bird chirping)

(bird chirping)

(leaves rustling)

(thunder rumbling)

Well, it's a good morning. I was tired. That was a lot of lifting yesterday so up early this morning. So, up late this morning, I mean. Get a tea going and then some oatmeal. And, then I think I'm gonna collect some rocks for the foundation for the pizza oven and for the barbecue. So, I need quite a few rocks for that. Then I need to find some lime from somebody around here that I can use to mix with sand and the clay to make the mortar. So, I might have to go for a drive today. Oatmeal and blueberries. (pot clanging)

(birds chirping)

(fire crackling)

(birds chirping)

So, if you're wondering why I'm digging this hole here, basically I need a trench all the way around the perimeter of, well, not that side, but these two sides and maybe the third side. I need a trench to put gravel in so that I can start building the stone work up on top of that. Now, I'm not going to get down to bedrock. This soil up here is so variable, it'd go from solid bedrock just to at the surface or just below the surface to these deep pockets of soil between the bedrock. And, then there's all these boulders piled in here so it's really hard to dig, but I need to get down at least to a good sand base. And, there is some nice sand underneath all this organic matter. The problem with the organic matter, it continues to decrease in volume as it decomposes, so you get a really unstable base. So, I need to at least get that out and just live with the fact that this is not a commercial project or residential project that you want to stay stable and last for a long time. It's going to shift and I'm just gonna deal with it. I don't care out here, right? So, it's not a big deal if it moves around a little bit on me or if I have to redo parts of it or maintain it. So, I'll do the best I can. And, I'm also with the fact that I don't have a bunch of gravel. I've got some gravel, some kinda just smaller stones around here I'm must gonna fill the trench with and then I'll build up on top of that with a concrete or a lime base mortar. So, I'll finish this off and then start collecting rocks to build the actually base of the barbecue. (metal clanking)

(birds chirping)

(thunder rumbling) (rain pattering)