In which this artsy blogger learns to wield an axe…
by alanah
Over the past 10 years I’ve often been invited to spend a weekend chilling by the lake at my friend Lindsay’s cottage, but last weekend I was invited up North with the promise that I would be put to work. On Saturday, I helped Lindsay clear a couple decades’ worth of dead branches from the forested parts of his property and then on Sunday we transformed a two-generation-old stone wall into a flight of stairs leading down towards the lake.
This project required a certain amount of flexibility. We dug each step into the hillside, working around the boulders we couldn’t budge and borrowing a fallen tree trunk to retain the earth. We debated earnestly before clipping each live cedar branch and spent hours fitting our foundling stones into flat, sturdy, steps.
Very few things in life have inspired me to sweat for four or five hours straight, but I happily spent the weekend lifting logs and rocks and hauling branches from the forest to the woodpile. I even learned how to wield an axe (swing at an angle, chipping away at the log). At the end of each day, our achy muscles inspired impromptu yoga poses, experimental massage sessions, and the sense of a job well done.
I think that if Lindsay’s parents had asked us to perform these tasks back when we were in high school, it would have felt like a torturous chore, but suddenly there’s something beautiful about hard work with lasting results. Building the steps was both physically challenging, creative, and had a tangible result – an awesome combo that I’ve rarely experienced. I’ve spent my whole life in rented apartments and I don’t particularly want the burden of owning property right now, but I would love to find more opportunities to contribute to building or fixing up a place for myself and others to enjoy.
Anybody know of a project in Montreal that would hit the spot?
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Published on: July 4th, 2007
Terms Used: Blog, landscaping, nature, placemaking
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How do you feel about sanding some floors, alanah darling?
Posted on July 4th, 2007 at 11:29 am [permalink]
ooh, would I get to wield a sanding machine? What’s the occasion?
Posted on July 4th, 2007 at 12:29 pm [permalink]
you can help me turn my back storage space into a private boudoir!!! fun fun fun
Posted on July 4th, 2007 at 1:25 pm [permalink]
the occasion is the ripping of carpets that have been left to themselves for a year and the discovery of pretty wooden floor that need a good sanding. sanding machines, sandwiches and beer will be provided and you get to hang out with my dad. other bonuses include unlimited access to my new crib and VIP entrance to the housewarming party if we have one. WOO!
Posted on July 4th, 2007 at 5:27 pm [permalink]
unfortunately, my love of hard work and physical labour prevents me from extending you an offer (not that i really have any to be done), but i must admit this post made me run to an old photo album and pull out a picture my grandfather took of me turning a fallen tree (poor old sap…) into firewood. with an axe! when that was done, i believe i built a completely functional and large-enough-for-me shelter out of branches and fallen leaves. ahh, the old thanksgivings at the lost cottage… some of the best weekends of my life were spent with no hot running water and the minimums of electricity!
Posted on July 4th, 2007 at 6:43 pm [permalink]
I would of course be happy to help you guys out with your various home-improvement projects, but what I’m really putting the call out for is to contribute to building some kind of community space - a show venue, a park, a cafe, a bar, a community center, or something that I and others can benefit from making cool and beautiful.
Posted on July 4th, 2007 at 10:44 pm [permalink]