Sunday October 25 was the long-awaited work bee to replace the shelter in the bush. The shelter was built many years back — while the exact year of its construction is hard to pin down, our memories of the event itself are now family legends. A picture of rusticity, the shelter had plywood walls and a tin roof, and was open on the south side. It was the gathering place for many a new year’s eve party, when we would all huddle as close as we could to the amazingly inefficient woodstove that was set in the middle. To our chagrin, the shelter collapsed under the load of snowfall we had in 2007, and we have been planning its replacement since then.

Because we never do anything simply, the shelter will be replaced with two party venues: a teepee that will be set up near the big pine tree, followed by another shelter (for nostalgia) in the bush, where the first one stood.

Yesterday’s work bee consisted of clearing up the pile of junk from the fallen shelter, and cutting and cleaning poles for the teepee. With gorgeous fall weather, both parts of the project went very well. Above is a picture of Jackie sitting in front of the woodstove in the forest, where the pile of junk was earlier in the day.