When our daughter was about 8, she asked her dad to build her a play house. She picked a spot under the shade of a huge old oak tree out back, just a stone’s throw from the house. His first thought was a couple of hours and some plywood kind of playhouse, but that’s not what she wanted; she wanted a log cabin – a real log cabin.
The first two summers, they cut, skidded and peeled the bark from red pines that they cut off the property; the next summer they dug out a 12’x10’ area and laid cement blocks for a foundation. The walls began to go up slowly over the next two summers, a few feet at a time to allow them to dry. Finally, it was time to cement in between the logs on both sides, put in three windows and shingle the roof. A door was hung and Kelsey’s cabin became a reality.
Although not much more than a place to put a mattress,
she was thrilled, it was all hers. She spent hours there, decorating the walls,
making curtains, listening to her music as loud as she wanted, playing her
flute, talking on the phone, or taking a nap. As a teenager, summer took on a
whole new meaning for her and her friends - constant sleep overs, bonfires,
dance parties, and the best hang out for miles.
Over the years, we added a sleeping loft, electricity, a small sink and
kitchen area and a front deck. Since Kesley has grown up and moved away, it
has become her retreat, the place she comes back to when she needs to
relax and re-charge.
“There’s
something about the cabin that is just so peaceful,“ she says, “It’s my favorite
place on Earth: cold beer, wet beach towels, fishing nets, sandals, paddles, flowers...summertime.
