The dirt 'road' heading out from the forest service road gradually morphs into a gravel drive which ends at a large clearing amidst the spruce, fir, and hemlock. The main perimeter fence is a good seven feet tall and constructed of dark wire framed om dark, stained wood. A large, double-door gate at the end of the gravel marks the entrance; there's a concrete pad and a small carport of simple, corregated metal off to one side.
Front and center of the property is a large, flat stump, sheared off perfectly, surrounded by a ring of rocks. The stump's interior wood is pale blonde slowly becoming silvery gray, and the exterior bark that remains is brilliant white. Sitting on top of it is a large, drip-dry pot in red and orange with a young madrone tree growing in it. Numerous other pots ring the stump, holding a variety of native orchids, ferns, and other local plants. Two sets of solar panels sit at the south end of the property, where they can collect the most sunlight. West of the solar panels, a double-fenced pen houses four noisy geese and a simple shed for them; east of the panels, another pen holds four goats, a simple shelter, and a milking shed. A third pen, closer to the house, has a collection of ducks and chickens. The poultry pens each have small kiddie pools embedded into the ground as makeshift ponds.
An elaborate herb and vegetable garden of raised beds, trellises, and nets sits just beyond the aspen stump. Large rain barrels flank the garden on either side, feeding water to the plants through a drip system, and a chicken wire fence keeps wild animals (as well as the ducks, geese, and goats when they're loose) out of the plants.
A crushed shell and rock-lined walkway leads from the car port, through the garden, and up to the cabin itself. It's an A-frame with a dark brown metal roof and wood siding that's gone gold brown with age and repeated staining. There's a balcony with a sliding glass door on the upper floor, and a porch protected by the roof on the lower level, with a glass and metal side table and pair of matching chairs. Out the back entrance is a deck with a grill and a large, scarred, work table. The underside of the deck is currently being used as storage for wood; logs are packed almost the entire length.
Cabin Interior:
The cabin interior could easily be on the cover of a magazine advertising for comfortable wilderness living; it’s cozy and neat, entirely at odds with the demeanor of the man who lives in it. The floors are walnut while the walls are birch, preventing the interior from being a dungeon. A simple staircase leads up into the loft overhead, and the downstairs is an open floorplan save for the bathroom, which is walled off to the left of the entrance. The kitchen occupies the back-left wall, with a propane refridgerator and stove pair, black ceramic sink, and polished concrete counters stained coppery red. To the right of the entrance is a wood-frame futon with a pair of heavy wool blankets, set up facing a small, flat screen TV on a plain, hardwood cabinet. The wood stove, set on rock floor tiles, separates the front and back portions of the ride side of the cabin; the pipe runs up through the loft and to the roof, warming the entire space.
The back-right wall and corner have built in bookcases, running all the way up to the loft floor, packed full of books and, on the bottom-most shelves, records. A turntable and pair of bookshelf speakers sit on a low table, and there’s an old, rose velvet and ebony wood wingback chair, side table, and lamp where one can sit to read and listen.
The back face of the cabin is all windows in the loft space, and a heavy, sliding glass door on the ground floor straddles the reading area and kitchen.
Bookshelves:
The books are a motley collection of scientific texts, fiction, poetry, microhistories, and various non-fiction topics with an academic theme. Israel Finkelstein rubs shoulders with Mary Oliver and Jeff Vandermeer; The Molecular Biology of the Cell and The Water Knife bookend And No Birds Sing and The Emerald Planet. Some of these books, especially the poetry, are old and worn, with creased spines; used, or hand-me-downs perhaps.
The record collection is carefully maintained and primarily consists of R&B, jazz, and Blues. There's plenty else in there as well; Journey, Yes, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin. All older music; the iPod in its dock seems to be the only source of newer tracks.