Jon's Minnesota Cabin: My Name is Jonathan David Wheeler

but my Friends Call Me Whistle-britches. Read on.

Wow, nearly a week has gone by since my last post! Time is slipping away like a careless neighbor's horse from a flimsy corral. I worked a long day today and will get up early tomorrow. In this phase of the building process, not much time is left to write at the end of the day.

A quick list of things I've gotten done since last post:
1. My floor is pretty much done. Curt pitched in a bunch before he left back to his home in Florida for the winter.
2. I cleaned another flood mess out of my basement.
3. I plumbed in my sump pump so heavy rain should be lifted out through a pipe before it backs up onto my floor again.
4. I dug a trench and installed wires in conduit to supply power from the meter to my service breaker panel in the house.
5. Nathan and I knocked a hole in my basement wall and fed the main supply wires through the wall.
6. Nathan back-filled the trench around the house and mounded the dirt up to the basement walls. This should prevent most of the water from even entering my sump, thus a further measure toward flood prevention.
7. Today I framed my first main cabin wall!!! Sid helped me for a few hours today after we cut lumber in the morning.
8. I helped Sid mill up a bunch of lumber and in exchange he cut enough 2x9 boards for me to use as headers for my entire house frame! Also in trade for my work, he's giving me a set of really beautiful oak stair treads we milled.

This last item is where I got re-named. You can always count on Sid and Constable Bob for comic relief. So there we were, cutting lumber the other day, when Sid says to me, "Jon, we're gonna make a whaddaya callit outta you yet, I tell ya! Hey Bob, what was it we're gonna call Jon?"

And Bob, without missing a beat, with a deadpan straight face says: "Whistle-britches!"

I about doubled over laughing. If I'd been drinking anything, it would definitely have come out my nose. Sid, through his chuckle says, "No, no. Whaddaya call the guy who runs the saw?"

"Oh, a sawyer," Bob replies.

"Yeah, that's it. Jon, we're gonna make a sawyer of you yet!"

But do you suppose they call me Jon the Sawyer now? No, they do not.

Here's Curt taking a well deserved break while helping me finish my floor. Thanks a million, buddy! I hope Florida treats you well till we meet again and may you have safe travels.

My floor, nearly finished. Since this photo, I've got the last of the joists in and sheeted the surface. Now the only area lacking plywood is an L shape where the stairs will descend to the basement.

An unexpected visitor! This is the slippery horse that escaped from the neighbors' flimsy corral, I imagine. I heard hoof-clomps out on the highway, and next thing I know, this guy turns down my driveway.

He was like, "Hey, I'll let you take my picture if you let me eat some grass." And I just said (silently), "Go for it! I can't afford a weed whacker anyway...)" After his snack, he carried on down the highway and made a left on 500th street.

I've taken on corporate sponsorships to help fund my cabin. I've always loved Woolrich shirts. Actually, Kenny J, the guy who tried to sell me a helicopter gave me this old billboard to use as a tarp. It's heavy, but very effective.

Grrrrrr, argh! Round two. This time I squeegeed the floor and pumped the water out. I'm leaving the basement dirty-ish, in case this should happen again. Once I have running water, I plan to clean it all out with a pressure washer. Pictured here, you can see the back door, water pump, and pressure tank I purchased from Kenny J.

My makeshift plumbing job routing the flood water right out my egress window. Down with nature!

Why does this ditch look so small when I spent like three hours of hard manual labor on it?? Please do not comment that I am a wimp, you know how photos never do a scene justice... This is where we ran the heavy electrical wires Kenny J gave me.

Here's Nathan moving some earth up against my basement. Yesterday it rained and rained and rained. I got up late thinking I'd take a day off. I came to the DNA lab, checked email, ate some chips and yummy dip that Dustin made, and sat down to write a blog entry. Just then Nathan called and informed me he was at my lot waiting for me. He had a basement concrete pour scheduled for the day, but rain canceled so he came to help me instead. He brought his Bobcat so he could mound the dirt up against my basement. Right off the bat, the drive belt broke on the Bobcat, so we drove into Bemidji, got the replacement part, and soon had it all back together, the driving rain never deterring a Burns brother on a mission. We got soaked, but it was warm enough that I didn't mind. Again, no justice by the photo. I swear it was pouring rain when I took this shot. See how grey and gloomy the sky looks?