I did not know that Bob Marley was a Tiny House dweller. Did you? This is his childhood home.
He actually had a tiny house of his own that was destroyed by a hurricane and is being rebuilt.
No wonder he believed we need not worry. I think that a Tiny House makes it much easier to live happily too. Getting off that consumer roller coaster rocks and it also reggaes too.
I have written before about the cloth porch. A few dollars worth of deeply discounted fabric, some left over boards and two boxes of staples as well as a screen door is what it is comprised of. While I was building it, then banging in the staples, I resigned myself to having to redo the cloth covering annually because I assumed that the thin, semitransparent, fabric roof would never stand the weight of the winter snow on it. We have had a couple of pretty good snow falls now, so I thought for sure, when I arrived to check in, it would be down. It is late January now, and to my surprise the cloth porch is still standing.
I know! I know! It is not the most beautiful addition that was ever put on a Tiny House but if you have ever been to Ontario in the spring (and summer) you will know that if the black flies don’t get you in the spring, then deer flies, horse flies, ticks and mosquitoes surely will get what is left of you before you freeze to death in our winters.
I am starting to believe that buying and installing new cloth is one job I may not have to do in the spring! Time will tell.
I noticed this while walking along the ridge at Tiny House Ontario, with Liisa. She takes better photos than I do and has a better camera so I am thankful again, that she was there.
It looks like a sci-fi creature, or something magical. Perhaps a winter hiding spot for teeny-tiny angels who need cellular reception?
This is just one a crystal clear example of the billions of wonderful things that can be seen just by taking the time to look. In the quiet undisturbed forest there are so many wonders. This year, I have come to understand the true meaning of not seeing the forest for the trees. It seems an overload to look beyond the beauty of these isolated bits.
Here in Ontario where the winter days are short and cold, many people prefer to hibernate through as much of it as they can.
Still, there are those who live outside the box… well sort of… specifically the people who fish cannot wait for the long warm days on the water, so they brave the ice. When you look across the Ontario’s frozen waters you will often find them out there, huddled in bunches. They bring their trucks or four wheelers out and those who are die hards normally build themselves an ice hut. They look like snowy villages on the plain.
My friend Mj, who I have known since high school, married a man who loves outdoors activities. This year he and a friend built themselves a perfect (insulated) ice hut. He even glued crazy carpet to the base to make it slide easier. Not exactly Jay’s Tiny House, but even so, exactly perfect for what it is required to do! Finally the hut was done yesterday and Mj caught this hilarious photo that is just too great to stay private! Her husband and brother in-law started the wood stove, hooked up the tiny house and dragged it, toasty and warm, behind them to the ice. Let the fishing begin!
I just spent a few days with my friends Liisa and her daughter Lydiah. I had an event to attend while there, and was looking forward to a week of giggling with the two girls but some other events caused the visit to be mostly stressful instead. Thankfully, Liisa is easygoing (well this is sort of a joke between us, because either of us are). Rather then, thankfully, Liisa is a great comfort and support for me; she is as solid as a rock and the best sort of friend. I am thankful that she exists!
While there, we went to Tiny House Ontario to walk around and check in. The forest was lovely and quiet, excepting the tracks of the wild creatures who live there, the snow a pristine reflection of blue from the northern sky above. The days are short here in Ontario in January, so even in the early afternoon the shadow lines from the trees are long and lean and create interesting geometry.
Here are three images that Liisa captured.
Tiny House Ontario 