Today, December 21, is the Winter Solstice: the moment of the year when the Northern Hemisphere tilts farthest from the sun. Around the Solstice, daylight in the Maine Woods is short – well under nine hours. Nights are long, dark, and cold. The sun rises and sets far to the south, and even at noon,...Read More

My two solo winters at my off-the-grid cabin on First Roach Pond were extraordinary experiences: intensely challenging yet profoundly peaceful, full of hard work and deep rest, rich in wonders and blessings. As this past summer progressed, I reluctantly came to the realization that there would be no way for me to spend the upcoming...Read More

This year, the Summer Solstice fell on June 21 at 5:15 AM. At that moment, the Northern Hemisphere made its closest approach to the sun, yielding the longest day and shortest night of the year. Six months earlier, on the Winter Solstice, days were seven hours shorter, and nights seven hours longer. In northern Maine,...Read More

Over the weeks since my last post, spring has slowly transformed the woods around my cabin. The melting of winter’s snow and ice has had two major practical impacts on my life. First, my graywater system has thawed! You may recall that, as of January 25, it was frozen solid, and my sink drain had...Read More

Today, April 8, has been a typical early-spring day in the Maine Woods: gray and showery, with a high temperature around 41 Fahrenheit. My cabin sits on land that slopes gently southward to the shore of First Roach Pond. As winter’s snow gradually melts, the expanse of sodden bare ground around my cabin expands a...Read More

In Little Women, Louisa May Alcott famously wrote that “Housekeeping ain’t no joke.” These words were spoken by Hannah, the March family’s maid, who labored to maintain a clean and comfortable home without benefit of modern appliances. In my off-the-grid cabin, washing dishes and doing laundry often feel like major projects. Before I even get...Read More

When I dreamed of living in the woods, my fantasies did not include generator operation, maintenance, and repair. But living alone in my cabin, with no road access and no cell service, far from my nearest neighbor, I need some way to communicate with the outside world. My little generator powers my satellite Internet and...Read More

On this first day of March, it’s still definitely winter in the Maine Woods. I noted a low of minus 7 on my porch thermometer shortly after sunrise. Yet spring is approaching. We’ve gained nearly two and a half hours of daylight since the Winter Solstice. Last night about 8:30, I went out for a...Read More

I love the tranquility of my cabin in a winter storm. I try to bring in plenty of firewood and water before the new accumulation obliterates my well-packed paths to the woodshed and pump. Then I settle into my warm cocoon. Through my windows, I watch the snow drift down onto my woods and the...Read More

Seven of the past seventeen mornings have dawned in the range of minus 10 to minus 30 Fahrenheit. The snow cover – 12 inches or so – is less than usual for this time of year. Put those two factors together, and they translate into the ground freezing more deeply than usual. Unfortunately, this deep...Read More