Cabins at Lena Park -
  #1, Homegrown Cabins, August 20, 2000

Homegrown cabins

Master cabin carpenter Richard Fout inspects the floor joists, as construction begins in earnest on the first of our log cabins. Most of the cabin materials are derived from pine plantations grown on our property. Our sandy soil isn't well adapted to growing crops, and that's spared some of this little corner of the corn belt from the steely bite of the plow. However, white pines thrive in sand and have grown to harvestable size in just three decades. Dimensional lumber is cut on our own Wood-Mizer mill; very little is wasted.

Seeing Scarlet

A pair of scarlet tanagers often visited the construction site, directly over where the deck will be constructed. We've decided to name this cabin for them. Several pairs of tangers nest in the Lena Park woods every summer. They're among the most striking of the many neo-tropical migrants that breed here.

We started laying in the first logs this August. They're being prepared and installed using traditional saddle notching. These aren't kit homes; each unit will have its own unique character, and all the glories of irregularity and imperfection. We promise that Lena Park will forever remain a haven from the stultifying uniformity of a mall-stripped world. The logs will be preserved with traditional methods as well, to help ensure a completely natural experience.

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