Home Sweet Quonset Hut

Sometimes when we are in the vehicle, stuck in Calgary traffic, sometimes over dinner and sometimes lying in bed at night unable to sleep my husband and I dare to dream. Our dream is our glimmer of hope when we "smalltowners" are fed up of the city, can't stand the smell of smog, or are awakened by the sounds of sirens and a police chopper for the fourth time that week. We dream a realistic dream, but a difficult dream all the same. We dream of a simpler life. A life that gives more to the earth than we take. An honest life, one the requires hard work in abundance and love that overflows.

Picture this. Somewhere in Northern Saskatchewan, where the fishing is good and the seasons are wild, lies the perfect quarter section of land. The babbling of the small stream that winds through the untamed land can be heard from the porch of our quaint Quonset hut turned eco-friendly farm house (Phil's design of course). The goat kept out front keeps the lawn mowed for us, past the small red barn that houses our milk cow, and the few other animals that we raise for food, past the huge garden, and past the chicken coupe, three tall, white turbines spin ceaselessly. Behind the house, adjacent to our root cellar are the solar panels and utility shed, which houses our water pump and power storage apparatus. Phil, of course is out fishing for the day, and I am undoubtedly in my marvelous kitchen baking something delicious! All we can smell in this dream is hay, the wood crackling in the fire place, the clothes drying on the line and whatever I am baking that day. Sigh, this is our version of bliss.

I am going to post some pictures of Quonset huts to give you the "full effect." Basically Quonset huts are half cylinders made of corrugated steel, often used for industrial purposes as in the photo below:



As you can see from the following picture, people have been transforming cold steel industrial into energy efficient homes for years...



Is it bad that I actually miss the smell of manure being spread on the fields? I miss small town life, though I do enjoy the abundance of Vietnamese restaurants and Shawarma Hut's in Calgary, Phil and I both yearn for a place where no one has ever heard of a shawarma, or Pho, where the only sounds you can hear is the rumbling of a tractor and crickets. This is our dream of a better life!

Sigh, Lumby calling to the rest of the world...