The bathroom in the HDT cottage has a regular (looking) toilet.  Looks however can be deceiving, this is not merely a flush - and down it will go device.  The toilet itself sits on a pedestal and is flushed  using a foot pedal, which regulates the amount of water used in the flush.  The contents head for a macerator unit and then journey to the Phoenix - the large blue bin located in the greenhouse.  It's been said that this bin only needs to be emptied once a year for a family of four. 

It looks like a regular biffy

The Saniflo macerator unit - a Cuisinart for compost

Big Blue is where the goods are stored. Mark and Jim deliberate next steps.

The bales that make up the load-bearing north wall of Old Main were settling so wooden posts were added to provide extra support. 

Mark carefully chips away at the cob to clear a space for a wooden support.

The cob shell has been removed and the bale is exposed.

The posts are in place!

I thought it was April "showers" brings May flowers...I'm starting to think I jinxed us by grumbling about a dry spring. We awoke Sunday a.m. to a few inches of snow. Although tough to digest after the beautiful days we had last week, I convinced myself a few inches were tolerable and would provide some additional moisture for our sandy soils.  I don't typically put a whole lot of faith in weather forecasts, but they were right on with this last one.  We ended up with somewhere in the neighborhood of 12-14 inches in a very short amount of time (less than 24 hours).  I have to admit all the white possesses a certain aesthetic appeal - despite the hassles (power outages, stressed trees and crummy roads to name a few!).

The boughs on this spruce tree found out how heavy the snow is.