When I adopted this abandoned piece of land, I knew the roof would be a major project. Some days, I think this roof will be the end of me.

I underestimated how long even the simpler tasks like carrying in roofing supplies would take. I can only carry one board at a time due to their size, so 32 boards and half a dozen rolls of the outer layer took an afternoon.

An afternoon not spent on the actual roof.

Once I had enough of the roof open to walk on the roof, I thoroughly enjoyed the work up there. The old material is broken. The nails are stuck. The black stuff is sticky. Spiders hide underneath. But almost all of the wood underneath is intact. Such a relief!

Found some unexpected elderberries. Yay!

Just when my roof was all the way open, the rain started again. The rain slowed to a drizzle, and I decided to work anyway.

Whenever I wasn’t in the headspace for tall ladders and risks, I cleaned up around the hut. There are just days when you need manual labor to clear the head. But those days when I can’t trust myself to properly assess risks and approaches.

There are usually neighboring gardeners around or players on the soccer field next to me. Despite these precautions, I prefer not to get into trouble in the first place.

Figuring out how to get the slotted boards to fit just right is a puzzle. A very fun, exhausting one. When a board falls into place just right, the reward is worth the bruises and scratches along the way. And the sore fingers and arms that keep me grounded the next day…

Weeks after getting the first roofing supplies, I was only three rows in.

Rain was soaking my open roof all the time but there was nothing to be done about it. I used every decent-weathered good-health day to get out into the garden and onto the roof.

Some days, I worked in the rain. Other days, in 32-degree (90 F) heat and sunshine. But I was making progress!

The second side of the hut was getting cleared enough to start working on the roof. A lot of the wood I found there will be great for garden beds. And Pepper is greatly enjoying all our adventures in the garden. Especially on sunny days.

Every row is faster and easier than the one before, despite the extra height. Some nails came out really easily, too. Others will stay forever.

At some point, I realized I’d have to add half rows at the top and bottom. Time to learn how to use the saw, I guess. Getting the last row up was challenging. It was getting late but I wanted to finish what I could. Four more boards.

So, one by one, I pushed, balanced, shook, turned, and wriggled the boards into place.

I keep finding palettes all over my land. The previous owner must have been quite fond of them.

I hope the next owner of this land appreciates that I screwed the boards in. No stuck-in rusty nails from me, I hope.

And then, the last board went up. I was grinning all over. Maybe, just maybe, I’d get this roof finished after all.

Some days, I think this roof will be the end of me. Most days, I trust that I’ll be able to do this. I can. I will 🙂

So long, and thanks for being here!