I knew I'd be babysitting a lot, and I was planning ahead - that was one of the best decisions I ever made! By the time Daisy was nine, she had spent many happy hours having tea parties with her teddybears in there.
The cabin took almost a month to build, because I built shelves and cupboards, a loft, a work-center and a built-in covered bench.
I lined the shelves with nature stuff - elk droppings, dormant bumble bees, seeds from my garden, crow feet, shells, and all kinds of treasures from hikes in the woods and along the ocean. We put a few old books on a top shelf, and teddybears, puzzles and leggos, maps and travel pamphlets, and an old miner's lantern where ever they could fit. I stapled old photos of Montana in there, and even collaged part of a wall with old family photos of my mom's family on horseback.
When ever I really needed solitude, away from the intensity of my family, I would go inside here, and lock myself in. Only mesh wire is across the windows, for ventilation, but a skylight on the east portico, made with thick plastic, gives the cabin lots of gentle light. I keep a nightlight burning all the time, and it glows at night, letting the possums and raccoons know that it is occupied.
I never got around to spring cleaning this year, so cobwebs line the legs to tables, and Daisy hasn't gone in there yet. Her tea set is on the table, just where she left it last fall, and little mice have scattered droppings on the floor. She must have left a cookie there.
When I look out my bedroom window, into the back yard, the little cabin is there, looking like it needs Daisy to come over to play. It looks like it needs a little conversation...
