We’ve been having some icy weather of late. The frosts have been beautiful — much heavier than usual. Some of these last few days have just been gorgeous. Cold, crisp, but wonderfully clear!

Most of the plants are holding up well. With the exception of the new maple sapling and the new rhodedendron which our new puppy Jack 2.0 has decided to eat. I think they’re goners.

In order to keep Jack warm, I made a dog house. The design is pretty simple, should be big enough for him even when he’s full-grown and as a plus, it’s insulated. It’s not the prettiest thing inside but my woodworking skills are pretty rudimentary. I did get a new DeWalt Jigsaw (which works great). I was amazed by just how much this thing weighed… It’s heavy enough that I really need a hand-cart to move it around. I suppose that’s good — the boys and the dog won’t be able to move it around. The walls are about 2 inches thick — outer hardi-plank, 1″ foam insulation, and 1/2″ plywood sheathing inside. I was able to use a lot of scraps that I had. I think the total cost was under $100.

I made it to match the house so at least it fits in nicely with the yard. The roof is done pretty poorly. I actually have enough to put on a second layer of shingles (which would probably help keep it dry) but I got lazy and decided to wait and see what Jack does to this before moving on.