Rebuilding the Outhouse

Last March, we got a windstorm here the likes of which we had never seen in the 25+ years we’ve been on this property. We live at the base of the Swan Range. Every so often, a pressure gradient will set up over the Continental Divide and the wind will come roaring back off the mountains from the east. That’s been happening more frequently in recent years, and the storms seem to be getting stronger.

Our section of road was particularly hard hit. Most of us lost dozens of trees. The storm blew in overnight. Around 2 a.m., I was lying in bed listening to all the booming and crashing outside when I heard a loud bang right outside our bedroom window. I threw on my robe and my boots and grabbed the flashlight. By the time I came back in to report to the husband, he was dressed.

We have two big larch (western tamarack) in our front yard. One had already survived having its top blown off. The top regrew and the tree is a bit misshapen. The bang I heard was the top of the larch coming off again and landing here:

This is (or was) a porta-potty. That concrete pad has a wooden fence around it and holds our two 1000-gallon propane tanks and the porta-potty. No, most people do not have a porta-potty in their yard, but the husband bought that one about 20 years ago so that he and the employees could avoid traipsing through the house to use the bathroom in here.

Our children were mortified. (They were in elementary school at the time.)

“No one else has a porta-potty in their front yard!

“Everyone can see it from the bus!”

The husband addressed their concerns by hiding the porta-potty behind that lovely fence. Also, they grew up and now live elsewhere.

A few weeks ago, I noticed that the porta-potty innards had been moved and were sitting under the overhang by the new shop. I said something to the husband about it and he mentioned that he was getting ready to rebuild the outhouse. That was his project last week in addition to flushing out the diesel exhaust fluid reservoir of the BMW.

I popped out to the shop yesterday to check on progress.

Yep, it’s a porta-potty:

This one actually rather looks more like an outhouse now and less like a porta-potty.

When the weather improves, this will get moved back to the concrete pad next to the propane tanks and put back into service. And knowing the husband, it likely will have some kind of extra roof reinforcement so it can withstand being hit by a tree again.