she shed | Living Life Retired (LLR)

She shed spring spruce up

April 3, 2023 by Sherry

I love being in the mountains. Almost six years ago, I purchased a small property just outside of Estes Park in Colorado. I visit “my side of the mountain” several times during the winter just to make sure it’s still there. Luckily, it is. Today, I am writing from my picnic table with my little dog, Goldi, beside me. It’s about 50 degrees with a light breeze; beautiful up here. I’m also taking inventory of what I need to, or want to, get done up here this summer besides a she shed spring spruce up.

Last year, I built a stone fire pit area, put up a rain gutter, repaired the road which runs through my property, split wood, put up lots of tongue and groove pine on the interior of the shed, put up a little garden fence, and partially furnishing my she shed.

I’ve already started my annual raking of the pine cones and needles and doing a little road repair. I discovered if I put pine cones and needles in the mud puddles it helps to dry them up and make the road easier to navigate. My neighbors who live on the mountain year round make the ruts on my property but don’t help to keep it maintained. We have a community road service guy but he hasn’t been out yet.

This spring I hope to plant some wild flowers and hope the deer and elk don’t eat them all. I’ve been preparing a flower bed so the deer can find them easily.

A deck is in the plan this summer. County code does not allowed me to attach it to my shed. I would also like to reroof the old cabin, reside one side and put in a sliding glass door. I may also see about leveling it as it has a rotten sill on the north side.

This summer, I am most looking forward to coming up here more often. Writing, hiking, and staying overnight for a few days at a time. I may have to add fixing the slats on my antique bed so I don’t fall through during the night like last year. I can’t wait! Mountain living is the life for me after my she shed spring spruce up.

Cabin property firsts on my birthday

October 4, 2022 by Sherry

August 22, 2022 was a special day personally and for LivingLifeRetired.com (LLR). We both had birthdays. I turned 63 years old and LLR turned 6. I celebrated this special day at my cabin property in Glen Haven, CO and it included several firsts.

First, I had a fire in the new fire pit. Despite the county fire ban in place, a small fire burned just enough to heat up a couple of brats and some beans. There is something to be said for cooking on an open fire. Is it the fire or the natural outdoor environment you’re cooking in? Either way, it just makes everything taste better.

The second first occurred when I loaded and fired the Glock 19 BB gun I purchased for target practice and to use on wildlife, if needed. Empty tin cans provided a fun shooting range for target practice. After only a couple of tries, I was able to hit several cans. It made me feel like a kid at the fair trying to win a prize.

Lastly, the third first was a really BIG deal. I stayed overnight in my “she shed” for the first time and I survived to tell about it. I have owned this cabin property for five years and had never stayed overnight. It was past time to try it out.

While the shed’s interior isn’t finished yet, I had the near comforts of home: an antique twin bed with an inflatable mattress to sleep on, water to drink, food cooked on the open fire, music from the radio, a lantern, a bucket to pee in during the night, plenty of blankets, and my small dog, Goldi. While I didn’t sleep at all, mostly due to the bed’s slats falling down off the bed rails when I moved, I “woke” to a beautiful and peaceful 50 degree morning.

Then, I let Goldi out and I got dressed quickly. I could not wait to get outside to explore and photograph the awakening light spreading across Crosier Mountain. After several wild turkeys surveyed the property, I devoured the thick and gooey cinnamon roll (my birthday cake) I purchased the evening before at the Glen Haven General Store. I paired it with a cup of Earl Grey tea I made from the thermos of hot water I brought from home.

Reflecting back on the purchase of the cabin property five years ago, I am reminded of how blessed I am to have such a great place to explore, write, and hone some of my design and building skills. I also look back on the six years I’ve been dabbling with the LLR blog site. I hope and pray I can continue to have adventures to inspire you and more firsts to inform you. At the beginning of LLR, I said I wanted to create a community of solo retirees who can inspire and inform one another. I know I can with your support.

She shed update – welcome and unwelcome signs

September 10, 2021 by Sherry

While it may be taking two years to get my she shed ready for personal writing retreats, the welcome and unwelcome signs are now in use.

She shed update — Custom sign from Etsy, Photo by slc

Welcome Sign

I ordered a custom metal sign from Etsy for Sherry’s She Shed. Since wildflowers are one of my most favorite gifts from God, I searched for a sign with beautiful flora. I applied a coat of spar urethane to protect it from the elements. After I installed the sign this week, I came across some of the old cabin cabinet doors. So I fashioned a wooden sign holder out of the cabinet door just to bring some of the original character of the 1938 cabin to the new shed.

Unwelcome Sign

I also constructed two bear unwelcome mats this week. Over the years I have watched several tv shows about living and surviving in the wilderness. Alaska: The Last Frontier, The Last Alaskans and Mountain Men are my favorites. The brave individuals in these shows use bear mats at their remote cabin properties. Bear mats are made of plywood and nails. The bigger the bear the bigger the nails. While we don’t have grizzly bears in Colorado we do have black bears. A couple of years ago, I encountered a black bear about 30 yards from my property and last year one left me an unwelcome sign, bear scat.

To make the bear mats, I used ugly shelving from my home (that’s why there is vinyl flooring on them). After researching the making of bear mats on the Colorado Parks and Wildlife website, I purchased 2” nails. Nailing them on the board every 2” provides enough pain to get the bear to not pursue what’s behind the window of my shed, but they don’t hurt the bear. They are secured in place with rebar so a bear can not just move them out of the way. When using bear unwelcome mats you need to post a warning they are in use.

Unwanted visit

While I was working on touching up paint around the newly installed window, I encountered an unwanted visit. My most dreaded wildlife…a snake! It slithered from under my she shed, right under the doorway. This snake was long and I didn’t know what to do except wait to see it’s tail. In my mind at the time, if the snake had rattles, I would react differently than if it didn’t. Luckily for me, and for the snake, it did not have rattles. I think it just wanted to see what I was doing.

Sherry's She Shed — Western Terrestrial Garter Snake, Photo by slc

Luckily I saw it before it could go in the open doorway. I quickly decided it was probably a good thing to have a snake on the property to keep mice and voles in check. I sent a photo to the Colorado Department of Natural Resources and they identified the snake as a Western Terrestrial garter snake. They said it is harmless. Later, after researching online I learned that killing a snake, other than a rattlesnake, in Colorado is prohibited.

I enjoy learning survival techniques as I love the adventure, but I don’t enjoy feeling fearful. Preparation assists in having a more enjoyable experience. So come by for a visit. Everyone, except bears and mountain lions, are welcome.

She shed structure’s progress – window view

July 12, 2021 by Sherry

It has been nearly two years since I began my she shed project at my mountain cabin property. The she shed structure’s progress has encountered several road blocks along the way. That first summer it took several months, instead of days, to improve the build site and complete the custom designed Tuff Shed properly. Last fall, improvements to Sherry’s She Shed were halted due to the Cameron Peak wildfire evacuation. Then, winter set in. Now, I’m back at it with some help and the she shed structure’s (say that three times fast) progressing again.

I recently hired a family friend and master carpenter, Matt Tanner, to install a window I purchased at Home Depot last fall. I asked him to install it with the bottom sill about 32″ from the floor so my desk can sit right underneath it. Matt also added 2″ x 4″ bracing around the small windows on two sides of the shed. Little did I know at the time, but I saved a ton of money since I purchased the materials last fall. Building materials are now outrageously expensive.

Once Matt finished installing the window and bracing, I was able to complete the insulation installation. Finally, the she shed structure’s progressing and now it has a window view.

neighbor's rubbish pile — Neighbor’s Rubbish Pile, Photo by slc

P.S. A hiccup I’m dealing with now is the neighbor’s new rubbish pile on their property but is also near the entrance to mine:

Cabin Update: Sherry’s She Shed

June 27, 2021December 4, 2019 by Sherry

If you have been following this blog for awhile, you know I purchased a small mountain property with an old dilapidated cabin on it. A year ago August upon the advice of my lawyer, I had to break the contract with a structural engineer I just signed due to a lawsuit my ex-husband was threatening. Since that time the lawsuit has not materialized, so I went with Plan B, or was it Plan C?. This new plan called for a she shed to be constructed on the property as a writer’s cabin, much like Thoreau’s . The shed would be somewhere I could stay while working on the property, savoring its solitude and using it as a place to write. It would be aptly named Sherry’s “she shed.”

After doing some research I found out I could build a 10′ x 12′ shed without a county building permit. Electricity would also require a permit so I decided the shed would not have electricity. I contracted Tuff Shed to build my shed once I designed it. On July 10th I ordered it online and the build date was scheduled for August 20th, just two days before my 60th birthday. Perfect. I was excited.

She shed spring spruce up

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Cabin property firsts on my birthday

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