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.
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.
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.
