Back around 1979 during the latter years of the Carter administration, the feds decided to put gators back into the extreme ranges of their former habitat, which included the Tennessee River. This was to help replenish the dwindling gator population. They released about 25 adult gators and justified this by saying it would help reduce the beaver population. They released a bunch of smaller gators also. The first two or three winters were brutal and several carcasses were found during the next several springs. For example, does anyone remember the big ice storm we had in January 1982, that was the year of the Air Florida crash in D.C. Regardless, the gator population in Wheeler has increased and sitings are infrequent but they are seen. About 5 or 6 years ago a gator was seen in a golf course pond here in Birmingham. He was promptly removed for the safety of the golfers. About the same time a friend in Harpersville had 2 or 3 gators in Coosa river next to her property. Eventhough there were small children on the property, the state would not do anything and warned the property owner not to harm the gators. Mike Bolton who is a sportwriter for the B'ham News took a canoe trip down the Cahaba RIver from Helena to the Alabama RIver near Old Cahaba in Dallas County (Selma). Bolton reported he saw small gators on the banks of the Cahaba from West Blocton-Centerville area down to Selma. Several have been spotted at the lock and dam in Northport-Tuscaloosa and recently one was spotted at Lock 17 in the Warrior River at Jefferson-Tuscaloosa county line. I keep looking for one anytime in the backyard pond garden. Great heavens, I ramble on like my grandmother used to. I am getting old.

Oceanna, I am a registered user but it's free and I just click the 'Remember Me' box at logon to set my pc to remember the pass, so usually don't have to worry about it -- until now! since I logged out to try uploading without a sign-on (which I didn't see but got caught up in loading a toolbar, etc.). But it's easy to have them email a new logon so I don't worry about it : ) Whenever I go to ImageShack, I'm automatically logged in.

I would first address structural issues. It looks to be very lightly constructed; probably not anywhere near current codes. The roof, in particular is subject to some serious stresses if you get snow in your area. I would like to see some kind of rafters tying the walls together for starters. If you could find some rough-sawn material, it would add to the look. Even a few of them would add considerably to the roof integrity. It's going to be hard to insulate the walls and keep the exposed studs. To look good, you would have to have some kind of planking as your first layer on the outside, followed by considerable insulation and then siding. Bear in mind that walls like that have little protection from wracking. You certainly either want to do just one wall at a time, and probably put temporary diagonal bracing. There really should be permanent diagonal bracing for a planked wall structure. It would be much easier to sheathe the outside with OSB, then a layer of foam, then the siding. Use conventional insulation in the wall cavities, then drywall, or better yet, horizontal planking to keep the character of the cottage. The same rules apply to the roof, although you would want to keep the planking if it is in good shape. I would strip the roofing, and if all is good, apply a thick rigid foam layer- like 6", then outer sheathing screwed through the foam to the roof structure, then tar paper and shingles. I think it looks like a fun project! Just make sure you protect/improve the structural integrity as you go. It's been found that tightening up air leaks can have as much impact as insulation, so work carefully, and put some study into modern energy efficient practices. Greenbuildingtalk is a good forum for more technical info. As for the pipes underneath, they can go into the ground in an insulated (and possibly heated) box. You're going to want to insulate the floor, too.

I read it a few years ago, and did like it but ended up not finishing it. I found it a little hard to suspend (dis)belief and also found that not being versed in Christianity made it more challenging to follow. It wasn't that I resented the Christian references, but I didn't really "get " some of them and felt I was missing out. I do remember up until that point though, thinking it was a great read.