This summer, we are tackling our biggest project yet. So big, that “big” seems like an understatement. Let’s go with “massive” for this one.

Elk are a big part of why OCH is here, in Atlanta, Michigan. A regal timber frame porch addition--a structure worthy of viewing the elk across an expansive open view--is now in the infancy of its construction.

Here in the woods, the sense of urgency to beautify a space seems unnecessary. Although the kitchen is sparse and spare, the furniture wobbly and patinaed with age, they don’t offend the way they would at home. The beauty is in the trees, and in us.

The important thing is that contrast is considered within the interior design choices made for a timber frame home. Play with the color, texture and reflectiveness of lighting, hardware, paint, textiles, and accents. Be aware of their power to complement or detract from the beauty of your timber frame.

Here’s to the laps behind us and the laps still ahead. May we plan them around togetherness, and remain hopeful.

No one hands Dan a “Courage” badge, but I would if I could. I see him every morning, lacing up his muddy boots, adjusting his signature outback hat, kissing us good-bye, and willingly shouldering all of the hard, all of the uncomfortable, all of the slow.

The aesthetic choices that the timber framer makes on a piece-by-piece, joint-by-joint basis across an entire frame are what result in an overall creation of breathtaking loveliness, totally unique from any other structure. The frame being assembled this week is a wonderful example of this ... the art inherent in this craft.

We now experience life in large part through gossamer images shared over social media. Our connections to people and events and beauty are mostly virtual. But put out your hand to brush in passing a 10”x10” timber post on your way from the kitchen to the mudroom and be jolted into the real, the here, the now.

At the OCH shop, four-year-old Danny has his own dedicated desk filled with Lego, toy vehicles and letter puzzles, as well as a variety of findings from around the shop; scraps of wood, shop pencils, safety glasses, tape measures. There, he meets the men that surround Dan during the day, witnessing both their strength in flipping 40 foot timbers and their gentleness in speaking to him. There, he sees that work can be both dirty and dignified.

For Dan, for as long as I’ve known him, music is the default. Most days will find him on the move in his Chevy Silverado, footwells filled with dried chunks of mud, passenger seat filled with papers, and a constant stream of companionable sound flowing from the dashboard, either as a bluetooth phone call with a customer, employee or supplier, or as music.