A week after arriving to find the property overrun with cows, I returned and found they had all departed. Apparently they were just passing through, on their way to green pastures. I can't say I was disappointed.

I did some more drywall mudding, mostly on the inside corners, which seem to take me the longest. Currently I have two coats on everything, with one more to go.

I discovered the lockset on the utility building was jammed or something and I couldn't get inside. It took about five minutes to drill it out and get inside. The ease with which I was able to get inside the locked room was discouraging so I replaced the ruined lockset with a heavier duty model, also replacing the set on the front door. Now all three locks are keyed to the same key.

I finished the wiring in the loft, adding boxes and wiring for a light and fan. I ran some 8/3 wire from the utility room to the opposite wall of the cabin for the eventual solar panels. I also ran some cat5 and low voltage wire from the utility room to a spot over the front door which will be used for a security camera at some point in the future.

I put in most of the batt fiberglass insulation in the loft ceiling, mainly to get it out of the way. The rolls had been sitting up in the loft for almost a year.

Finally, I started my big experiment in blowing cellulose insulation into the first floor wall cavities. The cavities are accessible from the loft due to the balloon framing. My DIY insulation blower consisted of a cheap 1HP Harbor Freight dust collector, some hoses I had laying around, a trash can used as a hopper, and a drill with a joint compound mixer used as an agitator. The setup actually worked quite well and I was able to fill about a third of the cavities in one afternoon. It was a bit more messy than I anticipated and I had to agitate the insulation in the hopper more frequently than I expected. Overall, I'm happy with the results. Based on the progress so far, it will take about 15 bags of cellulose. At $10 per bag, total cost should be $150 for materials. See the pictures for more info, including a rare picture with me in it.