Problem Solved

Building a garden shed - a "folly" - is in many ways like marathon training.  I began with a good foundation of hills and long miles, and am following a carefully-constructed plan - another 13-miler completed yesterday.  But that little cupola on top of the roof has been a problem from the beginning, like gradually realizing that the upcoming marathon includes an unexpected obstacle.  It looked good on paper, but I have never built a cupola before, and the sketchy framing diagrams I found on the internet were little help.  How was I going to frame this thing in, way up there on a roof coated temporarily with slick 4-mile plastic sheeting?

The answer occurred to me, as it often does, in the middle of a run.  I was halfway up Big Bearpen Mountain when it suddenly dawned on me that I could constructed the frame and the little roof in two parts, down on the ground, and then assemble them in place.  I even "saw" suddenly how I could join together eight intersecting rafters in a little hip-roof peak.

I even realized how I could leverage it up onto the roof and place it where it belonged.

Many runners have told me before that they have solved all kinds of problems while out on a run.  It is truly a miraculous process, and I have solved problems as different as how to express capital reserves in the Town budget to framing a cupola.  The solution literally does dawn on you; it is like some some material object you suddenly approach along the road, like a tree or a mailbox:  suddenly, it is simply there, right in front of you, unavoidable and plain as day!

The magic of running!