The kids did well

[Dave Grubb]

Ahh yes----the strange quirks of our English language.

You likely drink "spring" water if you buy bottled water. In fact, the highest valued export of PA is spring water. It is actually classified as an agricultural product.

There are also "artesian wells" which are a type of springs that are under pressure.

We have springs here that are maintained by land owners to allow people to get water for their own use. These are generally on private land and adjacent to the public road. The State doesn't like them but they seem to have given up on trying to stop the practice.

[Flaco]

There was a lot of barns that did not fuss with a cap. They cut one side off at the peak and the other side ran past that a couple of inches. I was always impressed by how many "daylights" those roofs had---and nary a leak

My SIL was going to put felt on this but I did manage to talk him out of that. It is on lath. We actually made trusses for the rafters.

I'm sure you encountered this in old barns. The lath was oak and often the rafter spacing was wider than we do now-----trying to drive nails into that lath was like driving nails into a rubber band.

good! felt paper should never be used with cedar shingles. they need to be able to breathe so they last. and yup, i've had the hammer come up and try to smack me more than a few times from bouncy lath.

[Dave Grubb]

...and for one of those "public" springs, Flaco likely knows this one

Years ago we had a hunting "shack" in Bradford County PA, NE of Evergreen. It was crude, we had no water, but about 2 miles on our dirt road away was a "public" spring. (Flaco, this was north of Evergreen on 220.)
We had a bunch of milk cans that we would take down to the spring and fill up. The only problem we might have is that we would store them on the porch---and commonly they would freeze up. Not nice if we forgot to bring a replacement inside

We had a shower of sorts rigged up. About 4 gallons would do for a shower, warmed on the stove. We had a hardware store water pump run with a 1/4" drill. It took two guys, one in the "shower" and the other operating the drill on demand. We'd get wet, stop the drill and lather up, then run the drill to rinse off-----it felt as good as any shower

[UTAH]

Showering out in the boonies is a refreshing experience. With a washcloth and a pint bottle of water, I can make it work. When done in the middle of the night, and with no fire attracting attention, there are no privacy issues.

Hunter

[Dave Grubb]

I took a "helmet bath" on one occasion in Korea. It was February and we had been stuck on a mountain top for almost a month at that point. I could not stand myself any longer----most especially when in my sleeping bag with only one fume vent!

It was a cold day, well below freezing but clear as a bell and no wind. I heated water in my steel helmet on the kerosene stove in our hut and took it outside. I stood on a wood pallet. The cold never entered the equation but the pleasurer of the bath was undeniable.

[Flaco]

i have done the "shunk shower" before. mr. grubb might know of it, it is near camp brule in shunk pa. the spring water comes out at 40* non stop and you get the privilege of standing in an old porcelain glazed cast iron tub. the bonus is you can not get out of the shower stream! that was the most uncomfortable and fastest showers i have ever had.....where is that brrr emogi with icicles when you want it.

also i have only come across 1 or 2 barns that did not have the cap shingles on them. the few i have seen, the old craftsmen wove the cap course and they never leaked! i give full credit to those carpenters of old.