Antidote for Christmas Cabin Fever

A view of the whole mantle. (We hand-carved the trout under the mantle)

Today all the Christmas decorations came down. Among them a mantle diorama of a cabin scene.

Our first winter season after buying our little cabin we had a severe case of cabin fever. It is so remote that we can't get there in winter, so we created a little 'cabin scene' to envision what it would be like if we could go there.

For the trees, we use white pine cones, the tips of branches from spruce (our Christmas tree), and any other shrubs that are still green, like juniper. We lean them up against the white wall. Then we set stones here and there to create the look of huge rocks, and use a small 7" round mirror for a pond scene. We add 'moss' (that model railroaders use) for the bushes.

We place miniature animals here and there, including bears, some moose, fox, and rabbits...even a house cat. Later we added a kayak and a canoe, including tiny paddles.

The miniature cabin even has interior 'lights' you can turn on when children are visiting.We know it's corny, but it really did take the edge off that first winter, and we've enjoyed it every year since.

The cabin lit up - after the rest of the diorama had been taken down.