The first 20 acres was purchased back in March 2008 through Vicki www.coolhousesaustin.com with the intent to carry out everything as described on the home page… but for self! First step was to get some kind of secure storage on the place- a 20′ shipping container seemed to be the logical answer and as I was in the industry… my first reuseable purchase has took place. Now there’s a story behind the container but we’ll save that for an evening of laughter around the fire. On the end of the container a lean-to was constructed and a roof over to proved a water catchment mechanism along with shade. Some timber was supplied from the property for the framing.
The container began to feel “Homely” so I decided to minimize the storage and turn it into my “shack” with the intent to spend weekends there while building my house. That has been an enjoyable process with most items being sourced through craigs list http://austin.craigslist.org/ or Austin Re-store www.re-store.com. Half the fun was going out and meeting the people while collecting goods. My kids actively participate in the consturction and learning activities, parental pride is a beautiful thing 
As the shack developed so did the concept of “Panther Canyon Cabins, after waking up to the still clean air of Meyers Mountain it became apparent that I needed to share this with others. The shack has since become a “testing ground” for the cabins. With a small wind turbine and solar array purchased through Maverick Brown at www.mavericksolar.com and a handful of rain barrels I was beginning to wonder if I should even build a house! Lining of the container has been an experiment in products, from re-used cloth backed reflective sheets, stitched bamboo mats and cork rolls… while it wont win any design awards when it comes to the cabin interior the products will have been tried and proven. The flooring is a seagrass mat provided by Jim at eco wise Austin www.ecowise.com, it looks and smells fantastic! The lean-to has a chalk board for some home schooling, dining table and sink (yep- grey water recycling)… the small glass house is still under construction.