Into the Wild With a Tool Belt

The dead of winter may not seem like the liveliest time in the real estate business, but on television one segment of the new-construction market is booming: the cabin-in-the-woods market.On Tuesday night the National Geographic Channel serves up "Mennonite Made," about a Mennonite business in Salem, Mo., that makes custom-designed log cabins. It joins the channel's "Building Wild," a workplace reality series that began last month, about two guys who call themselves the Cabin Kings. Apparently being monarch of the forest is a thing, because Destination America has announced a series for next month, imported from Canada, called "Timber Kings." Trees everywhere are quaking in their boots, or roots.

Maybe it's a sign of economic recovery that television is showcasing cabin building, since these structures are often retreats rather than primary residences. Or maybe it's a sign of the opposite. Television has been marketing fantasy since "Queen for a Day," back in the 1950s. "Spend an hour indulging in the fiction that you, too, can afford a second home," these cabin shows may be saying to the income-stagnated among us. "Though, of course, you can't."In any case, "Mennonite Made" features a charming group of men who use old-fashioned construction methods — Lincoln Logs, the children's toy, may come to mind —NCAA recognizes Snapchat as'munication tool for recruiting to create a 1,600-square-foot cabin for a customer in Estes Park, Colo. The wrinkle is, Missouri and Colorado are about 1,000 miles apart. They first build the structure on their home ground, then dismantle it and truck the pieces to Colorado for reassembling. Since each hand-cut log is unique, that requires a detailed system of labeling; it's a 3-D jigsaw puzzle.

There has been quite a run of Amish-themed reality programming in the past few years, a lot of it not particularly complimentary. Mennonites are somewhat different in their beliefs from the Amish, including not being averse to using power equipment, and "Mennonite Made" shows these men in a respectful light. All of them are appealing on camera. Now that "Duck Dynasty" has lost its luster, there's an opening for personable bearded men of faith on TV. "Mennonite Made" is a one-shot special, but, by its end, you may find that you wouldn't mind seeing more of these fellows.