With high temperatures hanging around 100 again at the moment, and much of my life and work based outdoors, I am finding acceptance within me: discomfort is transitory. I can always take comfort from the trees that stay green around us, despite baking in the heat day after day with extended periods of no rain. Like a tree with deep roots to find the moisture below, I have now been here long enough to remember previous hot, dry spells. We survived those. Wetter, cooler times return sooner or later; meanwhile there is still plenty of work to be done.
Ted here at Dancing Rabbit with this week’s update.
This past week, with two of Ironweed’s three work exchangers off-farm, Sequoia and I got started on installing the first layer of earthen floor in our addition. It ranges between two and four inches thick, and envelopes the radiant floor heat tubing attached to the insulation board. We’ve been sweeping up the dregs of a sand pile acquired last year for plaster work to supply the floor mix, and also remixing old cob (a clay-heavier material) to serve the purpose and liberate more buckets in the process. As we build across the great room floor now, awaiting a new delivery of sand, we keep the leading edge moist under wet burlap so that each subsequent batch will merge seamlessly into the whole.
The result is beautiful– after three years, I can now look at Aurelia’s room and get a sense of how it will look and feel to be in it. Once the sub-floor is dry we’ll paint her ceiling (a light lavender she chose), finish plaster her walls (she is still finalizing her thoughts about what sorts of glass mosaics she’d like), and finally install the thinner layer of finish floor. Recently turned six, Aurelia is looking forward as much as we are to a little more space in our house and to having her own room. What a journey this has been!
We witness plenty of other impressive work these days, too. Friday night Sharon, Dennis and their building crew hosted a party to celebrate the completion of their massive, round-wood timber frame following the last bent raising earlier in the week. Now they start looking to rafters and other next steps, hoping to trade temporary shade structures for a cool, living roof. As always, the potential for more shelter in the village excites me. Within some basic structural requirements, every house here is a unique product of its builders’ whims. No two are alike, and that nuanced physical aspect of our village (among others) keeps me giddy and excited for all the years of living with and visiting my neighbors to come.
Just up Crooked Route, and impressive in its own right, stands StrawTron, Ziggy and April’s new house. Today begins a straw bale workshop based in the house, with seven participants now arrived to learn that art alongside the builders and straw bale honcho Mark Mazziotti (one of our Red Earth Farms neighbors). The timberframing workshop that built the frame ended just a month ago, and in the intervening weeks, the house has gone from timber artwork to house with the addition of rafters, sheathing and a waterproofing membrane that will lie under the living roof. Getting that several-hundred-pound membrane atop the second story in yesterday’s steady wind was a three-hour affair that included the membrane flying off the roof once. In the end the team succeeded, providing essential shelter for straw bale walls that cannot be allowed to get wet in any rain.
Despite the dry weather, we’re in the fat time of year now. I spent much of Saturday perched in front of our two rocket stoves on Ironweed’s east porch, feeding the fires under the brine and canning pot and processing pickles and squash relish through the hot water bath as Sara brought the prepared jars out from the kitchen. Last week also saw a batch of salsa and some plain tomato sauce put up, and sweet corn and squash went through our solar dehydrators. That heat is good for some things! The pantry is starting to fill out nicely. Next up: running this year’s excellent grapes through our steam juicer.
While we’ve imported some of the produce from a local farmer, we’re also churning out beautiful harvests from our own garden. Given the weather, much of that is thanks to Sara’s steady attention to watering. Tomatoes are happy enough digging deep for moisture on their own, but cabbages, kale, and other younger or more tender veggies need some help when there is no rain. Once our rain barrels are exhausted after each storm, we turn to the rain supply stored in the 1200 gallon cistern under our house. In the nine years since we installed it, we’ve never had to use municipal water to refill it, and it has wet our lips through a number of dry years prior to this one. That offers a pleasant reassurance to my mind as I drift to sleep at night.
Other happenings here at the moment include a variety of standard weekly gatherings, from yoga and meditation each morning and some afternoons, to weekly potlucks with Sandhill and Red Earth, three Ultimate games each week, song circle, pizza night at the Mercantile, kickboxing for kids, Quaker meeting, healing circle, men’s and women’s groups, and of course numerous trips to the pond to cool off. Some evenings you can also hear our blues band warming up for the Off-Grid Blues dance weekend coming later in the season. There is little opportunity for boredom here!
With hopes that all you readers are finding ways to stay cool and hydrated, I offer a reminder that we give tours of Dancing Rabbit on 2nd and 4th Saturdays at 1pm (next one this Saturday the 28th), and we’ll be glad to see you here. Meanwhile you can find more information at www.dancingrabbit.org, read our blog at blog.dancingrabbit.org, or give us a call at (660) 883-5511. Cheers until next time!