Happy new year! Another year (of mud) has come and gone. They move quickly, these years. After 10 years of living in the Berea area, and 8 years at South Slope we’re past the point of getting established and firmly in the routine phase of living life. Our life is here. There’s a familiar flow to the seasons. The details may change, but we know more or less what to expect with each passing season.
This was a summer of firsts in some respects.
After many years without animals, we finally got chickens on the land. We haven’t raised chickens or ducks in years, and I have to admit that the sound of the chickens alone adds a new dimension to the day that I appreciate. (I was very very reluctant to add a new “daily project” this year.)
This was also the first year in a while that we haven’t started a new building project at home. And thank goodness. We still have plenty to finish up between the few on-going (and yes, some long-running) projects. I’m fine with that. It’s my personal goal to spend more time finishing what we have and getting to some much-need maintenance. The temptation to do something new is always there, but it can wait. Patience. There’s plenty to do already.
The end of winter is nigh. However, it can be hard to tell sometimes. 78 degree days in February, night-time lows in the teens this weekend — the weather is an increasingly less reliable marker during this time of year. I’m sure that’s true for many of us, wherever we live. Nevertheless, there’s a change in the air. I’m jonesing to get my spring cleaning going this month. There’s a lot to catch up on after a busy 2022 building season. Here’s where we stand with the timber frame pavilion build.
I’ve been excited about building a timber frame outdoor kitchen since we moved to this land in 2015. It’s taken until this summer to get started but for good reason(s). The scope of the project has evolved to include a patio with dry stone retaining walls, which will be a vast improvement from the previously uneven slope that unceremoniously terminated at the back of the house porch.
Our 2019 Timber Frame Workshop brought the 10×16 outdoor kitchen frame to completion in 7 days. We had 15 participants from across the country — Maryland, Oregon, Washington, Alabama, Tennessee, Ohio, and more… Here’s a glimpse at our first few days together working on the small oak timber frame.
Our Natural Building Essentials Workshop has come to an end. What a fabulous four days. The focus of our efforts included light clay straw knee walls, clay plaster over wood lath, and an earthen floor in the timber frame “Hammock House”. Students also had a chance to make a cob oven, and experiment with finish clay plaster and clay paint. Click ahead to see more photos.
Heads up! Just 2 spots are remaining in our May Natural Building Essentials Workshop during Memorial Day weekend. This one is shaping up nicely! See you there.
In case you haven’t seen it already, our 2019 Natural Building Workshop schedule is up. We’re trying something slightly different with scheduling this year. Each class is happening around a national holiday, so hopefully folks can use fewer vacation days to join us. During Memorial Day weekend, we’re hosting our Natural Building Essentials class. And during the week of 4th of July, we have another 7 day Timber Frame Workshop. Check out the details here and drop a comment with any questions! Hope to see you soon.
We just wrapped up our 7 day Timber Frame Workshop and I’m finally catching my breath. Whew. Timber framing has a steep learning curve so it’s not the kind of thing you can easily jump into, willy-nilly. It takes some warming up and getting used to lots of new terms, tools, methodologies, etc.
Timber framing is, first and foremost, an exercise in visualization. Looking at plans and applying layout to a timber, imagining a timber oriented in the building — these are all skills that take some time to hone. It’s a totally different way to approach building the bones of a house because everything is laid out and cut in advance of the pieces being assembled. So it’s immensely helpful to be able to see things in your mind, before they exist in front of you. Essential, even.