It’s nigh on bedtime and the wind’s been blowing hefty hard all day, with snow falling regularly since the morning. Snow drifts are over two feet high and blocking many of our walking paths throughout the village, and another foot of snow is expected over the night. Wind turbines are screaming and the temperature is expected to plummet to -10º on Wednesday night, with a wind chill clocking in at a brisk -25º. Damn! These are a harsh few days for us in northeastern Missouri, where snow often doesn’t accumulate beyond a few inches.
The house is holding up just fine and the stove’s been cranking on and off throughout the day. This is the kind of weather for watching out the windows, reading and writing, and cooking hot and simple meals — cornbread and refried beans for us.
I’ll be lucky if I can get to my chopping stump tomorrow to chop some extra wood. Good thing there’s some ready to go in the woodshed for when I do need it…
Well this is my first comment on your site but, I’ve been reading it on and off for sometime. To be honest your site is one that I found that has inspired me to to begin my own attempts at become more sustainable. When I was looking for alternatives to the high cost of bricks, blocks and mortar your site was the first and one of the best that I found. I began with an outdoor kitchen as my first project. I’m journaling it at http://earthkitchenproject.blogspot.com so any advice you might have as my project progresses will be welcome. I was also extremely interested in the stone/urbanite foundation that you guys built on the rubble trench. This is what I have been thinking about using for my first building, which will probably be a shed then a garage. I have had problems finding good information on exactly how to do it and all the factors to take into consideration. Your Wabi-sabi slide show had great prictures of it. I was curious about how the lime mortar was working. I was thinking of using clay, lime and sand so as not to use cement but, I wasn’t sure how it would hold up. So I would love to get your opinions on it. Keep up the great work!
They say cob isn’t appropriate for climates and weather such as yours. Speaking from the dead of winter, how do you feel about that issue? Please reply via email too.