You can read the article about my cob house that was published in Yes! Magazine online. Check it out.
Dearest friend and fellow Dancing Rabbit member, natural builder, gardener, fiddle player, yoga teacher, (hell, life teacher), and just simply an amazing human being, Tamar died on Sunday, September 12th. I’ve had the oh-too brief fortune to know Tamar for three years while living at Dancing Rabbit. Last fall, Tamar’s health took a sudden turn for the worst when she was diagnosed with cancer. Since that fateful autumn, she has been through much pain, as have those many family members and friends who have been witness to her suffering. It has been one hell of a journey, the difficult end of which has come on a incredibly sunny, breathtaking September afternoon, with Monarchs bringing fluttering, fleeting color and beauty to the prairie. How fitting a day for the death of such an amazing individual.
Tamar has left a mark on many of those people who have crossed paths with her, and I am no exception. She had been a big inspiration throughout the building of my home, and her colorful mosaics grace its cob walls. She has left behind many reminders of her beautiful (but too-short) life here at Dancing Rabbit, and for that I am extremely thankful, and I am indebted to have known such an amazing person and friend.
Here’s to you, Tamar. You are missed.
On July 11, 2009, I moved into my newly completed cob house. It’s now been over a year since the move-in, and there have been many learning lessons along the way. I’d like to present a number of those lessons here in my one year report of living in a cob house.
Here we go…
Michael Janzen of Tiny House Design is building a tiny, 80 square foot house… for free. And word is getting out about his project, which is one of many in the new tiny house wave. From Michael:
The core values of the tiny house movement are that living simply in small spaces empowers us. Committing to a tiny house removes many of the burdens we accepted when we bought into the idea of a “normal” American lifestyle. Instead of focusing on how much we can afford, the tiny space forces us to consider how little we really need.
Check out more about his nifty free tiny house project at Yes! Magazine and visit his website for more news and musings on the tiny house movement! Cool stuff.
Michael Janzen of Tiny House Design is building a tiny, 80 square foot house… for free. And word is getting out about his project, which is one of many in the new tiny house wave. From Michael:
The core values of the tiny house movement are that living simply in small spaces empowers us. Committing to a tiny house removes many of the burdens we accepted when we bought into the idea of a “normal” American lifestyle. Instead of focusing on how much we can afford, the tiny space forces us to consider how little we really need.
Check out more about his nifty free tiny house project at Yes! Magazine and visit his website for more news and musings on the tiny house movement! Cool stuff.
Last week, after being sick of sleeping on a carpet with some blankets on the floor, I finally hunkered down and made a bed frame, not without some consistent prodding from April. The idea had been to use some osage orange logs for the corner posts, and I had cut some low limbs weeks ago, but I was nervous about the prospect of using something so round and irregular to make a very square piece of furniture. But it turned out to be quite successful, despite my lack of experience with woodworking.
A tiny hearth for a tiny stove
It’s been a long time coming, but the little Morso 1410 wood stove finally got moved into its final living place. I spent a day or so making this tiny little hearth for the stove, which was a pretty fun little project.
Tiny dry-stacked woodshed foundation
As if there wasn’t enough to do this year (between house changes and a mud room addition, and building a temporary kitchen and of course the full four seasons kitchen, and a whole mess of other stuff), April and I have decided to build a small cob woodshed. Cob woodshed? Isn’t that overkill? Well, sure… but with all of that extra cob we have lying around from the bed demolition, it’s the perfect use for it!
I’ve mentioned before that GOBCOBATRON will be featured on the cover of the latest Yes! Magazine, issue #55. Well, in addition to that, the staff has created a slideshow of the building of my cob house for their website, and a piece of my writing accompanies it.
You can check out the Building a Handmade Cob House slideshow at the Yes! website. If you like it, maybe you’ll consider stumbling it and sharing with friends?
Thanks!
Admiring the first post
At long last, the kitchen timber framing has begun. The foundation was completed several weeks ago, and since then, more of the framing design has been hashed out and actually started. So far, we’ve got our first two posts up and plumbed, and the first beam awaits shaping and raising.
About The Year of Mud
Hi there, I’m Ziggy. In 2008, I launched The Year of Mud while building my first natural home. This blog is a collection of personal stories and experiences building with clay, straw, and wood over the past 15+ years. A few of the things that get me fired up are natural plasters, timber framing, & Japanese architecture. Since 2012, we’ve been hosting Natural Building Workshops so you can learn essential skills to build your own natural home.
