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staked toddler table

The Tiny Toddler Table

By Woodworking

staked toddler table 00

“Toddler table” would have been enough, but who can resist some good ol’ title alliteration? Forgive me, it’s late and I’m fully cognizant of the dearth of winter updates on the ol’ blog here. So here’s a little glimpse of at least one tiny project that I completed this winter. This is a toddler table for our little fellow (who will be turning 2 in March, yow).

Much of the past couple months has been imbued with sickness, cold cold weather, and sticking close to home. You know, winter stuff. The woodworking bug tends to hit me hard in the winter, so I try to carve out time whenever possible to make some stuff in the workshop. The time is always more limited than I like, especially now with a kiddo vying for as much attention as humanly possible. So it’s only appropriate that one of my woodworking projects is specifically for his benefit. Well, enough yammering, take a look!

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natural building workshop berea kentucky

2018 Natural Building Workshops Schedule is Live

By Natural Building Workshops

natural building workshop berea kentucky

In case you haven’t noticed, I recently posted our full 2018 Natural Building Workshops schedule. This year we have two dates for our popular Natural Building Essentials Workshop, and one Timber Frame Workshop in July. It’s hard to believe, but this is our seventh year hosting classes and year three at our homestead already. (And it’s year ten for this blog, too. Whoa.)

If you’ve been planning to come out and join us, this would be a great year to do so. We find inspiration and room for little improvements every year, and with each passing season there are more projects to see here at our land and elsewhere in the community at large.

Have a look at the full schedule here!

 

toronto blacksmith axes

(More) Axes We Love

By Carpentry, Woodworking, Wood Carving, Hand Tools

toronoto blacksmith custom forged axes

Tools are what make any craft or trade physically possible. You cannot make a house, spoon, basket, or sweater without certain essential tools. And a quality tool makes the experience more efficient, enjoyable, accurate, and safer. As I’ve stated before, I have a particular fondness for using axes, for whatever reason. A few years ago, I wrote Axes We Love to highlight some of the high quality hand-forged axes being made out there in the world. In my second entry in the Axes We Love series, I want to highlight a few more of the talented blacksmiths who are hard at work producing custom forged axes and other tools we need to do our best work.

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Dirty Jobs: Barn Deconstruction

By Carpentry, Timber Framing

In November, I traveled to Illinois to help deconstruct a 100+ year old barn. It was not an immense building, but it still took plenty of muscle and ample time to deconstruct. Geez. I forgot how exhilarating it is to wield a pry bar for days on end. Well, the barn finally took the form of many piles of wood after dozens and dozens of hours of nail pulling and coaxing. It was a big relief to walk away from a few scattered foundation stones, the total remaining evidence of the building that once stood. Here are a few pictures of the process, petrified barn cat included.

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Our Natural Building Story in New Pioneer Magazine

By Media, Straw Bale Building, Strawtron, South Slope Farm, Cob Building

New Pioneer Magazine - The Year of Mud

This summer,  April & I were interviewed for the winter issue of New Pioneer magazine. In it, we talk about our natural building journey and experiences living at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage and moving to Kentucky. It’s been a long time since I built the cob house that started all of this business (9 years ago, in fact). And even though it was only recently that we sold our straw bale house, we began work on that structure 5 years ago.

Doing this interview conjures up all those weird feeling associated with time and memory — like, some things feels so far away yet so recent at the same time. Anyway. Jereme did a great job with fact checking and this story gets my “yea that happened” stamp of approval. The article captures our story of learning how to build with mud and straw and all the mistakes and successes along the way.

You can purchase the winter issue of New Pioneer magazine here.

Shofuso House… Revisited

By Photos, Traditional Building
shofuso house - gable

Shofuso House in Fairmont Park

After my work trip to eastern PA in August, April and I stopped in Philadelphia on the way home. We took the opportunity to re-visit Shofuso House, the traditionally constructed Japanese house in Fairmount Park. It’s been three years since we first went to see the building, and it was almost like seeing it with fresh eyes on this most recent trip. Needless to say, I had a blast.

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Goodbye Strawtron

By Strawtron
Straw Bale Timber Frame House: Strawtron

Sayonara, Strawtron

Almost four years ago, April and I moved from Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage in northeast Missouri to Berea, Kentucky to try and find land to start developing a homestead. When we left, we put our straw bale and timber frame home, Strawtron up on the market. This fall, we finally sold the house to new owners. (We sold our cob house, Gobcobatron two years ago.)

We are, in a word, greatly relieved. (Oops, two words.) Why has it taken so long? Well, prospective buyers also need to be Dancing Rabbit members, so the pool of potential buyers is downright tiny. We thought we’d sell the house much sooner because the trend had been an increasingly larger population (and a shortage of homes), but that trend happened to reverse shortly after we left. Well, there was now way to foresee that one.

Nevertheless… the house is sold and I’m happy for the new owners. I love that house and I’m sure it will continue to be loved well into the future. Goodbye Strawtron!

Clay Plaster in Japan: Inspiring Video Documentary

By Resources, Video, Clay Plaster

https://youtu.be/8Bnjl6unKhw

I was excited to find this video documentary about Japanese clay plaster as it’s currently being practiced by sakan (a.k.a., traditional plasterers). From what I gather, clay plaster is a niche craft in Japan, but the tradition has been unbroken for hundreds and hundreds of years. It’s not practiced as widely as it once was, yet the quality of the work that is done is exceptional. It’s serious business, and absolutely beautiful and inspiring too.
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Homesteading Rules and Realities Part 2

By Homesteading, South Slope Farm, Natural Building Workshops

South Slope Farm rainbow

The number one rule of trying to maintain a homestead seems to be this: there’s always something else you could be doing. Even when there’s a lull, really, it’s just relative to the busier times… because it’s not that there’s nothing to do, it’s just that stuff won’t fall to bits if it doesn’t happen this second. Thankfully, April and I are getting better at not taking on too much at once, and having a toddler has certainly been helping us to hone that skill. We joke that we operate at 40% capacity with Hazel in tow. Well, it’s actually not a joke as much as it is the truth. Naturally, priorities are different now.

Where am I going with this? Well, in our second year on this land, the deeper realities of being a landowner/land steward/enter your preferred term here is definitely settling in. It’s a pendulum really. One moment I feel like there’s no way we can keep things up, and then the joy of even the smallest bit of progress washes my fears away… only to be repeated again and again.

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2017 Natural Building Essentials Workshop Photos

By Cob Building, Natural Building Workshops, Cob Oven, Clay Plaster, Photos

cob stomping mixing

We recently wrapped up our September Natural Building Essentials Workshop. Fourteen folks came out to participate, traveling from Texas, Florida, Kansas, Illinois, and beyond. It was an enjoyable ephemeral community for the week — everyone was eager to jump in the mud and help out. I enjoy this workshop format because it’s a chance to spend some quality time with the basic building blocks of a natural home — clay, sand, and straw.

Read ahead to view a photo gallery of the workshop!

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