Earth Oven, Phase 3: the Hearth

The Earth Oven series: foundation base hearth thermal mass first drying fire and door arch insulating layer and chimney Patching up, and first pizza! So far, none of the Earth Oven preparations, the foundation and the base, have had nothing to do with heat. Which is, of course, what the oven is all about. Heat becomes …

Earth Oven, Phase 2: the Base

The Earth Oven series: foundation base hearth thermal mass first drying fire and door arch insulating layer and chimney Patching up, and first pizza! Wow, third blog post today! Be sure to scroll down! Today we finished Phase 2 of the Earth Oven works, the Base. (Yes, we had a busy day today.) For Phase …

Earth Oven, Phase 1: The Foundation

The Earth Oven series: foundation base hearth thermal mass first drying fire and door arch insulating layer and chimney Patching up, and first pizza! For our wedding anniversary DH took the day off so we could start building our earth oven. Yes, that was our anniversary present to one another. People tell us we’re the …

Rain, Finally: BIG WATER

Spring is supposed to be wet. Here in Wayland, Spring often means flooding in many basements and parts of town, sometimes even busy intersections and the public library. But until today it hadn’t rained for weeks. Drought is a relief from flooding and mud, true, but it brings fire hazard warnings, and having to  use …

Applying the Pattern Language (ii): Inviting Entry, Making Connections

Back to patterns! Having a plan for the slope has re-opened my mind for the immediate front: the balcony, the level stretch of garden up top, the top of the driveway. This is what it looks like right now:   I already analyzed one of the more general  problems: the negativity of this space. There are some more specific …

Soil and Water Works: Hugelswales

It cannot wait to get started in the garden, in particular to start the big Soil and Water Works. I want to plant stakes and dig dirt and maneuver wheelbarrows and roll rotten logs downhill. I even want to roll some of them uphill, that’s how desperate I am to get started. For today I …