House moves in

And the house moves in!!!

This amazing house has been built with many hands over a few years.
Beautiful house built by and for beautiful people.
It was scary moving it to this resting place -and it fits beautifully.

So privileged to have such amazing people doing such amazing mahi here.

And to cook it!!!

We have had so much fun building this oven. We had some great helpers and now can have some great bake offs.

While we build we discussed fire and clay. How we can honor it. How we came to be able to use it and the stories that have been passed down to us about them. The little nook in the fromnt of the oven is to place a ??? to remind us of this.

Water out

We now have all water outlets installed. Next job water in.

Gourd wall

Another unfolding.

This one is taking a life of its own as our climbing gourds and hyacinth beans grow up a bamboo trellis. The no-dig garden is shallow and it will be good to see how the plants cope over our hot summer.

This is an edible wall that will provide shade and privacy over summer when there will be more people using this place.

Entrance design

To do the design we first decided on happenings. Then we mocked them up.
To carry two buckets easily. A gradual stiffening throughout the day. The pictures tell a lot.
Patterns were helpful too. Talking path -so people can easily see where to go.
Shedding path so as you go you can unload vegies to be washed, dirty clothes at tubs, gumboots at back door...........

Bamboo fun

We have used all of our bamboo harvested from last year. The list of uses is extensive; bed slats, flute, garden fence, pegs, smoke bomb, scaffolding, tee pee poles, mason bee houses, garden stakes, trellis, berry frame, charcoal holders, spoons, cups, awning poles, tree stakes,......and the list goes on.

We will start harvesting over the next few weeks. Just before growing season to make sure the new culms get enough light and do not get damaged. 

Finishing roof

 



Yay!! The roof is up. Talk about delays.

We stained all of the timer and then put up the clear light.
It is great having such a big dry outdoor space. As they say when building with earth 'good hat and good boots'. This should do the job.

Next week we will take down our wonderful bamboo scaffolding clear the sight and start on the wall design.

Fence design

Based upon needs (people, soil and plants), time and available space we had already decided how big the beds were going to be and how many we needed.

Before the fence was build we did a little design.

Some of the patterns we knew were;
*central access path (people & wheelbarrows).
*duck and rabbit proof . Sheep proof for short durations.
*private garden (destination -not a thoroughfare).
*separate from berry patch & easy berry picking from path by fence.
*compost space.
*gardener approaches from over here (east).
*water on east side.
*shady south edge.
*drive way openness -set back from main driveway (north edge).
*north-south beds for sunshine.
*optimize space.

Next step was fun. We all moved string, fencing standards and bamboo around. The first decision fell into place (bamboo in front right hand corner) and then we had to get the wheelbarrow out!!

MIdwinter

This year our midwinter bonfire is a little late.

Yesterday was spent clearing out the brickyard and getting ready for a fun weekend.

It is exciting to see the 'flaps up' ready to welcome people.

Winter sun

Low winter sun angles mean it is time to change the angle of our solar pannels.

I love the wild plants growing around this suntrap. Avacado, Bamboo, Banana, Fejoa, Yacon, Cerimoya, Pineapple, Pawpaw, Tea.......

I'm especially in love with my clumping Bamboo which has new culms coming up at the moment. I cannot get two of my hands  around the culms. Cannot wait for three years when they have strengthened so we can build with them.

People flow

The bus flat is a people place but also a private place.

Some people come for a short stay and others stay a while. We have been designing this space for a while and playing around with these public/private tensions.

This new woven bamboo fence guides people to park away from the people areas and moves them into a main entrance area.

We are designing the space by gradually adding levels of permanence so we can change things as we feel our way into the space.

Living design, gradual stiffening.

Summer harvest

Thanks Crafty Gatherer.

This tray of yours was given as a koha when
Catherine and Neville from Plenty Permaculture visited with their latest Permaculture class.

It is very beautiful. I could not use it as a seed tray. I oiled it and am using it to ripen tomatoes.

Bee boxes

I added a little oil based art paint to our natural oil. The colors are still bright after a summer in the sun.

Hay stack

Most years we only have the hay cut. We then sped a few days with our pitch forks tuning, wind rowing, and then stacking.

This year we had lots of helpers so the stack grew quickly..

Then went for a well deserved swim.

It is always satisfying to pass the haystack.

Fill

And all of that fill was compacted into the bathroom.

Digging

Digging patrol.

We needed some fill for the new bathroom and to widen the track.

Had lots of people over so..............Thanks!!

Design

We have a list of basic patterns for our new bathroom;
Privacy -when in shower and toilet, Shelter -from rain and wind; Flat; Paved; Light -natural in the day, electric at night; Hot water -shower tubs, basin; Ventilation -lots; Waste water used -subtropicals; Dry dressing place; View -stars, bush and gardens, of bath from kitchen window; Rocket bath; Clothes hanging space; Shaving & tooth brushing place; Hand washing between toilet and house and car park and house.....................

First we cleared the site then used fencing standards and wood ash to make sure things would fit and get an idea of hot things would feel.

Bathroom

The old bathroom. Just a garden really.

Bananas, Taro, Passionfruit, Paw Paw, Yams, Kawakawa, Peaches.....the garden will just move a little.

Rocket stove

Before the mid-winter bonfire this year we built a rocket stove for hot soup and grapefruit and honey tea.

Moso

Our timber bamboo is growing. Every year we notice a difference. You can see this years growth as the new culms have a distinct white rings around each node. Moso turns a lovely yellow as it ages.

The stand is a lovely place to be when the wind is blowing the rustling leaves, when the sun is hot outside, when there are children running through it, when you want to imagine..............

This bamboo can grow up to 50cm a day in this location. I visit it regularly when it is first sprouting. It is such a powerful place to be.