evan's ant village log

I think the 'barrel' is a cavity formed by the brick walls. I think fuel enters through the black door at the bottom, burns, and exhausts through an internal heat riser that empties right underneath the cook top. Then, of course it spills over, as usual, into the brick-enclosed cavity, and exits into the manifold distributor in the upcoming cob bench. I think this maximizes heat for cooking (and looking foward to the baking get up), while also capturing for area heating in the bench. I.e., no area heat radiating from a hot metal barrel.

Now, will someone who really knows clarify ;)

I think that's a pretty good estimation, Nancy. I was wondering what that little cubby hole was above the door. Is that what you referred to as an oven?

Evan mentioned it is a sweet masonry/stove/oven thing... so I guess the oven part is yet to be fabricated. That hole above door... I wondered too .. maybe a way to control the air inflow to the fire? ... or ??

Also, I think the 'rocket' refers to the velocity, turbulence and extra high temps in the burn chamber and insulated heat riser, whereby all particulates and gases are completely burnt ('oxidized' ? :) Conditions so extreme, that it can sound like a rocket, hence 'rockety' ;) Or.. ? (Just love this stuff!! )

Day 193

The road-building project proceeded with the tractor hauling loads instead of the dump truck. Josh was operating the tractor, and I was operating the excavator, and together we got a good work flow going. I would pile up dirt and Josh'd haul it away, and as his tires made little ruts I was able to smooth them out and keep us both moving.

The neighbor horses even came over by the fence to watch. I hope they were duly impressed by our efficiency.

Day 194

Got away from the road-building project for a bit and spent the day in ant village. It was good to work on some of my own projects, like rocking the duck hollow, and see the progress the other villagers were making.

Kai got the girders up onto his posts, and his uphill patio terraces and sidehill hugels are looking great! Glorious Kailarado!

Jim built a house! Holy smokes! He's been here like a month and he already built a house bigger than Siesta! Quit making the rest of us look bad, Jim! Just kidding, Jim, you rock! Check out Jim's thread: https://permies.com/t/50566/labs/Jim-Ant-log

Day 195

Rain! Sweet precipitating particles! The cloud-robed heavens dripped with droplets of life to drench our berms and awaken our seeds!

Kai, ever the bold pioneer, has been establishing community gardens in the free land of Anarcadeah, building hugels, digging a goldfish pond, and seeding and mulching like a madman! Go Kai!

Day 196

Remember the old ant village community tool shed? Well it's still not quite finished; I guess the ants all have higher priorities. I know I do. At least it keeps things dry inside, and maybe some day we'll find the time to finish it. Anyway the thin boards we used to side and roof it had to be cut to fit, so there were lots of sawn off short pieces that were effectively waste products of the building process. Since they were just strewn about, I went ahead and grabbed some of these short bits to use for covering the duck hollow drip edge.

Sharla wired together the duck gate! It totally rolls closed and unrolls open now! Thanks to Sharla, the ducks can now sleep soundly knowing that their home is safer from predators than ever before. A weasel might still be able to get in, so we'll need to do a bit more to weasel proof it, but I think a fox would have a hard time breaking in to get at those delicious sitting ducks.

During the innovator's event last week, Peter fixed the rocket heater in Allerton Abbey. Thanks Peter! The ants and gappers have been enjoying the warmth it provides on cold evenings and mornings. It's nice to sit next to a crackling fire with friendly neighbors and socialize over a meal or a game.

Day 197

The duck hollow is mostly finished! The retaining walls are built and the ugly plastic drip edge covered, and now as soon as Rex is back up here we can throw a bit more dirt on, then seed and mulch it. Behold, the ministry of quacks!

We worked on Siesta too, adding a few posts so that the end walls will be flush, and applying the first layers of tarps. They're overhanging significantly more than they will when we finish covering the drip edge. We're throwing around lots of ideas for how best to cover that edge, and hopefully learning from having done the duck hollow first.

Day 198

A neighbor with some gargantuan maple trees let us rake her yard and take the leaves. Sharla, Kai, and I did so much mulching! Now the berms along Pierce Parkway are seeded with cover crops and covered with mulch, and Anarcadeah is seeded and mostly mulched too!

We cut and limbed up a few junkpoles and fence posts too, using the branches to hold down the leaf mulch. The berms look great, and should do a better job of holding moisture as well.

Wow! You guys are making some major progress up there! I can't wait until the next time I can get up there, I'd love to share a fire and listen to some dulcimer pluckings in your new pad!