evan's ant village log

I like to sit quietly and listen to the world around me for short periods of time during the day especially if I am involved in a job using noisy machinery. When refueling a chainsaw or woodsplitter I almost always take off my hearing protection and sit on a block of wood to listen for a minute or two. Not only does it give me a quick breather but it allows me to check the world around me through sound. I don't like being sound blinded for extended periods of time by loud noises near me

Day 22

The fence was inspected and after a couple rounds of fixing and perfecting, the bounty was secured. The latches on the gates went through multiple iterations before arriving at this design. I'm liable to opt for something a little simpler when I build the gates for my fence, but there's something to be said for a swinging wooden latch that can be easily opened from both sides.

After that was all done, I went on a hike up one of the nearby mountains. There was beautiful wildlife to observe on the way up, and then amazing views to enjoy from the peak.

Day 23

Got some work done on building raised beds for my garden today. I started digging out the paths and piling the soil on top of a thin layer of brush and woody debris. I intend to repeat this process at least once more for each bed, and mix in some old cow manure, then start planting seeds more systematically.

Nick has been here on the labs for the past week or so, and he's been super helpful. We've been bouncing lots of ideas off each other, and we worked together on the fence project, which made it go way faster. He's off on yet another adventure tomorrow, but today he got a light workout helping to move logs for my wofati. Look at this dude: he's a Norwegian beast!

Climbed another mountain today too. Sure is pretty country.

What is your plan for your wofati?

Day 24

I think I've probably come up with at least a dozen different designs for my shelter since moving here. Squares, rectangles, sheds, gables, a-frames, pie-shapes, etc. Some made more sense than others, but in general the aim has been towards radical simplicity and ease of construction. My most recent thoughts on design are looking sort of octagonal, strangely enough.

An octagon may not seem as simple as other shapes, but a couple things it has going for it is fairly short wall spans relative to interior space, (meaning I'll be able to easily build the walls by myself,) and also the possibility of views in all four directions without compromising on earth-berming. The site I have picked out for it is basically a hill top with excellent southern exposure, so drainage and passive solar seem pretty optimized, even with as symmetrical a design as I'm planning.

As Paul has so kindly agreed to let me use some of the already peeled and dried logs, I've been able to quickly accumulate a decent little stack without yet having to resort to the tedium of debarking. That said, I expect I will still need to break out the drawknife before long. But today, the bowsaw was the tool of choice, and I cut 30+ dried logs to quite manageable 7 ft lengths.

Evan, it may amuse you to hear that I grew up in a large octagonal cabin that my family built in 1976 in Alaska. My father went with the octagonal design for exactly your "short logs" reason: he couldn't find another way to build for a family of six with logs he could lift himself with only the help of his two teenaged daughters.

A circle maximizes surface area with a fixed amount of perimeter available, one of the reasons a corral is round. An octagon seems to be the chosen shape for circle lovers with access to solid straight material. I think it is a good choice.

I saw a structure/single room dwelling once that was made as a hexagon. The roof was made by stacking the interlocking logs a little tighter in each level. There were no fastenings in the whole thing apparently - it was all notches and pressure holding it in place.

Hello Evan,

I have lived in several Hogan in my life. They afford some positive effects of both the round and square shapes of architecture. Good to see you building again...

traditional Hogan

evan l pierce wrote:Day 22

...purty purple orchid-y flower

Hi Evan -

I think this is a calypso orchid.
Growiser website - see down the page a bit...

All best wishes,
Mariamne