The Months Of Winter can make a person stir crazy with cabin fever. !
Last fall, (2023) I ordered a Gazebo from Wayfair that I thought would be shade, yet let light in. I got the Gazebo frame up in 6 hours, then the roof panels the next day of 2 1/2 hours.
Just before it got cold, I accomplished two outside 1/2 walls, and connected basic roof between the two sides so it would remain dry inside.
Little by little the living room/studio is becoming a beautiful and peaceful getaway.
I haven't taken the inside roof stickers off yet because it's beautifully new in my mostly recycled materials bird's nest home! I'm going to paint the tiny door to blend in.
I will begin a fireplace project with a recycled wood stove and petrified wood chimney enclosure around the wood stove . The rocks will hold heat during the winter.
This place is progressing, and after the disaster of the-43 below zero winter left me in , this creative
hard effort begi
In 2014, my first new house burned down,.
In 2021, as Covid Pandemic still continued, and after being stranded in a cockroach infested apartment, I bought land in a small village 60 miles south of Albuquerque New Mexico.
They used to call it homesteading, but the modern term is Off Grid Living.
In the early 1990's my family had done this type of lifestyle; before there were Solar Panels available on the market.
So in my desire to leave something of myself for my children and grandchildren, I packed up my RV, and set out for my wilderness land, to build a new studio and house. My kids thought their mom had lost her mind. .
As I stood in the doorway of my RV, a small earthquake tremor made me realize I had to think harder about how to build my new structure.
I had tried fundraising sites to no avail, so my efforts turned towards the things that could be found locally.
The Rio Grande River is very nearby, as well as a migratory bird sanctuary; every year the officials send water into the overflows to irrigate the Bosque area that supports the entire ecosystem of the river.
I was able to find a local large river cleared pile of large branches that had been removed from the irrigation area.
After watching a documentary on Earth Ship Building, I was convinced that this was possible: something a woman could actually do.
Sandbags, cob, logs, and a great interest in cordwood construction for over 30 years. "This can't be that hard" I thought.
109 Degrees Fahrenheit, Scorpions, Rattlesnakes, and Curved Bill Thrashers flying from post to post, inspecting everyone's lodges as if they were a government code enforcement officer. So now I ask them what they are inspecting now when they land on my roof.
My daughter donated about 200 wood pellets bags, (Thank you Angel) and I set them like bricks for a small wind barrier after they were filled with dirt. Nothing like a lot of hard work and sweat to get your 30 something figure back!
As I began to set the bags, then, with 4 inch diameter pieces of Salt Cedar and Russian Olive branches, that I cut with a handsaw, I began setting in the layers of my base. All the time thinking how many eons of time this valley had people surviving in it, on dirt floors and little water.
So after scrubbing everything to a fine polished shine in my new spot, with the breeze blowing gently through my vents and screened windows, I looked outside and with no warning, a huge dust devil swirled through for ten minutes and covered everything with dust particles again. So much for my clean polishing!
So my tasks went back to focusing on a wind barrier, and the next step to fix a new way to earthquake proof my house and studio. In my earlier years I had worked at a few construction sites so I had a basic knowledge of building houses, but the tremor zone of New Mexico, was a little different.
The term mortising is from carpentry and was originally used in furniture building with wooden pegs , and "Art Immitating Nature " must be applied in this environment. So a Sparrow,
and Swallowtails (local lingo for a Barn Swallow )
have very sturdy nests that remain intact for years after the birds leave.
Fish have a unique rib cage that allows them flexibility and amazing agility.
If you have ever watched a Large Mouth Bass jump from the water in flight, while catching their flies, you will grasp the Fishbone technique that I have added to the mortises in this first structure. With nothing more than 4 inch dry River Branches and lots of dirt.
This is a Birds Nest Home, still in construction
but every day is one more step closer to the goal! I still need lots of mortar and chicken wire.
Thanks to everyone who has been kind enough to help me in my efforts to keep going while I'm enjoying Crazy not Loco in la cabesa not Crazy effort to build an "Earthquake tremor resistant structure. "
You can donate to help me finish this building project at the same link as my previous blog post.
Thank you everyone for helping me through life's dust devils!
I'm convinced the Fishbone and Mortises will displace and disperse any tremor activity in our local area.
Happy Building!
In need of shade in an environment that has 105 degrees Fahrenheit summers, and needing a quick solution for a living room and greenhouse,
This gazebo was the one I chose, and have started the recycled grain bags for walls.
The gazebo was delivered, and required 3 days to assemble by myself.
We've been lucky to have a few extra warm days this year to complete building projects.
Our area here is unrestricted land, and allows people in the development to enjoy creative and unique building projects.
The original rounded wall that I started with, was not sturdy enough to support a roof, only to deter the wind.
Building something is messy, and you wind up eating a ton of dirt, and I recommend playing in mud and dirt for anyone who's still got a kid in them aching to get out.
I'm a part time caregiver to provide a way to get supplies for this project but it doesn't pay for everything. It's a job you do that requires love and compassion.
After careful considering that my walls , that are interwoven into an 18 inch thick wall I chose this tiny wood stove. It is the size of a bread box, and 18 inch thick walls will not need a fireplace as big as the Grove Park Inn, although it is beautiful!
https://survivaldiyprojects.com/book/?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-LHO4-v1ggMVohKtBh00rAYjEAAYAiA
Www.USPTO.gov - January 4,2024
