Thistle Warriors and a Weedy Garden Quilt

Although the house is built and has electricity, there is no internet or cable hookup yet. We decided that we will wait on that and concentrate on getting other things done first.  Weeding the thistles for one.

Thistle and No Bee

I warned the Thistle Warrior (Herr) that he would have to fight the Bees.  They love the thistles.  In fact, we thought some were impaled and dead after a long time of no motion.  Then suddenly they would buzz off as if awaken from a drunken stupor!  I love thistle flowers, but they can get out of hand.  They were in the middle of my native plant meadow of Pacific Coast irises, rush, grasses, etc.

Drunken Bee in Our Thistle Field

The passive solar idea of this house has surprised us.  It remains around 66 degrees indoors.  Outside it can range from 37 to 80 degrees.  The wood stove is effective to getting the house up to 74 degrees.  Turning on the fans in the cupola pushes the warm air that rise back down.  And if that doesn't do it, we have wool sweaters, felted slippers and blankets.  A nice comfy quilt will work, too.

 

The last quilt I made was about 20 years ago.  At least, one that was all hand-quilted.  My life then was very hectic and my attention span very short. It took a while to finish. There is one thing about working in clay---it will teach you patience. Most days. Now I can think about a project, the timing and process with full knowledge I will not tire of it if not completed in a day.

When there is no distractions--no laptops, no phone, no television, no studio---there is time for details.  Time for thoughts to unwind and thread carefully. I also had hands with nothing to do.  The simplest thing I could do was hand sew.  It was then I decided to make another quilt---MoMo's Weedy Garden Quilt.  All I needed was paper, scissors, pins and a needle, thread and bits of fabric.

Texture, pattern and color. 

My mind's eye trinity.

And about 350 of these little hexies will do it.

Less than the number of weeds I pulled.

Be Brave, We are Thistle Warriors after all! 

Berries and Berra

breakfast of wild blackberries

Phil Rizzuto – “Hey Yogi I think we’re lost.”

Yogi Berra – “Ya, but we’re making great time!”

salal berries with nibbled on leaves (deer)

“You can observe a lot just by watchin’.”
Yogi Berra

red huckleberries

It is wild berry picking time on the coast.  A little early this year.  Probably because we have had very little fog this summer.  Black huckleberries are just starting to ripen and are plentiful.  We thought we'd lose a lot of wild berry bushes with all the construction going on.  But we have beautiful berries this year.  Red and black huckleberries, salal, blackberries and a small bit of salmon berries earlier and big. plump mountain blueberries. 

“You got to be very careful if you don’t know where you’re going, because you might not get there.”

Yogi Berra

I am not sure if I will continue this blog now that the house is built.  We still have a few things to do in the interior.  So far, the passive solar and thick walls have help insulate us against the cool, summer nights.  And I thought the concrete floor would be cold and hard against my bare feet.  It isn't.  People are surprised that there is no heater, no gas.  We have a very efficient wood stove and one cold evening we built a fire.  The house warmed quickly.  We get instant hot water for our showers.  And the layout of the house suits us.  It is simple, warm and open.  I see the trees all around.  We have little furniture, no t.v. and no internet.  We don't feel lost.  We finally got here.

Making, Building, Finishing

"We are searching for some kind of harmony between two intangibles: a form which we have not yet designed and a context which we cannot properly describe."

 Christopher Alexander

We knew this little house was done when the arch was cut across the doorway beam. It was a finishing touch and elegant statement.  Quirky me saw it as an eyebrow over the moon's eye. 

candle lantern converted into a ceiling light for the guest room

I love this lamp shade from West Elm.  It reminds me of making paper lanterns.

 

 The schoolhouse lamps are larger than they appear in this photo.  From below they look like little moons.  We had these made up with GU24 sockets for energy efficiency. 

 

 

I was concerned that with all the construction and clearing that the wild Pacific Coast irises would not bloom this year.  I was relieved to see them blooming every where.  Even under debris.  

 

"Sometimes I long so much to do landscape, just as one would go for a long walk to refresh oneself, and in all of nature, in trees for instance, I see expression and a soul.”—Vincent van Gogh

bamboo forest  in the foothills

This is a bamboo forest planted in the Hakone Gardens outside of Saratoga, California. Located in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, you can almost miss the entrance, a steep narrow road going up into the morning fog.  I love how this area is just bamboo. You can smell its sweet and grassy scent.  And the rustling of the long, thin leaves!  Sometimes it sounds like tinkling, clinking glass.  Maybe it is all that silica in its structure.  This forest is young.  The bamboo is not as large as I have seen elsewhere.  Still I love how wild it looks and rejuvenating it feels.
 

 

Black bamboo costs more than regular bamboo even locally harvested.  Tim used every last bit.  He used the pieces to build the gates.  The ladder lifts up to sit into the wall.  I doubt we will do that.  It looks nice out into the space.

living area

We were starting to get used to the tub in the living area.  It has sat there since November.  The light is wonderful streaming in this south facing window, too.  Across from it is the wood stove.  A tub, wood stove and a view of the redwoods.  Hmmm.  Alas, there is no plumbing in this room.  So it had to go in here:

This photo makes the bathroom seem even smaller.  The window is to one side so I can reach it.  If it was in the middle I would have to stand in the tub to open the window.  I am short.  Not little.  Just short.  This way the practical me can reach all around and clean the floor.  The lime plaster on the wall is the palest of blue.  Sometimes it reflects back the green of the trees so the wall takes on a very light celedon. 

my duck feet on clay plaster floor

The concrete floor in both baths have a layer of lime plaster.  It is durable and has a wonderful satin feel.  The charcoal color provides a rich contrast against the wood and white tub.  I was thinking of painting outside of the tub, but now loving the clean, pristine whiteness.  This is much to the relief of Herr R. 

on right is the sink

three things: change out white pipe, light switch plates and find the right  mirror

two patches on floor are samples of floor treatments

 

This photo makes the sink look so small.  It isn't.  It's a Kohler Vox. It is deeper than it looks, too.  There's a few more details---accessories!

EcoSmart tankless water heater

Although I rather take photos of the pretty things, Herr R takes photos of the practical things.  Which is the point of this small, passive solar house.  We have no propane tanks, no gas heaters.  This is an instant, tankless water heater system.  It is connected to a solar panel on the roof, but also uses on the grid electricity to heat the water. We may live in a mini-banana belt, but it is still get coastal fog. There's a timer and a way to switch to the solar heater.  This is also the laundry closet.  We have HE compact washer/dryer to install.  Herr R is very excited about the efficiency and other gadgets.  Tim picked a pale lilac for the clay paint.  It is very pretty. 

Black bamboo-Hakone Japanese Tea Garden

Turkey Tails and Bamboo Rails

 

While the kitchen counter was getting installed, I went to check on the pump house.  There were new turkey tails on some of the recently exposed rotting logs.   A thick carpet of redwood and pine needles, springy beneath my feet, kept me from having a steady hand taking sharp photos.  But I tried!  It was good to get outside and breath in the sweet air. I stayed outside as the adhesive for the counter had a strong odor. This was the first time I felt a little ill inside the house.  It is a testament to all the natural products used from cotton insulation to clay paint and earth plasters.  There is little out-gassing.  We opened up all the windows, the breezeway doors and soon the smell dissipated.  The counter does looks great.  

Kitchen is nearly done.  The round globe light was the only GU-24 light we could find.  It looks like we dotted an I.  It is a cheap ceiling light and not what I intended over the sink.  But somehow, it looks okay.  Kind of quirky.  We will see.  It was easier to put in all GU-24 lights, than to figure out the percentages of energy efficiency required for service areas.  Even though this house is a passive solar home and has natural light streaming in (even on foggy days!) the code is the code.  We didn't want to stress over it.  Keeping to the small, simple and clean.

The photo doesn't really show the beautiful texture of this particular wall. There are bits of grog and little bits of  dark blue earth pigment. It is subtle, but the sunlight moves across it as if a graphite pencil, sketching in shadows and coloring values. 

The railing is up.  The rails are black bamboo and harvested locally.  The bottom rails are the thicker canes, graduating in size upwards. The posts will get some stain and wax.  A loft ladder is in the works and will sit inside the wall.  It will pull out when needed.  And tuck out of the way, when not.  I tried looking for a library ladder, but in the end a custom made ladder was needed.
 

Life goes on.  This redwood partially uprooted many, many years ago.  That "trunk" is actually a branch about 15' in diameter.   There's a cave of sorts underneath. Tim's two sons built a small fort (hobbit hole) using scrap lumber.  It is very cozy and well crafted.  He said he would take it down, but I really love it.  I love the thought of  two boys building it. How they planned and worked.  It looks swept.  There's even a shelf.   How wonderful and fun.  It isn't visible from the house. So it will remain.  A secret place. Beneath a tree.......

Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth. They do not preach learning and precepts, they preach, undeterred by particulars, the ancient law of life.   ~Hermann Hesse