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