Only in PDX

A friend of mine sent me this picture of a poster he saw up on a bulletin board; someone looking for their errant backyard chicken. Imagine that poor creature, out wandering the streets of Portland, Oregon, trying desperately to get home but, I imagine, not having the best sense of direction. The odds are stacked against it, I'm afraid.

Cob, chickens & community

A couple of weeks ago, I gave a talk as part of the Dufferin Grove Speakers' Series about my visit to the fine city of Portland last year. I was there to attend the Village Building Convergence, now in its ninth year. You can read more about it and see my pictures here. Generally, I was struck by how many things were allowed there: small cob buildings, benches, community gardens... It seemed like every backyard had its own resident chickens. Coming from Toronto, where I routinely chafe against the yoke of regulation, I found myself asking, "Is this really allowed? What about liability concerns?" I am afraid I came off as a bit of a prude.

International Strawbale Conference Proceedings

The good folks over at the Ontario Straw Bale Building Coalition are making available the proceedings of the International Straw Bale Building Conference, held in Lakefield, Ontario in 2006. So far they've posted an audio link to the Welcome and Keynote Address, by Matts Mhyrman and Judy Knox, two pioneers in the strawbale building revival in the United States. It is well worth a listen (skip over the first eight minutes or so of introductions, if you are in a hurry).

The OSBBC also has a list of some of the upcoming natural building opportunities taking place in Ontario, running down the left side of their web site.

home renos

Like most people's houses in the old part of Toronto, ours is about ninety years old. Plaster is failing, trim is coated with layers of flaking lead paint, the roof has leaked, and the legacy of questionable updates abounds. Renovating this place has so far meant stripping back layers of interventions to reveal the original materials, which so far seem to be more interesting than anything added subsequently.

After seven years of contemplation, we were finally ready for action this spring. Our basement neighbours moved out, and in went a set of stairs to the lower level. Reorganization freed up an upstairs bedroom, and gave me a place to start earthen plastering.

But first, baseboards. Stripping the trim in that room to reveal the delicate and shapely curves of century old wood has been rewarding, though time consuming. The product that I am using, SoyGel ("made from 100% US-grown soybeans"), apparently binds with the lead in the paint, enabling me to scrape it off without launching the toxin into the house's atmosphere. Apparently.

Sophie and Alan crowbarred off the layers of tile and subfloors to reveal a rustic but beautiful subfloor that we've decided we will refinish and retain as the final flooring surface.

Once the trim in that room is completely stripped, I'll plaster the remaining walls, we'll finish the floors, and (as Sophie says) "Wa-la!".

Plastering

I've been teaching myself how to earthen plaster, and have been applying this finish over drywall in parts of our house. Here I am in our former-basement-apartment-kitchen-soon-to-be-laundry-room, standing in front of newly finished plaster. Although I'm not particularly good at it, wielding that beautiful Japanese trowel feels like something I was made to do. I'm going to do more.

Cob oven process pics

Came across these pictures of our 2004 backyard oven build. It was a transformative experience, leading to, among other things, me figuring out how to drive a car again.

Research trip

We headed off in the middle of June, with our (new to us) PT Cruiser and our trusty 20 year old Combi-Camp, on a driving adventure of grand proportions. Our first stop was Deanne Bednar's, near Oxford, Michigan. Deanne is a cobber, thatcher, illustrator, singer, and all-round delightful human being. She gave us the tour of her amazing space: gardens, natural buildings of various sorts, foundation and posts for a children's playhouse, and the famous strawbale cottage. Its beauty took Alan's breath away. And we sang and played together; bliss.

On our way through the outskirts of Detroit, we stopped at the Strawbale Children's Playhouse that Deanne had been involved in the creation of. It's built on park land with the full support and backing of the Detroit parks department. It is an apparently well-loved addition to an already popular green space.

Next we drove a couple of days south and west, crossing the swollen Mississippi after a few detours, and made our way to Red Earth Farms. Friends Mark and Allyson are homesteading on some property in north east Missouri, a stone's throw away from Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, and Sandhill Farm, two other intentional communities. Mark and Allyson welcomed us into their space, and showed us some of the amazing work they've done so far: composting toilet (Sophia had the honour of inaugurating the structure), wind turbine, barn foundation, permaculture garden. Another night of singing and playing, this time by the fire.

The next day, it was off to town for freshly made doughnuts, and then a tour of both DR and Sandhill. I've been receiving DR newsletters for a couple of years, so to give that information some context was enlightening indeed.

A couple more days driving took us to Custer, Wisconsin, where we attended the Mid-West Renewable Energy Fair, and met up with my friend Pete Fust, of Black Range Lodge in Kingston, New Mexico. He was at the fair with his book-selling operation, so we spent some time chatting, and playing music around the fire, of course. The fair was interesting, the food was great, but the best was the incredible diversity of lefty bumper stickers.

We arrived in Saskatchewan tired, sore, and more than a little fed up with hotdogs and chips. While there, I had the good fortune to be able to check out a local house that had been built with passive solar in mind, about twenty years ago. In the pictures, you can see that the reflective curtain is no longer functional, hanging at an odd angle and partially obscuring the sun. I never got the chance to chat with the owners to see what they like/don't like about the house, and whether they can feel the difference in winter warmth, having a home that faces the sun.

After a three-week stay in the geometric province, we hit the road again, this time stopping in Winnipeg to meet with Kris, Tim and Stephanie at the University of Manitoba. Kris' engineering firm has been involved with the permitting of cob buildings in British Columbia, and were interested to hear about the earthen work we have done in Toronto.

Then it was off to home, where I stopped only briefly before heading off to New York state (description below). Ah, the life.