Category Archives: Uncategorized

GingerBird Houses

I love feeding the birds. I have a large garden and they eat off that usually too. I’m also keto and love gingerbread houses and constructing food art, but since I can’t have the sugar I decided that I would make a Birdseed house. I didn’t find many online to look at so I just came up with some construction ideas. Some failed and some were adorable. It was also a great chance to do something crafty together. I happen to be cleaning out the cabinets and realized i had a tub of lard I had never used, a lot of stale dried fruit from years ago and a lot of peanut butter. The peanut butter turned out to be too oily to use. The lard made an excellent material for glue and holding things together.

I poured the seed into a baking dish and heated the lard and poured it over the seed. Put it outside with a laundry basket over it to get hard. Then we cut the cardboard and built little houses with slits to hold them together. I put them in plant trays so they kinda stay together while outside.

Seeds. Pour warmed lard or suet over it and set in a cold place to harden. Cut into slices to use. Use cookie cutters for ornaments!
Make a base for your house. Use a tray with a lip to catch the rest and decorate the space.
Using some of those shipment boxes up!
Used Lard to sick the slices of suet to the cardboard. The peanut butter was too oily and slid off. I think a different kind of peanut butter might work.
Use died fruit and nuts and even a banana for a ‘snowbird’
Decorated with some branches for somewhere to step and set outside.

Learning to Tile during a Pandemic

I’m super excited about natural building but there were just a couple of areas of the Straw-bale main house that had to have tile. So not at all natural and a whole learning curve most people hire out. Youtube and another friend on the same project really helped a lot!

The window wells were small and dark, and the shower of course needed to be finished. I have never done this and learned a lot along the way. I learned that un-sanded grout is better when dealing with mirror, I learned I had to sand the edge of every piece of mirror! I learned where to get scavenged tile and Habitat for Humanity Restore was a great resource but kept closing due to Covid. So every time I ran out of one little thing, I ended up with all new things and it kept adjusting all of my designs. I learned about having super heavy tile (how it slides down the wall) and how to mix mortar and grout best. I learned I needed to vent the area the hard way by poisoning myself with Red Guard. I also learned to install backer board alone by using my entire body while trying to drill it to a pretty lumpy wall.

But mostly I learned to keep going and resilience. I got pretty melodramatic a few times while doing this task. I have to say it was one of the harder things I’ve done so far. My body hurts, my hands hurt, but mostly my ego as the tile would go crooked and would suddenly not match as well as I hoped it would. I learned I’m much harder on myself than I really should be. And that in the end I like it after all.

So here is my shower tiling adventure!

Midwinter update

Tile mosaic in the straw-bale house window and an original resident an Aloe we named Hope.

Hello, its been a busy time and I periodically update the Maya Creek Face Book Group faster. I’m hopeful to be more regular at this and we will see. I can get more detailed here which is part of the problem of motivating to slow down and post. I also like posting completed things and very few things get DONE. Though a lot of progress gets done. We have a few almost done things though to share.

Since this summer, we have been working hard on a few topics:

Cistern – Lid, roof flush on, sealed with sealant, intake tank in place to direct the water into the cistern, and then make the gutters more stable and also have guards on them. The snow guards are on order and should be here next week.

Water into the house: I have plumbed the pex to the sinks and the new pump but I busted a connector off the pump, bought a not good enough pump, then found a replacement part which is on order. Its been an ordeal. We did find a filter housing in the barn, and found filters for it.

Refinish the shower: I took off the plastic cover, put up the backer board, painted the red guard on it (poisoned myself, took a week off) and then attempted to get my tile from scavenge and habitat. During a pandemic this was an ordeal which all led to a really interesting design but it is now ready for the sealant tomorrow!

New kitchen cabinets and counters and kitchen shelves. This was all scavenged till the shelves and then I found over priced wood for that and stained all the wood the same color. The last thing is trim now and a bit of grout around the granite on the counters.

Filling the hole in the barn: At first this was really daunting and also difficult to find material without key information about local quaries. The first load I put in was clay and cost way too much for 1 16ton truck. The delivery was as much as the clay and it came from Jeff City. Then Tao suggested some Waste Lime from the Rock Quary down the road, so after hunting down the correct phone number I am now on my 2nd 16 ton of that material and almost done. Several people have come to help but I have put in a LOT of wheel barrows and went from 3 wheel barrows wearing me out to now 15 and I wear out. I try to do like 10 every day I am working on projects and we are close to finished with this hole. Its so close to done.

We also have attempted to find free or cheap siding for the barn and that’s an ongoing scavenge and attach.

We had some friends out to inoculate 10 shiitake logs, and harvest over 150 pawpaw’s. A farmer friend gave me 200 strawberry plants, and others gave me a lot of bulbs and flowers to plant. I also started moving my own garden over this fall and I started a small plot near the house for a few things and carved out room in the overgrown garden for a few things.

I would really like to talk more about each of these. I will do a few more posts to go into more detail.

Maya Creek Updates and Introductions! 2020


Maya Creek blog.

Hello, I’m Tricia Woolbright (she/her/they/them) , nesting partner is Cameron Gramarye (he/him), and it seem like we have been working forever towards having a sustainable ecovillage, or some flavor of intentional community to call home. It’s our dream to live off grid, in natural buildings, be at home in wilderness, and conserve and repair land and nature for wildlife and plants! It sounds like a pipe dream and for a lot of years it was. But in the past year we have begun actively working on what we hope to be our forever home.


In June of 2019 we began talking to Tao about going to Maya Creek to help out and make a home. He was fully supportive and helpful with all of our questions, and helping us feel secure and independent while also supported in this difficult adventure. He, and many others, worked really hard for a lot of years at Maya Creek, and previously Calwood Fairview Farms. We really appreciate all the hard work and all the love they give this land. It really shows and it’s the most beautiful peaceful place I’ve ever stayed. I truly fell in love with it every time I was out there while Tao lived there, and even more so now.

For the past year, we’ve been working on cleaning out previous residents’ things and rehabilitating the grossness that has moved in. Lots of spiders and mold. Natural buildings need people to maintain them just like regular houses. The houses did not get finished, and four years of weather took its toll. There were a lot of truckloads of stuff destroyed by mice and mold ferried to dumpsters, with lots of help from lots of friends. But at the same time, there were LOTS of treasures left for us to build with as well. Every “Ewww!” and “Gross!” was matched by “Ooohs!” and “Ahhhs!”


I did find a lot of Luke Lundemo’s old newsletters that were awesome to read. I hope to scan them and make them available online this winter.



I honestly feel that spending time cleaning and sorting made me fall in love with Maya Creek even more. It definitely made me braver in my handling of spiders, snakes and stinging beasties! We have a good relationship already, but I’m learning everyone’s name and habits, and we are cohabitating in different ways now, like maybe outside the house.



All the rest of 2019 consisted of cleaning and clearing. The barn, the duplex, the pillbox, the house, the trash trailer, the recycling trailer, the cistern. Clean up continues, but it’s not the dominant activity anymore, and yields a lot more treasures. One oscillating fan box also contained a beehive, which led to a comical week-long eviction.

In December I took off from work and I cobbed the walls that were still bare straw on the inside of the common house. In January and February, I cleaned out and planned the kitchen, and now have built a new counter top and am tiling the window wells with scavenged tile and mirror.




We have also sealed the cistern, because the cinderblocks needed something as a barrier. The plumbing leading from the gutters to the intake tank is nearly finished too.

Next is drilling drains for the sink and plumbing the sinks in the bathroom and kitchen.

We have also gathered the manure, cattails and some of the sand we’ll need to create a finish plaster inside the house and earthen floors inside the house, and have started sifting clay. The plan for the house also includes exterior finishing plaster, and re-skirting the foundation. The granite from the current skirting will be used in flooring and other projects.

We also want to build a screened in porch, and a covered deck as a lid for the cistern. We still need to finish the bathroom, kitchen and improve some ventilation.

I would also like to redo the solar batteries and solar equipment, and double check some connections to further out buildings that seem to be shorting a bit. The lack of attention and maintenance was harder on the solar power system than any other infrastructure. So its going to be a bit of money getting that fixed up and we hope to consult with Dogwood Solar on this project as well. I’ve learned quite a lot in a year though! Thank you public library and YouTube and the random dude at AutoZone who specializes in deep cycle batteries. I’m looking forward to a consult with more professionals.


We have a pop-up camper out there, and the pillbox is re-furnished and very cozy and cool and comfortable in the summer. I’ve got 3 composting toilets right now. The biggest problem has been showering. The Camp showers have been reworked over and over and are just faulty as all hell, leading to plenty of shower bloopers. There’s nothing more frustrating than being soapy and swatting bugs, and the bag breaks, leaks, or falls down. I recently purchased a rechargeable shower head pump for camping that’s pretty great so far.

July 4th we came to find the Electric Cooperative allowed Hentges tree service to clearcut a huge area along the front driveway. The ground was exposed, the house was exposed to the road, and dozens of large trees were removed. And they weren’t finished. We’re glad we were able to prevent more damage, but the ground was littered with leftover brush and the road is in jeopardy of eroding. So we recruited some friends and got busy moving things. Like a LOT of friends. It was some of the hardest labor I’ve done besides cobbing in the middle of winter.



We were told by MDC forester Angela George that it should all grow back as oak, and the driveway may even be fine. But we do have plans to plant a lot of native perennials in that area, and friends have seeds and other plants to contribute too. Soon we will look at this space with joy and gratitude and not grumble. They also left some really good lumber behind that we are going to cure and use for building purposes! (Shower house? Covered deck over the cistern?)

When the incredibly smart and helpful Angela came out to look at the land with us on an initial site visit, she said, “They don’t make oak forests like this anymore.” She had so much to teach us about forests, woodlands, trees, oak varieties, diseases, young maples lying in wait to take over the forest if we don’t cut them, and how to see where timber stand improvements were done, could be done, and are no longer an option in some areas. We talked about types of forestry practices that encourage migratory birds, and lots of diverse wildlife as well and I’m encouraged and excited to make some plans for the woods that are sustainable and positive to maintain this big old oak forest.


All of these activities have been performed nearly every single weekend all year, with a slowdown during the couple months following when my mother passed away. We have been weekend warriors on this project for a year without a word to the general public. I wasn’t ready to talk about plans when there were more questions than answers. But we feel pretty great these days about our process and decisions and looking ahead to working with more people on projects and building community, even during COVID.

We also are ready to start investing in this new life in a big way. I have quit my position at Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture as the Opportunity Gardens Manager, and will be working on this dream full time for the next several months. I do not have a date or deadline in mind, I just want to get moving on this full time, and we will gauge how much I have to side hustle as needed.

I know there are a LOT of people who would absolutely love to keep asking me questions about homesteading and gardening but I’m no longer paid a salary to be able to spend all the time doing that for everyone. So I decided to start a Patreon. If you would like to support this new project and me doing it, and have access to my hard-earned knowledge of over a decade of teaching over 300 gardeners how to grow veggies, or all the hours of cob lessons I’ve gotten and done, or even cooking, herbalism, preserving, etc. I am thrilled to share. But your support helps me be able to do that for everyone regularly.

I’m also going to be keeping up this blog, doing some educational videos, and potentially doing some podcasts!

Just a little about me:
I have been growing food for about a decade or so pretty successfully, and getting better and better all the time. In 2013 I came to Missouri to teachit for a living. I learned things most at Sequatchie Valley Institute with the Kimmons and Ironwoods, and at Sequatchie Cove Farm/Creamery with Padgett Arnold and Randall. I owe them so much for helping me create this life for myself, and the hundreds of people I’ve been able to assist.

I am really into community organizing, mutual aid, social justice and anti-racism activism. I love to read in my hammock, and hang out with my partner, I love to swim, and to make art, and be busy with projects. I really love to teach people things and learn new things myself.

I have been doing nothing but learning about and practicing so many of these skills and topics for so long. I looked back at my life, and there have been 4 times that I’ve cleaned up someone’s property and made a new awesome life for myself there. One of those times I cleaned out over 7 tons of trash, which allowed me to farm and have chickens.

I was once part of a group that was given the keys to a great big property to rebuild. Its like I’ve been working towards a caretaker position all of my life. I have always fantasized about taking care of a large property of woods and gardens and natural homes, and it’s finally coming true. I’m still gaining confidence as I learn by doing, but I’m also reaching out to experts and learning before doing. Knowing what I don’t know is another key component of being ready to do this. I’ve been trying to be diligent by following the experts, calling in professionals, paying for consultations, taking a few classes, and it’s been REALLY valuable so far. I’ve helped a whole lot of people over the years, and I’m excited to do so from Maya Creek!

My nesting partner Cameron is at his day job right now and can introduce himself here soon.

I will do everything I can to open up homesteading knowledge and access to all. I would love to foster a inclusive community and I look forward to all the unique opportunities we are going to create together to do that.

I’m so thankful for this new opportunity and so excited. COVID has upended my entire life, so it seems to fit that I do this now. I look forward to building the better world we know is possible.

My Patreon is: https://www.patreon.com/MizTrish?fan_landing=true&fbclid=IwAR22RI2JQoDRdpZihIIKxNXP4-qkcedkwwUcylplnFaIXmML8zLrzg7crF4

We love it when people come out to visit, masked and with a safe social distance. Camping and helping out with projects is also an option. Just contact us at trish.woolbright@gmail.com













Help Wanted

UPDATE: I’ve found someone for this position.  Thank you for those who applied, inquired, or spread the word!


I’m taking it slow this year, but it’s still much easier and more fun to get things done with at least one other pair of hands.  I can offer room, board, a small stipend, hands-on experience with organic gardening, permaculture, and construction, a beautiful piece of woodland to explore, a pond to swim in, a relaxed atmosphere, and some good company in exchange for your assistance on different projects and chores around Maya Creek.

Description

The work includes help with planting, weeding, watering, harvesting, and preserving the 3,000 sq. ft. organic no-till garden.  The critical project that needs to get done this year is to finish the 3,500 gallon concrete rainwater cistern.  The hole has been dug, though it will need some more shaping. There may also be some work done on the shed and various other projects.

Other tasks will include things like helping to load/unload manure to build compost piles,  general clean up, watering/harvesting shiitake mushroom logs, and taking care of the dog and cat if I’m away.  We will either share or take turns cooking and doing dishes.

Having cooking experience is a plus, though I don’t mind teaching what I know.  You will need to be in moderately good physical shape, ie able to lift 50lbs.  Based on my goals for the year I expect we’ll have a leisurely work pace, but if you find yourself tired or feel overworked I expect you to tell me and we’ll slow things down.  I prefer a non-smoker and that you not be in the habit of abusing other substances.

Workload

I’m looking for someone who can start in May and who can stay for at least 4 months, although you’re welcome to stay on up through October. I expect that we’ll be putting in around 30 hours of work most weeks, though I’m including things like cooking, dishes, laundry in that estimate as well as the gardening/construction work.

I’ll be gone for a week here and there during your stay, in which case I only ask that while I’m gone you do general maintenance ie, take care of the dog and cat, take out the garbage, clean up after yourself, etc.  I’m also flexible if you would like to take some time off for trips during your time here though I ask you that give me as much notice as you can.

Room

You will be given the other side of the straw bale duplex, which is roughly 180 sq. ft. including the loft area.  There is no finish plaster on the walls or floor, but it will keep you dry and cool in the hot summer.  There will be a full-size mattress and some basic shelving provided for you.

Board

I typically make mostly vegetarian meals, though I am flexible to your dietary needs or wants.  Once the garden produce starts coming in we’ll likely be eating a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables from there.  All reasonable food requests will be provided, unreasonable requests would be things like filet mignon, caviar, microwave dinners, etc.  Also, candy and beer are not included, though there will likely be some just don’t count on it.  I have a large collection of homemade wine that I’ll gladly share.

To Apply

If you’re interested in the position, please send me an e-mail about yourself and why you’re interested in it.  Please let me know about any skills or knowledge you have that may apply to working and/or living out here.  Also, I ask that you include 2 people as references as well as any questions or concerns you may have.

Healing Up and Breaking Down

As some of you already know I suffered a serious hand injury at the end of October.  I was sharpening a shovel using far too much pressure on the file, lost control, and gashed my wrist open.  I was wearing gloves for protection, but the shovel caught me just above them and severed 4 tendons and one of the 2 main nerves, narrowly missing one of the 2 main arteries.

John and Jesse were nearby and we got to the hospital right away.  Luckily, I have health insurance and so won’t be gashed too badly financially on top of it.  We were in the process of winding down construction for the year anyway so the timing, if it had to happen at all, isn’t terrible.

My doctor and hand therapist both tell me I’m recovering remarkably well. I’ve gotten a considerable amount of feeling back and my range of motion and strength is starting to return. I should be good to go when Spring rolls around.

Apart from that minor tragedy, John has moved into the new mini-cabin. He’s sealed it up better, but it looks like we should have dug deeper for the insulation barrier in the floor. We’ll fix that in our future cabins.  Jesse was staying in the common house, but just departed for a month and half trip to Denver, Portland, and Seattle. I’m staying mostly with Jessica in Columbia, although I’m hoping to start transitioning back out to MC over the next several weeks.

It’s been an incredibly mild and sunny winter and the new solar array has been pumping out the power.  Our peak power output last I checked was 847 watts from panels rated at only 800 watts.  Normally you never even produce the rated watts for panels, but thanks to the reflected roof sunlight we’re probably making an extra ~25%.

We’ve started really planning and prioritizing for this coming year and have created a project breakdown to keep track of it.  The big projects will be putting in a cistern for collecting rainwater, building a mini-duplex similar to the mini-cabin we built last year, building a shed with a root cellar in it, finishing the outside of the mini-cabin, and doing a lot of interior work on the common house.  That ought to keep us busy.

All the while we’ll be maintaining the garden.  I’ve done some planning and have put together a page of garden notes.  It has on it all of the seeds we’ve ordered with pictures and descriptions.  We’ll probably add a few more plants before it’s all said and done.  On the same page I’ll record all the pertinent information on when and how much we plant, when and how much we harvest, and everything else noteworthy.  I’m also going to record the rainfall and high and low temps in the garden.

We lost all of corn to raccoons last year, but this year we’re moving the tipi up into the garden and I’m going to spend the summer in it along with the dog.  That along with the solar-powered radio playing predator noises during the day ought to minimize our pest problems as far as mammals and birds go.

Stick It Where The Sun Does Shine

It’s hard to believe another summer has come and gone, and as the colder weather has set in we get less and less things done.  We’ve wrapped up construction on the common house for this year and I’ve moved into the loft for the winter.  John has been taking refuge in the common house as well until we get the floor totally finished and the doors and windows installed on the cabin he’ll be in for the winter.  Jesse’s managing in his camper, but he’ll probably move into the common house when John moves into his cabin.  So, there’s lots of shuffling going on as we prepare for the winter.  I think we’re all looking forward to the nice long break.

Hot Showers

We’ve gotten our first hot indoor showers at Maya Creek now.  It’s still very primitive, we have to heat up the water via the cook stove or rocket stove and pour it in a feeder bucket above the shower.  One of next year’s major projects will be installing the water system including the cistern and solar hot water panel and tank, until then we’ll be just fine with what we’ve got.  It’s probably hard for an outside observer to understand how grateful we are for the low pressure showers that we take right now, but that goes for a lot of things out here.  It’s rare that people understand the amount of time, labor, and general effort that have gone into what we’ve got so far.

Mini-Cabin Progress

We’ve gotten a steel roof installed on the cabin, with an old billboard tarp as a second layer of protection taking the place of tar paper.  We extended one side and added a small covered porch area.  We’ll finish filling in the gaps on the roof gables and plastering the outside next year, but we did put all of the layers of plaster and floor in on the inside.  We haven’t worked with the finish coats of plaster or earthen floor to this point and we used the cabin as an experiment to get some experience before doing the common house.

We wanted to lighten the walls some so we incorporated some masonry lime into the mix, and a little really went a long way towards lightening up the color.   That’s good to know so that we can use it for the exterior finish coat on the house and make the burnt sienna coloring stand out more.  The lime is a little rough on the hands, so next time we do an interior finish plaster that we want to lighten we’ll try to find some white kaolin clay, but for an exterior plaster the lime adds extra protection.

The floor is currently drying out after applying a couple of coats of linseed oil cut to different strengths with mineral spirits.  Then we finished it off with a mixture of oil and beeswax to finish it all off and waterproof it.

John’s building an insulated door improving the design of the doors used in the common house.  They’re kind of a pain to build, and in the future we’ll probably just build the door and window bucks to fit whatever doors or we can salvage.  The benefit of building our own is that we can make them super-insulated, so there’s a trade-off.

Reflecting on Solar Power

When I first picked the unpainted galvanized steel roofing I was mainly thinking about our rainwater collection system and how I didn’t want any toxic paint residue in the water supply.  I was also thinking about reflecting some of the heat in the summer.  That reflected light goes all year really and is actually blinding when you hit at the right spot.  After putting on the porch on the back of the house this year at a lower angle than the roof the effect was even greater.  It occurred to us to harness all that extra light by mounting our panels behind the house on a raised rack to catch all of that extra light.

We’ve never seen something like this before, but now that we’ve done it we’ll pretend like we had it planned this way all along. Hehe.  The panels are all in one long row to catch to orient with the roof more closely and catch more reflection.  We’re still putting the finishing touches on everything, and we had to buy a few more pieces of hardware since we’re moving from a 12V system to 24V, but so far the panels appear to be putting out 25-50% more power!  As you can imagine we’re quite pleased and have doubled our battery bank to hold more of that goodness.

Granting Wishes

We’ve been looking into trying to get some funding help for our projects out here at MC.  Next year we’re planning on holding several free workshops on the things that we think we’re confident in teaching.  We’ll post a schedule some time over the winter about those.

Anyway, we feel that since we’re actively providing education opportunities by giving tours, work parties, setting booths at related events, and now with workshops that we should be able to receive grants to help us along.  We’ve been pouring our own money into everything so far, but it’s consistently a restrictive factor and one causes significant amounts of stress.

We’ve explored the option of becoming a tax-exempt non-profit, but the paperwork and legal rigmarole is disenchanting to say the least.  However, we’re in talks with Mid-Missouri Peaceworks to become a project of theirs and fall under their non-profit umbrella.  We’ll probably know if that’s going to work out by the end of November.

In the meantime, I went to a grant-writing workshop for SARE(Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education) grants last week.  It was moderately helpful, although I was told that many of things I’d hoped to get grants for such as permanent structures like greenhouse, root cellar, etc wouldn’t be allowed, I found examples of SARE grants funding those exact same things while researching it later.

We understand that grants are not meant to build private structures, but everything we’re building is meant to be both for our own use as well as to be a demonstration for tours and for use in workshops.   It seems like most grants do not want to pay for physical items, but if they want to pay us to do what we were already intending to do then we can use those wages to buy the physical items that we need.

The Big Chill

My name is Jesse, and I am the newest full time Maya Creek resident.

Weather Vs. Progress

The weather here has turned to Fall literally overnight. The temperatures were in the upper 90’s for most of August, then suddenlyplunged to the upper 70’s last week. Today the high was 65 and rainy. Its going to be 36 degrees tonight. The rapid change was the perfect opportunity to get some of the sweaty work out of the way.

As of yesterday we are now about 3/4 finished with the second layer of the floor. Once we finish that, we can put in the indoor shower.

In the garden, we dug up the oldest compost and piled all of its goodness on thebeds, then created a new compost pile. We are still waiting for the floor in John’s winter cabin to dry, then we can put on the finish coat and then window and door. He should stay nice and warm in there. Now Its cold and wet. We can’t do any work so, I have time to write a blog as well as catch up with friends and family. Having time is important, kill your TV.

Winterizing

Since the chill we stacked strawbales on the roof of my camper, and created a small wall around the bedroom for insulation. It has helped noticably, especially on the hotter days when it stays much cooler in there. I hope it will keep the heat inside this winter too.Its going to be 36 degrees tonight, it should be an excellent test to see if I will make it all winter. The camper has heat but…even if we finish the solar upgrade, I’m not sure we can supply the electric blower through the winter. What an unusual year of weather.  Since it just rained and it was cold last night, we decided to have a campfire.

Visitors

 

We had a great visit from Caitlin for a week. She learned about earthen floors, composting, alternative energy, straw bale building, and we also attended an Organic Beekeeping workshop at the Possibility Alliance. Caitlin ended her stay as a “Master” earthen floor installer.  Thanks for all your hard work Caitlin!

As soon as Caitlin left, we welcomed 3 new visitors. Dustin, Janet and Oatie the quaker parrot. Everone helped pour more earthen floor and sift clay on their first day. The second night is looking pretty chilly.

Sustainability Fair

Come Join us at the Sustainable Living Fair in Columbia, Missouri this Sunday from 11am to 6pm. Look for the Maya Creek, Sustain Missou, and Peace Nook booths! Details and directions can be found at http://www.slfcolumbia.org/ Sponsored by Peaceworks’ Center for Sustainable Living.

Growing Possibilities

Visualizing the future of Maya Creek can be double-edged sword.  The possibilities for this place are incredible and less and less difficult to see even to outside observers.  On the other hand, the amount of energy needed to realize those possibilities can be stifling and disheartening.

Still, over time I get used to the pace of growth and accept that it may be many years before it even approaches what it could be.  Every year and every day is different and fulfilling, and there’s really not much more you can ask for out of life.  The work here will never be done, or at least I should hope it never ends.  As the saying goes, the day you stop learning, is the day you begin to die.

Guest Cabin Progress

We’ve finished applying the last thick coats of earthen plaster and floor to the cabin.  It’s a very labor intensive process since the infill coat of plaster can be a couple inches thick.  It’s worth it though, because it really smooths out the walls, and is going to provide lots of thermal mass to moderate the temperature.

We also installed the foundation insulation, and mortared in the scrap granite chunks around the base to protect the bottoms of the walls from rain.  We stuffed the area behind the granite with misprinted polypropylene feedsacks filled with scrap alpaca wool, which we affectionately named, “fur turds”.

Yesterday, we went looking for a screen door and found one at the Habitat Restore for $20.  It was the only one they had and it was heavy duty and just barely the right height.  We took it back and it fit perfectly.  Dumb, but very awesome luck.

John should be able to move into the place after the walls and floor finish drying in several weeks.  We’ve still got to put the metal roof on, install the doors and windows, and put the finish exterior plaster on, but we’re getting close.

Garden Raids

The garden has been under siege ever since the sweet corn started coming in.  We’ve trapped ~7 raccoons and 2 opossums, and we probably would’ve gotten more if they hadn’t finished off the 400 sq. ft. of corn completely.  The fence we’ve set up works well on deer and rabbits, but climbing critters don’t mind it at all.

We’ve got a new solution though that I think will work.  We’re going to set up a stereo hooked up to a small solar power system.   We tried it out for about 5 days and the garden was left alone all that time.

Playing conservative talk radio seemed like the best bet, because it has the most yelling and angry sounding voices… and it’s just scary in general.  However, I had the idea of making a long MP3 recording of the sounds of common predators in the area and having it loop.  I’ll probably throw in some weird tiger roars and other foreign animal sounds too just to keep ’em freaked out.

The tomatoes are still coming in pretty heavily, and so are the squash and cucumbers.  I’ve been dehydrating a lot of the squash and tomatoes for winter soups.  They should go well with the ~50 lbs of potatoes we’ve got left from out harvest earlier this year.

The Possibility Alliance

Last Saturday Jesse, Jessica, John, Nic, and I went up to the Possibility Alliance in northern Missouri to take a short class on sustainable forestry.  It was actually more about just seeing the place and meeting the people.  It was a short, but sweet visit and I was really excited to see a project working that’s so similar to what I currently hope Maya Creek will turn into.

They’re creating a sustainable community, teaching workshops, and permaculture certification.  All just for donations!  I’d noticed that all the places that teach these types of skills and certifications were really pricey, and it seemed to defeat the point.  Most people interested in learning these skills don’t have a lot of money, and if you think the skills are that important then I would think you’d want to give as many people access to them as you could.

Today John and I went back for a more in-depth tour.  We got to explore the site fully and get a lot of questions answered.  The amount of energy that Ethan exudes is staggering, and I’m amazed he’s able to maintain it.   He and others at PA are part of the superheroes organization which ride bicycles in superhero attire offering help to people.  Perhaps he really is a superhero in more ways than one.

I’ve created an album of photos from the tour here.

Visitors

We had a nice visit from Bob and Kelly earlier this month.  They were out from California looking around the area at permaculture related projects.  They’re planning on moving out this way in the near future, and are planning to help out at Maya Creek after they get settled.

Nic just left to help set up a camp at Burning Man.  He was here for about a week helping us put in some earthen floor and just checking the place out.  He came down from Minneapolis, but has been traveling around all over.  It’s always nice to have a new person with new stories and perspectives come and share that with us.  I’ll be seeing Nic again at Burning Man in a few days.