The Garden

The first planting occurred this morning. The seedlings, who have been through so much, were removed from their containers, dipped in a secret concoction and thrust into the ground. As we were carrying water to the garden from a not-so-nearby creek, it started to rain. 

Cayenne Pepper can keep away predators - like cows

Snow Pea - planted next to a stalk of corn

I love this thing - he dropped from a nearby tree and started munching awway on my squash plants as soon as I put them in, it was incredible, I wasn't even upset - a FOPR pointed out that the design on his back looks like a series of penguins. A fortune could probably be made from entomological bio-mime prints in clothing designs - actually - stand-by for Project Reliance t-shirts! who wants one?

Me*

Also Me

Love this guy

Does not bruise blue

*Thank you

Cow Defense

These are the predators that will lay siege to the garden. I must make a fence. Putting the first plants in tomorrow. 

I've also been thinking about how this whole covering scheme will work and I think I've figured it out. 

Step 1:  Mosquito screen around the whole wall section. 

Step 2: Cover Entire Frame with heavy duty shrink wrap. While Covering, leave spiral flap around top third of wall to serve as water catchment system. 

Step 3: Expand water catchment area while simultaneously shielding open windows by suspending 'flying shades' at strategic areas where there is natural tree support. 

Here are some very rough digital sketches of what I have in mind.

 

Shades similar to the above will dramatically increase water catchment area for the house and also create an additional buffer from the elements. With these shades there should be little need for closing windows (other than screens) during the summertime. In addition, the upper tier shades shall be angled so as to allow the sun to pass underneath during the cool times of day but block most of the mid afternoon sun. Actual shape and frequency of flying shade(s) and windows to be determined on-site by available trees and relative sun position. 

This was certainly easier to draw than it will be to build.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBMXaBkBZYw&NR=1

In Flight

At one point in the last few days I found myself under the eaves of an old barn. and looked outside into the field at these birds that were diving at me and then retreating only to come around for another pass. I was apparently too close to their nests and they were probably trying to warn me away. I took several shots of them in flight but this was difficult as they were very fast. So I ended up having to set the camera's focus and aperture and then take the shot before the birds snapped around. Here they are -

The bird on the lower right above has his tail twisted in mid-turn. It's fascinating to think how these things actually fly, and what air must feel like to them as opposed to how we sense it. They probably think of it as we think of water. It's interesting to think how organisms of different size and sense perceive their environment and develop abilities within it. 

When I was in college I wrote a paper called 'Honey I Shrunk the Kids is Bullshit'. Perhaps you remember that movie - It was Rick Moranis (whose best role, I think, was in a movie he did with Steve Martin about a mobster relocated to suburbia via the witness protection program [My Blue Heaven].)  who shrunk his kids to about an inch tall (we will say for sake of argument, though they may have been much smaller).

In their tiny state, they were suddenly quite fearful of falling any small distance (from a tabletop for example). My paper stated, in no uncertain terms and holding back no polemic attack on my detractors, that those kids at an inch tall could easily have jumped off that table and landed with no different consequence than they would have experienced if they were their previous size. A simple argument - That gravity affects all beings the same, and that the speed at which they would have hit the ground would have been the same as it was before, and if their normal bones could have sustained such an impact then certainly their scaled down bones could too - was enough to begin a 3 hour long conversation with my physics professor (who still gave me a C in his class regardless of my ability to actually make him think). It turns out to be a more complicated problem [Factors including how mass scales down faster than bone strength does, muscle strength increases w/r/t mass as well, and even how not only would they have been able to jump off the table, but could easily have jumped back up to it - add in the wind resistance (so happily left out in high school, and most of college, physics) and you have some interesting stuff going on)], and leads to fascinating conclusions about how  small and big things go about the world. At the end of it we agreed that you wouldn't get hurt, the convesation was how much of a little super-human you would actually be (Basically all the best parts of spiderman and superman). We may be advanced yet our textbooks have trouble explaining the flight of a bumblebee. 

Anyway - Talking about winged insects - the pre-emptive defensive strike against mosquitoes continues. Not only am I cultivating bats (update later), but am reinforcing my house to repel their bloodthirsty onslaught -

It doesn't look like much, but that black ribbon was 2 days in the thinking and 2 in the making. It is not unlike the wrist seal of a drysuit and it takes the irregular surface where the lattice meets the floor and seals it completely from any invader. Now it's a simpler problem to seal the lower part of the wall to this and I should be pest-free*.

Here's a tree where the first Tree Structure will be built -

It's a big Beech tree and has the greenest, broadest leaves. I say structure because it will not be a house, but rather a place to sit or read while in the tree and have ample light and breeze. I would also think it to be a great place to sleep if the weather's right. I have a design in mind, basically a covered swing/wooden hammock, that will work perfectly here and will let the tree grow without harming it. More later...

THE GARDEN -

Basically 3 Big piles of dirt with weeds growing on them - Now to spread it all out, organize it in some way, protect it from deer, cow and the occasional horse, and transplant all the seedlings to their new domain. I will plant 5 times more than I will need so I don't have to sleep by the garden with a shotgun to protect the last vestige of veggies from animal mastication.

I'm stumped -

*While this now seems simple and obvious, I must say that when first faced with the problem it did not come to mind and when it did, it was so elegant it was obvious. It reminds me of my math professor in college who would always say 'Math is beautiful, if your answer is ugly, it's probably wrong.". It is folly to look for a beautiful solution however, but rather to come upon it through right process and perception. The beauty then is a confirmation, or even a reward. 

Farmers Beware

The ambitious folk who have sown gardens sleep warily tonight. When we wake up there will most likely be frost on the ground, and if so those who have already planted outside without cover will face seedlings frozen by cold settled air. 

My whole crop of seedlings includes now: 

10 varieties of Heirloom Tomatoes

Dino Kale

Yellow and Green Beans

3 Varieties of Basil

Tatsoi

Bok Choi

Fennel

Cayenne Pepper

Bell Pepper

Squash

Zucchini

Snow Peas

Mesclun Mix

Cardoon

Some red leafy thing I can't remember the name of

Pumpkins

Swiss Chard

Broccoli

and others...

I do not want these guys to die. So I put a woodstove in the PR hothouse I had prepared a month back just waiting for this late frost to arrive. I read my almanac. 

I started a fire and warmed the space to 85 degrees, waited out there a bit for two fuel logs to catch and cut the oxygen -

For the seedlings that will be feeding me, hopefully it will be a -

We put the 'Cover' in Resource ReCovery

A mountain of trash - The 'Resource Recovery Corporation' in RI

To raise one's awareness,  I heard once that you must make the invisible visible; either for yourself or others. So I took a trip to the Resource Recovery Corporation in RI so I could see the trash we produce for myself (apparently they give tours so I will take one later to get some more info and inside-the-fence photos). This is a large (and growing steadily) mountain of trash. I don't have any facts with respect to what's recovered and not (though I heard that recycling is not being done as much since it is so expensive), but I'm interested in finding out. 

The trash problem is not easily solved. In Vietnam, they throw their trash over the next hill; what they think is away. In Mexico, I've driven through trash 'fields' on the outskirts of the cities. In New England a century ago, farmers used to have small trash pits on the corner of the property and would even put old bottles in their stone walls (which you can still find if you're observant, or lucky). 

New York City now generates 50,000+ tons of trash/day. 50,000 tons. I don't even know what that looks like, let alone the result of a long period of daily accumulation (I heard it is shipped to other 'mountains' in New Jersey and Pennsylvania). Imagine if NYC's trash 'outgo' were to stop? I wonder how many inches of trash on the street/day that would be (perhaps that's a good trash metric to think about in a society). 50,000 tons of trash/day would certainly be visible then. Maybe people would change their habits if that happened. I wonder if culture would absorb this new ever-present-trash paradigm and just accept it and do things like use it to build hip new nightclubs (derelicte!) or fish through it for shaggy-chic fashion accessories. There would be a windfall in the perfume industry. 

Michigan is aggressively trying to build trash mountains as they import trash from Canada (getting paid something like $12/ton for it). Where that money goes I don't know.

After talking to an environmental engineer at Shaw Environmental, I learned that there is not really much bio-degrading going on in landfills. In order to prevent water leeching through and contaminating groundwater, landfills are capped with impervious (at least for a while) membranes, eliminating oxygen amongst the very dense collection of refuse. Without oxygen there is no degrading. It's more like preservation. So we are preserving trash. I even heard that it'll eventually be profitable (as technology advances and marginal mining costs rise around the world or maybe it could even be catalyzed by a domestic currency crash and the concomitant price surge of commodity imports from countries we may not have financial or military control over that goes with it*)) to mine landfills for valuable materials. Already they contain a higher percentage of some metals (like copper) than the richest mines on earth. 

With the above in mind, I can think a little more clearly with respect to PR's potential trash mitigation strategies. 

After my trash field trip, I went back to PR and began to build the floor to the outside bathroom -

That rock doesn't look heavy but it took me 2 hours to get it there (Triangles don't roll well, in fact, it tacked back and forth across the path). This will eventually be a natural granite deck to complete the waterfall shower.

There's something about building with rocks that's satisfying. Perhaps because it's a way to make a lasting impact on the world. I'm also building a bench underneath the beech trees (as soon as I devise a pulley system to lift this 300+lb perfectly smooth granite boulder I'm dead set on using)  - It's no stonehenge, but I wonder if it will last 500 years. That's more of a legacy than I would have left otherwise I think. I wonder how many people will sit on it. 

After wrestling with rocks I took another walk, this time starting off in a different direction. I found this amazing collection of big-leafed green plants -

And these yellow flowers began to bloom in the fields (I think they are called Goldenrod) -

And this tree was impressive - 

I would like to thank everyone for their interest and encouragement. This was initially meant to be a personal account, and then as a way for friends to keep up with me, but then I was told by several people recently that they read this every day when they get into the office. 

I'm happy to provide this small window to another world-

*That was a bit of a rant - and a run-on one no less.

Seeds Grow Fast with Mushrooms

These have sprung up quickly - I'll need to transplant them tomorrow. I'm skeptical to plant anything before there is little chance of frost. 

The covering of the house situation is close to being solved. There was a tarp donation and another hardware store is going out of business so I'll be able to pick up some insect separation equipment at attractive prices tomorrow.

The dwelling itself will most certainly be an ongoing project and will certainly be improved. The process of construction has offered not only problems to be solved but also interesting possibilities. For example, the spiral failure problem may have been a structural inconvenience, but it also pointed to a way in which I could design this to be collapsible (that, and a little creative origami w/r/t the covering).

I've also come across an old Singer sewing machine (which I may have to repair) so I will begin on the construction of the covering tomorrow. I have come across some ideas in ancient painting texts with respect to ideal lighting and will try incorporate them into the design of the openings. If anyone can tell me what a braccia is I would appreciate it... 

In addition, if I may nominate a PR documentary of the week: 'The Century of the Self'

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=the+century+of+the+self&emb=0&aq=f#

If you get bored with my monologue, watch this in its entirety. It's fascinating. 

a handclasp 'til the morrow - 

What do you imagine is the difference between seeing a beautiful object and an ugly one?

First of all, I would like to thank Erich for illuminating the charcoal soil phenomenon in awesome detail (check yesterday's comments section). I find this fascinating and will use some of this information in the upcoming experiments.

Having now finished (apart from the door) the general frame of the dwelling, I have come upon the need to think about the composition of the site (in addition to all the other design questions yet to be answered). So I took a walk to observe the natural composition of the area.

Leonardo Da Vinci used to has suggested staring at an oil-stained canvas in order to create a composition for a painting, as the mind can create any illusion in its process of imposing order upon something it does not understand. You can hear any name in the echo of a wind chime. So I set out to stare.

I happened upon a hidden opening - 

I came upon several natural hideaways artfully crafted with the cooperation of chance and the native species. I spent some time here (the view from which is the image above) -

A pine tree, some fallen wood, a rock and a blackberry bush

 

The place is alive. There was a bumblebee by my foot, he did not find what he was looking for in the grass while I was there -

Then I found a natural bower-

Two pine trees, a rock, and a needled path 

Is there a better architect than nature itself? It dawned on me how utterly stupid it was of me to begin without first observing. Even the night in the cave now seems superflous with respect to what could have come about by first observing what was there. Looking at what I've built, it seems like I carved a circle to separate myself from that which was around me. A discrete this-is-where-I-live box and not another question. Now that I'm aware of this folly, I think a more continuous integration with the site will result. 

Consider this dandelion -

The individual seeds around the dark spherical center I think serve to prevent the movement of the air in and out, through friction. So there's a captive fluid, As the center naturally heats up in the sun, the air around is heated and it takes on a natural buoyancy, perhaps it is lifted for just long enough for the paratroopers to be deployed. I wonder what triggers their release? 

In addition to natural dwellings, I also found some interesting patterns and textures:

Some seeds on a stalk -

A decaying branch -

From this old tree -

Some vines crawled up on a rock and there was no water -

Look at the space this interaction between tree and understory creates -

Here's a sculpture; A joint effort between time, neglect, and a farmer -

With a new understanding, I will continue.

20th Post special! B+W Edition

In honor of our 20th post special and our common atomic friend, carbon, This episode is in black and white. 

While tying up my walls and rafters I followed sailor rule #1-

If you can't tie a knot, tie a lot. 

The charcoal making experiment was a 50% success - 

As in 50% Carbon yield and 50% ash. Is all the energy embodied in wood and other organic matter just stored up solar energy? A tree takes 100 years to grow and about 30 minutes to burn, releasing heat that it's stored for years. Trees are, among other things, a bunch of energy capacitors...For the next experiment I will need a welder and welding practice in order to make a proper charcoal-making device. What can we use charcoal for? 

1. - Grilling on an open flame without the taste or carcinogenic injection of petroleum accelerants

2. - Terra Preta! This is the mythical Amazonian 'Black Earth'. I've been doing some side experiments with this... Basically, strange black soil was discovered 40 years ago in the middle of the rainforest (most of the soil there is an 'oxisol' which is orange). - (here's a good pic that gets around the B+W decree)

This soil amazes scientists because plants absolutely love it (and the microorganism count is off the charts (if there are any pedological microorganism charts)) and it increases in thickness every year - it grows; like the blob. The supposed secret to the soil? Charcoal. And lots of it. 

Charcoal has this amazing ability to link up with lots of other atoms. Which is why it is the backbone of what we're made of I guess... It is said that an ounce of carbon (in the form of charcoal) has a surface area of 3 football fields (more nooks and crannies than a Thomas' English Muffin).

Among other things, 2 factors that make an excellent soil are porosity and nutrient retention. Soil is a living thing. A collection of uncountable species of bacteria and fungi, symbiotically related and not...Charcoal not only creates the porosity for mushroom mycelium and bacteria to hang out in, but also attracts and holds onto water, nutrients and other stuff, which the afforementioned little bugs make available to plant roots; Super Soil! I'm making some. I already have good soil so I might not notice much of a difference. But Haiti doesn't have soil; and the people are starving. maybe we can find a way to rebuild their soil using stuff they already have...reliance.

The soil used in agribusiness is typically tilled to death and dusty and the water will either run off or through it and leech the nutrients out - This is one reason why they require constant and increasing petroleum-based fertilizer inputs to maintain crop yields. This is how 95% of food is grown now. This is a liquidation of a natural resource. And I'm told that if we didn't do this, we wouldn't be able to feed the number of people that are being fed now. I call bullshit.

Anyway - I also had the problem of the roof to solve. I had a 1/2" piece of plywood which I had used for a couch I made back in 2003. The couch was a bomb so I ripped it into little strips* -

 

Many ideas were sketched out to try and solve the mysterious spiral failure. In the end, I reasoned that in order to prevent it from failing spirally, I needed to strengthen it spirally. Seemed simple. So I did. First put up some supports -

Then added the spiral strips -

Can you see them around the edges? I am realizing that this is a cool pic, but not very explanatory. Anyway this was an absolute success! I was able to swing from the circle without a problem now. I might even hook my rings up to it. 

Here's a closing shot of the last round of germinations -

Open Questions:

1.) What will my floor be made out of?

2.) What will my walls and ceiling be made out of?

3.) How will I insulate? 

Creativity and budget-mindedness are encouraged.