Well, I’m happy to say that it’s not nearly as bad as we thought it would be!

We purchased some Permachink (a sealant often used on log homes) from a dealer not too far from us.  It comes in huge tubes that you squeeze onto the wall.  Toby would squeeze the ‘caulk’ around each log end and I would go behind him and smooth it out.  The color is an exact match to the white of our walls… unfortunately, the lower part of the exterior walls has some red mud splash back from the rain… so the caulk really stands out here.  I figure I’ll get Kaia to go splash in puddles near the house next time it rains and that caulk should be nice and dirty in no time

spreading on the permachink

permachink on left, none on right

Smoothing it out

We were able to do almost 2 sections (out of eight) this past weekend (with many interruptions!) So, we will hopefully be able to finish this in a few weekends.  Then, it’s on to the chicken coop!

I know it’s been SOOOOO long since I posted here!  Sorry!  Most of my posts have been on my other blog

Since you’ve been following my blog because of the cordwood home we’ve built, I thought it might be of interest to you that there is a cordwood workshop coming up in Asheville the weekend of Oct 10th and 11th.  “This project will be the 18” cordwood infill of a post and beam framed greenhouse.  The workshop host is the editor of Backhome Magazine.  It should be a gorgeous time of year to learn the cordwood technique in a beautiful setting.”  You can find more details on www.daycreek.com, click on Cordwood Workshop near Asheville, NC.  The instructors, Richard and Becky Flato, have been doing cordwood workshops for over 20 years!

This is the side view, where the front door will be:

This Sat. Toby helped me finish up a new little chicken hut that I’d started. It’s a 3′x4′ shed that sits at the edge of the fencing of their run. The back side opens so I can put their food and water in. That way, their food and water isn’t sitting out in the elements. It use to be in the coop, but kept getting pooped on when they roosted at night.

This Sunday Toby and I started on our Guest house. It will be a 12′x12′ room with a 6′x12′ loft… a cute little cottage for little retreats. (Our friend who is currently living in a tent will move in there once it’s done in exchange for some help with the land and when the little one is born.) And this one will be painted yellow!
Here’s the location… to the far right of the cabin and storage building, where Toby and Kaia are (can you see them?)-

Kaia helped sketch things out for us on her drawing board-

We built the foundation-

And just like the first time around, Kaia helped Toby put down the flooring-

On Monday, I got out and planted 6 fruit trees… 2 apples, 2 pears, 1 cherry and 1 plum. I wish I’d gotten a picture of me swinging the mattock Don’t worry, I’m taking care not to over exert myself.

Yesterday, I went out to the last hoop jam of the season, and I dressed for the occasion. My hot pants got me asked out! I told him “thanks but I am happily married and expecting my second child”. He said “I don’t care” :-O

Today, I planted 5 more trees… 2 English Walnuts, 2 Persimmon, and one more apple! Wahoo!!! I can’t wait for harvest time!

So, my next project is working on the garden space. I’m hoping to get a bunch of raised beds built before the winter, so they will be ready in spring for lots of veggies! I also have 17(!!!) fruit trees to plant. I got a Celeste Fig as a house warming gift and we planted that on the south side of the house. We are zone 6b, so we wanted to protect it from the cold winter winds. I also have (either waiting to get planted, or on its way here) A HardiRed Nectarine, Sweetheart Apricot, Wilson Delicious Apricot, UltraMac Apple, Pink Lady Apple, Arkansas Black Apple, Grimes Golden Apple, Honey Crisp Apple, BlackGold Cherry, Santa Rosa Plum, Methley Plum, Maxine Pear, Moonglow Pear, Lake English Walnut, Champion English Walnut, Prok Persimmon, and a Yates Persimmon!!!! (Most of these are from Stark Brothers) I ordered dwarf varieties when they were available, but the persimmons and walnuts will get 30+ feet tall, so I need to do some good planning to be sure that they don’t block the garden sun when they are fully grown. I also have a ginkgo that I have babied along in a little pot for over 7 years that I can finally put in the ground. But, Ginkgo trees have been known to get up to 80 feet, so I really need to figure out a good space for this one!!

I also hope to put in some grapes, blackberries, raspberries (and many other berries), passion fruit, hardi kiwi, rose (rugosa… for the rose hips), chestnut, and what ever else will fit!! I can’t wait!!! Now, will someone please come dig some holes in this dang red clay for me!

On Monday, Kaia and I took a little drive to get some new chickens. Our three old ladies are looking bored and seemed like they might need some company. They are also not producing many eggs these days. So, here are the new ladies:
The two small ones in front are Speckled Sussex and they are probably about 3-4 months old (the old ladies are in the background).

This cute little one is Poodle Noodle. She’s our Silkie and she’s also ~4 months old. She will be a smaller chicken, but still lays nice eggs and we just couldn’t pass up getting her.

Here are the other three. They are all about 6 months old. The larger one is an Ameraucana Rooster! I never really wanted a rooster in our bunch ’cause they can be so rough with the ladies, and so loud. But this breed is supposed to be more gentle, and if we hatch any of the eggs he fertilizes, those chickens could lay brown, blue, or olive colored eggs! Cool, eh? His name is Crowy. The whitish lady below him is Biscuit and she is an Ameracana female (so she’ll lay blue eggs). The orange lady is a Salmon Faverolle. I’d never heard of this breed until I went out to get the chickens, but she is very docile, friendly and supposedly will be a good layer. She is also really cute! I’ll have to get a better picture of her for you.

And just for the snuggle fun of it, here’s Kaia and her little friend Max

Here is some thyme that is thriving on the roof! (and a crazy kid who wants to be in every picture!)

Another shot. There is a dianthus blooming in the foreground. I love the look of this plant. We tried planting some little seedlings, but they didn’t make it. This was was a larger potted plant and did well.

Here is a blooming Monarda fistula, also called ‘wild bee balm’ or wild bergamot’ (sorry for the blurriness.. I have a crappy camera). I have two on the roof that were given to me by a friend. It’s one of the medicinals on the roof, though I’ve not used it much. I love the feathery purple bloom!

Here is a great patch of roof! The Delospermas (or ice plants) are doing fantastic. Here are a pink and a yellow variety. Later in the day, when it warms up a little, this part of the roof is covered in blooms!

Not all of the plants are doing so well. The Roman Chamomile have mostly died. The calendula are blooming and hanging in there, but scraggly. And you can see in this picture that some of the sedum seedlings just aren’t growing very fast. I’m hoping if they make it through the heat of the summer, that they will have time to settle in and establish roots in the fall, before the cold hits.

The California Poppies are blooming nicely, and the red yarrow is sending up lots of new greenery!

And here’s a shot of another area where the delosperma are taking off!

I haven’t posted about the house is a while, ’cause, well, I was kind of tired of talking about it But, we’ve been in here almost 3 months and we are all loving it! I’m really looking forward to our first winter so we can use the radiant floors and wood stove.

So, in the last 3 months, we’ve finished up some projects, like shelving in the bath closet, built a computer nook desk, rearranged the furniture about 178 times… we have to mount the door to the secret nook, and finish building the kitchen book shelf and I think the inside projects will be pretty much done! Wahooo! Then there’s tackling the outside (if you can’t hear the dread in my voice, it’s there, believe me!) We’ve still got a boat load of construction waste to deal with. All the left over wood (that is not usable for building) needs to be chopped up and stacked for fire wood. There are big piles of gravel, sand, and roof dirt to deal with, and trash here and there. It’s not actually too horrible, it’s just dealing with it! We’ve given ourselves until the Fall equinox to get stuff cleaned up, ’cause that is when we are finally going to have our house warming party! I would really like to get working on preparing the ground for a garden next year, but I have to say, that totally intimidates me! Our ground is complete hard clay and nothing but ragweed grows in it! So, I guess I need to till it all up and add a ton or two of compost and minerals. We’re not sure if we are going to plant in the ground or use raised beds. Any thoughts on what you prefer? I’d like to pack as much food into as small a space as possible so the space is used as efficiently as possible. I’m also hoping to plant lots of fruit trees and bushes and maybe some nut trees. Right now we have one peach (with about 10 fruits on it), and one nectarine.

Oh, and we’ve had lots of rain in the past 3 weeks, so the living roof is really taking off!!

We’ve almost got everything out of the little house. Toby has started using the upstairs for his office, and I’m setting up the downstairs for my office/clinic. So at the same time as moving into our new house, I’ve been boxing up and moving everything from Viriditas! The new tenants are supposed to be moving in on Sunday, so that is just about complete!

Inside the new house, things are looking mostly settled. There are still little projects here and there that need to be finished… shelving in the linen closet, back splash in the kitchen and bath… stuff like that. And the yard still looks like a war zone with construction crap everywhere! We had planned to have a house warming party on June 21st, but have decided not to. I want the house done and the yard cleaned before having everyone over! I think Fall time seems more reasonable.

The roof has been planted. We had some friends over a couple of weeks ago and we got most of it done in one afternoon! It looks nice so far, but the little plugs are hard to see in pictures. I will take more pictures when they start to grow and post them. I can’t wait until they have filled out and covered the roof. It is going to look so cool!!!

I’m really enjoying my space! I go back into the little cabin and think, “WOW, How did we ever live here for two years!!???!!”