Round...and Round

Done… well its true that there is plenty more to do, but as this is one of those "it’s the journey not the destination" home building adventures, “more to do” is normal, and milestones are to be celebrated. So as of yesterday afternoon our second yurt is up with as far as the yurt itself is concerned nothing left to do. Yahooooo! somebody get me my yak butter and felt hat, I'm home.
The new yurt will be our daytime space with lots of big windows, tall walls, and high ceiling, housing our kitchen and dinning table/ living room. The used yurt will be for sleeping, more den like, its smaller size is appropriate as a nighttime or quite time space. It will be bedroom and office. If any one out there is interested in the differences we have seen between Rainier and Pacific yurts please contact us. I really have nothing bad to say about either. A comparison would have the usual plus and minus, but they are both wonderfully crafted yurts.
In the “more to do” categories there are many of those. A connecting deck between the yurts is a priority. Winter heating is on the top of the list, a sink that drains, and non-extension cord based electricity. We have been checking out this very cute mini wood stoves for sail boats. Which say they can heat 300+ square feet. We have yet to commit to a purchase but if your interested check them out at: http://www.marinestove.com/index.htm, cute, cute, and cute.

There are those rare moments in my life when I’ve stepped back and been truly amazed at some course of personal action, a “holy crap!” exhalation is made and for a moment the universe is pretty darn cool place to be in. When I step back and look at these yurts and the idea to make a home out of them I feel this summer’s yurt building experience fall easily into that list of rarities, and the universe is feeling pretty darn cool.

In every Yurt raising...

...a little rain must fall. Well, the other round in Round and Round is up. But not with out some good lesson's in patience, exhaustion, and weather prediction. With rain scattered through out the last two week we have had to run between getting as much done as we can, then scramble to protect our work against rain. But its up and its a beautiful addition to our home. Cindy and John gave us there left over Trex decking so we should be able to get the connecting deck up between the yurts very soon.

Do as you do

Well the summer is winding its way towards fall, its been a wonderful several months for us. We built our first yurt with another to go. Chloe is about to turn three (August 19th). Esmé is sitting up and is moving across the floor with what I would call more of a drag then a crawl but it seems to be just as effective.



Although the vision of our two yurts will not be complete until the end of August, the sense of “home” is well established. Between my jobs I have found I can bike every where I need to go and its been a great introduction to the surroundings. There is a lot of growth in the area but still many old farm houses, pastures with cows and horses, barking dogs, and old trucks. From my job with goats I have grown to recognize their particular smell, which I now find along my bike rides, and know that there must be goats not to far off.


The pictures included represent some of the last two weeks of building, the sense of summers end is pushing us forward with the second yurt. Next weekend should be the bamboo floors, with the yurt going up soon after. From then on all our priorities will revolve around preparations for fall. Evaluate our heating, establish drainage for a kitchen sink, build the covered deck to connect the yurts, take a better look at our electrical needs. It is fun to think about the winter, we had a good thunder storm several weeks back and it did feel a little more dramatic in our canvas castle.