One step forward…
Posted: October 6, 2013 Filed under: Permaculture & Home Renovation 3 Comments
Working through the to-do list, we had reached the happy task of hanging a hammock. Was I ready for that.
And on the same weekend, back in July, Becca found a puddle of water on the computer desk. Looking up, we saw sheetrock sagging. Glug! The hammock went empty as I started ripping out the ceiling.
The roof on that section of the house had some pretty sloppy flashing. When we jacked up parts of the basement during our renovation last autumn – our goal was to level the kitchen floor – the upward pressure must also have shifted, ever so slightly, that section of roofline. Water was finding the path of least resistance. Into our house. Onto our desk.
“Look at it as an opportunity,” That was the advice of Noah, the builder who has been helping us. I never would have gone there but he had a point. During our renovation last autumn we superinsulated the main house and attic but did not do the ceiling cavity in this section. Since we had to expose part of the ceiling now, it made sense to rip out the entire section and re-do the insulation.
But I was slow to get started. Finally I removed all the sheetrock and strapping and then affixed rigid foam insulation between the rafters. I left air space between the rigid foam and the roof boards, then used spray foam to seal the edges and corners.
Rolls of insulation were placed across the rafters and a vapor barrier was stapled in place. I used a 1 mil plastic sheet.
Calculating the total insulation value we gained is an unsolved puzzle: R5 against the roof + spray foam + R30 rolls of pink insulation = I know not what, but it is much more than was up there before. In fact, I found a gaping hole between the house interior and the porch roof. Whoever built this addition felt that tar paper was adequate insulation against the winter cold. Amazing!
When I finished replacing the sheetrock, heavy rains fell and nothing appeared inside the house. That was the big test. I hired a professional to do the final taping and mudding; this was a prominent location and it was well worth having a skilled hand do the finish work. And that gave me the chance, on an Indian Summer afternoon, to go lie upon the hammock.
Fairy Playground
Posted: October 3, 2013 Filed under: Art & Healing, Child Centered Activities 4 CommentsNeeded some magic today so we found a special place amongst the fading plants to create a play land.
Materials included objects from our last beach walk -shells, sea glass, stones, as well as items collected from around the yard – leaves, sticks, stones.
Making paths and trails…
Adding leaf boats…
Mama Earth Vertebrae
Posted: September 20, 2013 Filed under: Art & Healing, Gallery - Visual 4 CommentsProuts Neck Beach, Scarborough, Maine
Cannon preservation
Posted: September 4, 2013 Filed under: Gallery - Visual 1 Comment
A Carronade is a short smoothbore cast iron naval weapon introduced circa 1778 by Carron Foundry in Scotland. The weapons have a short range, and ships with these became easy prey to those mounting rifled long guns, so after the War of 1812 the cannons were mostly discontinued. The Confederacy used some during the Civil War.
The inscription “1723” denotes the weight. This Carronade, a “32-pounder,” sits now at the big house, and the salt air will deteriorate the metal. We needed to do some preservation work.
Having absolutely no knowledge of metals, I did some research. The Superintendent of the Richmond National Battlefield Park recommended painting the cannon. We shied away from that. Oil seemed a safer route. The gun department of a local hunting outfitter advised that we not use any of their oils; they argued that metals have changed and modern oils would be risky.
So I called Dereck Glaser, a Master Blacksmith and founder of the New England School of Metalwork. Dereck’s recipe was equal parts Boiled Linseed Oil and Thompson”s Water Seal, with a bit of Japan Driers added. It worked great! Dereck’s webs sites are: www.dereckglaser.com and www.newenglandschoolofmetalwork.com.
Here are before and after photos:
Up in the Clouds
Posted: August 23, 2013 Filed under: Art & Healing, Gallery - Visual 1 CommentThe Art Farm grows with more form and color. Earlier this month, for David’s birthday, a good friend built this Bluebird house to which I added a bit of color. 
From Tree to Table
Posted: August 18, 2013 Filed under: Farming off the Farm, Gallery - Visual, In the Kitchen, Permaculture & Home Renovation 3 Comments
Dinner Interrupted
Posted: August 6, 2013 Filed under: Child Centered Activities, Farming off the Farm, In the Kitchen, Permaculture & Home Renovation 3 Comments
Last night, as we prepared to eat dinner on the porch, our neighbor Steve came walking down the magical path to our house. He told us that there was at least one quart of red raspberries waiting to be picked on the canes growing behind his house. That was a call to arms!
Our four-year old daughter E loves picking berries, and so this offer was the equivalent of Halloween and Christmas combined, in August. We quickly finished our dinner and then E and I ran down the path to Steve’s house.
Like little Sal in the famous story “Blueberries for Sal,” E eats 10 berries for every one she puts into the bucket. Which was not a problem here.
Before too long, she decided to run back home while I continued to fill up the bucket. There was blueberry pie waiting for dessert. Early August in Maine!
Home-Made Blessings
Posted: August 5, 2013 Filed under: Art & Healing, Child Centered Activities, Permaculture & Home Renovation 3 CommentsWhile they are nothing fancy, they sure have great potential to be! I used fabric scraps and a black Sharpie marker (holds up great in the rain) to create our own Prayer Flags. Ours hang alongside the more official Tibetan ones. The intention is to bless our space, to bless ourselves and to bless all who walk with us. Peace be with you.
Independence…
Posted: July 4, 2013 Filed under: Art & Healing, Farming off the Farm, Gallery - Visual, Permaculture & Home Renovation, What is an Art Farm 4 Comments
…for us: self sustaining, small footprint, resilience, listening to the land, freedom of choice and teaching our children about consequences, being connected to community, sharing our surplus, growing forward.
First Fruits
Posted: June 30, 2013 Filed under: In the Kitchen, Permaculture & Home Renovation 5 Comments
Our Red Haven peach tree is thriving. We were told not to expect fruit for about three years, but we seem to be ahead of schedule. We are novices here, and curious to learn.
We have room – and dreams – of planting another peach tree, a couple of sour cherry trees (think pie!) and many dwarf apple trees.
Four highbush blueberry plants fell into our possession; two one gallon plants came from a neighbor, and two quite large and developed plants came from our friends Ann & Kurt, who moved this week from Casco, Maine to New Orleans. What a great remembrance to have fruit from their farm now transplanted here!
Ann & Kurt also gave us about forty strawberry plants. These were planted yesterday, and with all the rain, the timing was right.
Eleven blackberry canes came from other friends. Those went along the west edge of the backyard, part shade, but those are coming along well.
There are lots of wild berry plants – some strawberry and some raspberry (we think).
The grape stock is a mixed success. One cane is thriving, while the other has done nothing. These are cuttings of a seedless champagne grape that grows at the big house, so we will take some more cuttings and see if we can’t get more started. I am preparing to build a trellis from dead black locust trees, but that project is low on the to-do list right now.
an Art Farm 