still standing

I'm back in North Carolina. As I got closer and closer to the state, my hungry anticipation at seeing how the cottage withstood a lonely summer grew unbearable. Come and feast, as I have feasted:

Not such a lonely summer after all! I learned that these pipe-shaped mud formations are the nests of the harmless, humble (and talented) Mud Dauber Wasp. These strange little creatures sting a certain kind of spider, fly the dead spider body up to a potential nest site, and proceed to build these little clay pipes around the spider. Then they lay eggs in the spider's dead body. Each pipe is actually a series of compartments (like bamboo), each compartment representing one egg-filled spider carcass. I find the nests to be terribly beautiful, and rather appropriate for a cob cottage. It leads me to wonder whether one might be able to organize these mud daubers in a great enough force to build cottages for human use.



In general, everything looked great. There were no signs of water damage (a punctured roof membrane or seepage in through the North wall was my biggest summer worry). Everything looks dry and solid. Give swords and a year's time to one thousand warriors and see if they can crack those walls.





I really like how the built-in shelving unit looks, regardless of whether Mike thinks my waist-height sculptural details mimic urinals. The bottom three shelves will remain as exposed bamboo. The top three shelves are ugly lumber that will be covered up with earthen plaster when we plaster the interior walls.

The sub-floor looks and feels better than I ever could have imagined, considering how wet and expediently An and I slapped it down in June. It has a cracking pattern that matches where our screed boards were (the boards that allow a builder to ensure that a floor is level as it is poured), but the cracks aren't big enough to be a worry.



The green roof held up pretty well. Transplanting the living community of plants in June - right as the hot North Carolina summer was beginning - wasn't the best timing. The plants got hit hard with heat and drought before they were able to take over and flourish. Luckily, 50% of the surface area is still covered by the hardiest of the hardy. As fall approaches, I expect that cooler temperatures + rain will give us our green.



The way that light dances so softly around that window...



peek-a-boo!



The Rumford Fireplace is still alive and well, with its white god-rock aloft the highest flame-tower.



Today I started gathering the purest clay I could find - this will be used for plastering, and for the finished floor. Luckily, we have (at least) two colors on the property. I think the lighter shade will work well on the interior (to brighten up the space with natural light). That bright orange-red is going to make for a gorgeous exterior plaster.



The longer the clay gets to soak in water, the better the quality of plaster. I'll stir this mixture every morning, and it will be creamy and perfect by the time plaster party day arrives.

It's always comforting to return to the earth.