Hey everybody.  The sweet and surprising autumn is gracing us with some glorious weather. We just recently got our first taste of rain in months.  It has made for a mushy mud pile in the future commons area. The project is moving along, however.  It’s very interesting to watch the process.  Forms for concrete borders are being poured and various sections of underground tubing and conduit are being laid.  It's looking like a maze of concrete, gravel, and dirt.  So far so good.

concrete ribbon

I've been working on a side project that might be interesting to take a peek at.  I started building a yurt early this spring.  I've always been fascinated by these structures and the nomadic possibilities that they were originally designed for. Who doesn't dream about being a nomadic sheep herder?  Right?  This past April North House had an instructor development event informally referred to as the yurt cabal.  It was a week long yurt fest and I was in a wonderful position to glean information from all the enthusiastic participants. Shortly after the event, armed with new knowledge and inspiration, I gathered balsam fir poles for the frame.  Fortunately there was still enough snow that I could drag them out of the forest on a toboggan.  It made the effort significantly easier.  After finishing much of the framework I had to stash the project as the bustling busy season arrived.  Now that there is a bit more time and space I popped the frame back up and started sewing up the canvas for the roof and walls. 

test fitting: view from inside

 I spent the first day of the canvas project becoming acquainted with the sewing machine.   A few days of crooked stitching later I'm nearing completion.

sewing tabs on the canvas

view from the rafters

The next step will be insulation because I hope to turn this into a 4 season shelter.

all covered up

If anyone is curious about yurts and would like to know how to build one we are offering a course titled  Yurt Building: Design and Construction course Mon, Nov 14, 2011 - Thu, Nov 17, 2011.  It will be a great chance to learn about these great shelters.