I was going to write on mass heaters today, it being at the forefront of my mind. I picked up the book “Rocket Mass Heaters: Super -efficient Woodstoves YOU can Build” and leafed through it, thought back to our stay at Cob Cottage last year. What an experience. If you ever get a chance to [...]
Archive for November, 2010
Magical Fire
Posted in off grid, Sustainable living, tagged camp fire, camping, self suffiency on November 23, 2010 | 4 Comments »
Wild Roses
Posted in gardening, tagged natural flora, natural tea, rosehips, Sustainable living, wild plants, wild roses on November 22, 2010 | 1 Comment »
One of our favourite finds on the property this year? Rosehips. The property, and the whole province really, is wild with roses- hence the “wild rose country” moniker. In the bit of spare time we managed to squeeze in, we went out picking rosehips and managed to fill a couple of large mason jars. I [...]
We Have a Roof- Just in Time
Posted in earthbag, earthbag building, natural building, tagged earthbag, earthbag building, natural building, natural plasters on November 16, 2010 | 9 Comments »
Winter is officially here. We had freezing rain all through the night, topped off with about 6 inches of snow this morning. Fortunately we did finish the plaster, complete our temporary roof, put in a couple of windows for light and boarded up the others, and stuffed grain bags full of grass underneath the roof [...]
The House as a System
Posted in earthbag, earthbag building, natural building, passive solar design, Sustainable living, tagged alternative heating, earthbag building, natural building, passive solar design, rocket mass heaters, rocket stove, sustainable building on November 12, 2010 | 5 Comments »
Long cold winters are a major consideration when building on the bald ass Alberta prairie, where we live. It is not at all unusual to hit temperatures as low as -40 C for extended periods of time, sometimes even colder. Even a slight wind at temperatures that low can bite, but we don’t get slight [...]
