When we got out to our land last Friday it had been transformed into a winter wonderland. Thursday we had been clearing and burning the tops and side branches of the pine trees that had been harvested over the last two weeks for use as un-milled rafters and joists as […]
For the past two weeks, two men and a chainsaw have been felling trees all over our 44 acres, winching them out of the woods with a tractor and pulling them down to the barnyard where they wait to be shaped into unmilled timber frame members over the next few […]
HOW LOW CAN WE GO? When we first started thinking about designing a new house some eight years ago, I said I wanted a passive solar design and a house that was so well insulated that we could heat it with a candle. Years of study have taught me that […]
I just wrote a about a really upbeat topic for Isthmus. There is an exciting new trend in public health nursing that really gets at the heart of the problem. Keeping their candles burning was a challenge in the falling temperature and rising wind as 150 committed Southwest Madison residents […]
While we are all celebrating the season of spending money on each other, how about making some of those gifts benefit both the recipients and the planet? It’s a great opportunity to put a little green into the lives of those you love. Here are a few places you may […]
Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is turning up in the Midwest, and leaving dead ash trees in its wake. They have got ecologists and entymologists scrambling to understand what this means so that arborists and foresters can be prepared. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, UW- Extension and Dane County combined […]
Last summer (see my post Peeling Trees for our House) we selected the trees on our land that will be used to build our house, and Tuesday December 5, 20011, our construction foreman, Bryan Dalstrom started felling those trees so they can be prepped for construction, working with Kellen Anderson […]
This year I did my required volunteer hours (and then some!) for the Madison Area Master Gardeners Association by co-editing its Wisconsin Garden Journal. The efforts and expertise of many Master Gardener Volunteers were poured enthusiastically into this volume. THIS BOOK WOULD MAKE A GREAT GIFT FOR EVERY GARDENER IN […]
Your roller coaster creeps slowly, slowly toward the top of the track, and for a moment, you pause before plummeting. It’s a moment in which you are eager for the thrilling plunge and yet, you may also be asking yourself whatever possessed you to get on this ride. There is […]
When you decide to build something, these days you have a choice of four primary building materials : Steel Concrete Processed Wood Wooden timbers Which one would you guess is the most sustainable? Unmilled timbers are what we using to build our house, which is currently a tiny subset of […]
Digging in the Driftless 