What the heck happened to October?!?

Marie arrived on October 8th, and we promptly started hauling water and manure tea at Mike's and hanging drywall. Since then we have:

• mudded
• gone on two hikes to enjoy the last of the leaves
• bought hardwood flooring from a guy in Cookeville
• mudded some more
• gone spelunking with Alison at Indian Grave Point cave
• bought more insulation and a range hood ($10--thanks, golsn)
• sanded the mud
• drank obscene amounts with Marianna and Dan
• attended one evening of the Short Mountain Fall Gathering
• mudded some more
• spent the night in the barn for Marie's birthday
• got stuck behind over 100 four wheelers which were driving the length of Dry Creek
• mudded some more
• toured our neighbor's workshop during the Off The Beaten Path weekend
  
• did a Shittake workshop with a farmer in McMinnville then came home and
• mudded some more

Some members of the Short Mountain communi
ty loaned us a drywall lift, which made hanging the full 12' (foot) sheets on our 10'+ ceilings soooooooooooo much easier. I have no idea how we would have done it without the lift. And just so any of you who haven't worked on drywall before know--you have trim in your house or apartment because drywalling is a bitch. The next time you see a crew of immigrants working on a house, thank your lucky stars you don't make your damn living working drywall.


Marie has been a bad-ass trooper. The first day we worked I made her climb up on the roof with me, which involved stepping on the top step of a ladder and pushing herself up onto the roof, butt first. When we put up the first sheet of drywall she told us she had never used a drill before. The three of us make a good work crew.

We are almost done with the drywall. Next is priming and painting, then floors. We'll be cooking and heating with propane. Dad is almost done with the electricity, and soon we have to dig out our greywater area. Here's another slideshow of our progress.



Rob Harvey finally plowed our field! We waited for two months for rain so the ground would be soft enough to plow, got plowed, and then it rained for two days straight. Now we are waiting for the ground to dry out enough for him to come back and till. Then comes making the beds and hauling as much rotten hay as we can possibly manage to mulch, mulch, mulch. We can still plant garlic and onions if this happens in the next couple days. Tomorrow we're going to help someone plant their garlic. Maybe we'll get some to plant ourselves.

Indian Grave Point was an amazing experience. The ceiling of the first room looks like a giant vagina--very Georgia O-Keefe. It's actually on private property, so it's not protected. There was so much trash. I find it really upsetting that the people from around here don't value their surroundings enough to keep their damn beer cans out of the cave and their four wheelers out of the creeks. The cave was awesome, and I found a small piece of branched coral in a little hole in the floor. It's so humbling to think of time on a geological scale, to consider the way that exact spot has changed since there was an ocean here. The Art Room is where people have made little clay doodles and sculptures, like penises and names and dates. We sat inside and contemplated the complete darkness and silence of the cave. The only noise was an occasional drip from a couple rooms back. We had to wade through THE SEA OF MUD, which I decided to tackle without my shoes. Turns out that was a good decision. Alison almost lost her boots. Awesome cave.

Friday was the worst day I've spent working with Mike. It was freezing cold and starting to rain. The sky was gray and cloudy. We were harvesting, so I couldn't wear gloves, and my fingers were freezing. And you know what--it was still better than a day in the office. Today we harvested and hauled fresh manure to build compost piles. A close second. The view was awesome though.

Contemplating our valley...



















And....

Kevin has become a mountain man!