Domeside, Cluckers, Garden progress

The ole' blogmonster has been dormant for a while but has decided to rear its LOVELY face.

So part of the reason it's been so long since I wrote is because we decided to move. Into a dome.

It's a geodesic dome we bought from sheltersystems.com.It's made out of a kind of tarp material. It.is.awesome.

I love waking up to the sound of birds and sun streaming in from ALL SIDES! I also love hearing the frogs as I go to sleep at night.

We were able to fit most of our stuff in it, as it has about as much square footage as a studio apartment. We obviously don't have a kitchen or a bathroom, but we are able to use the main house's facilities. We parked the dome on Trystan's moms property near the lake.

So why a dome, you ask? Well, the answer is money. We were paying a lot in rent, and wanted to start saving. Since summer was coming up, we decided to just take a big risk, do an experiment, and try our hand at outdoor living for a few months to save up for some large business-related expenses and save for deposits/moving expenses so we can move into a house afterward.

We at first considered campers, but those were too small, and we don't have a truck to pull it. Then we researched yurts, but they were too expensive. Through one yurt manufacturer I was turned on to teepees, but alas, the poles were expensive to ship and quite large, so we would have no reasonable way to move them when we go.

Out of sheer frustration and desperation, I did a search for "Tent" on craigslist, and one of the first things that came up was a 14' diameter portable geodesic dome for sale for about $250 somewhere up in Bellingham. In the ad was a link to sheltersystems website, which is where the people selling theirs on craigslist had gotten it from. I checked out the website and realized quickly that this would be a much more reasonable solution. It was quite a bit cheaper than the teepee, and deconstructs to about the size of a large suitcase (even the poles!). This would enable us to easily take it with us when we move.

So we took the plunge, ordered it, and it came about a week later. We chose a spot, leveled it off, and constructed the dome. The hardest part was trying to get the space level (which, despite our best efforts, is not *quite* level). The dome itself was constructed in less than an hour!

We also ordered a custom fit floor covering, which also attaches to the dome walls. The floor is made of a tarplike material, so we went and got a carpet remnant to put on top. The carpet doesnt quite cover the whole thing, but pretty close. It instantly felt homey! We put our bed, bookshelves and books, clothes, small sofa, and dining table inside. We ran an extension cord in from a nearby outbuilding, ran a phone cord up from the house, and we were set! We have power, phone, even internet! We are able to pick up the wireless from the house about 150 feet away, and are able to stream Hulu and netflix without much trouble.

The dome is also close to a carport, which we set up a little "Kitchen" on an old workbench and it works great. We have a mini fridge, an electric wok, a microwave, and a toaster. We are able to cook and eat most our meals up there, although occasionally we use the kitchen in the house :)

We also cleared an area near the dome and put some rocks in a circle to make a fire pit. We put some outdoor chairs and benches and an outdoor table out there for when friends come over. Everyone loves to hang out in/around the dome. It has great energy!

I have read some things about how round homes innately have good energy. I don't know if it's because the curve is a more natural shape than the perfectly straight corners of a normal house, but I believe it is true. When you're inside, you just feel like you are wrapped in its warm embrace. It especially helps that it lets in SO MUCH light. Our previous apartment was very very dark all the time, and had a definite affect on our moods.

One of the other most delightful (in our opinion) things about outdoor living is how CLOSE you are to nature. I have gained a much greater appreciation for the plants, trees, and insects that we live amongst. It doesn't sound so awesome to most, I'm sure. But it is. At first I was scared. One of the first nights in the dome, there were carpenter ants coming literally OUT OF NOWHERE. I do have to confess we squished quite a few. Not proud of that. But I guess we all have our flaws:)

Anyhoo, back on topic. So we have come to a place where we are much more comfortable living amongst our crawly neighbors. They haven't made nuisances of themselves, which is very gracious of them considering we're technically crashing on THEIR couch. Hard to remember sometimes though, especially with the slugs, like this one I found crawling up the wall one night...

Well, that's the Dome-Saga so far.

In chicken news:
The little cluckers are about 3 1/2 months old, and we will be on egg-alert soon. We have been letting them out of their house for several hours in the early evening, and they love it. They stick together, stay on the property, and put themselves to bed around 9 pm every night. I can't believe we were so worried! The other day we heard an eagle screech overhead and they IMMEDIATELY ducked under cover and one of them stood on guard making a low rumbling kind of noise. It made me feel more confident that they understand the dangers and are smart enough to get to safety before they get snatched up. Whew!

The garden is doing well. We got a bit lacadaisical about it with all the moving, but it is still producing. The radishes are done, and were good, but I was a little disappointed in how small they were considering how much foliage they had. We have been eating fresh salad for over a month, recently started eating broccoli, onions and garlic. All the herbs are great, especially the chives and dill. I think I will be able to harvest a kohlrabi tomorrow. We have lots of tomatoes flowering but not fruiting quite yet, but soon. The peppers suffered from an aphid infestation, but are recovering after several agressive sprayings of Neem oil and pepper spray.

I think that's all for now, I will try to write a more detailed post about the garden stuff later!