First Blog Post. August 22, 2019. Thursday. Blog Post #1.

This past week, I have continued to work on the garden shed and help plan out the location and dimensions of our future garden. I am learning, hands on, the process of building a shed from lumber and nails as well as all the design and thought that goes into creating a garden before shovels even break the earth. A book on wilderness living arrived on Monday, so I’ve been able to briefly look at bushcraft skills that interest me. I have been working on creating a hand drill set but I haven’t gotten much luck. No coal or smoke or even dust. Just some minor heat glossing of the wood. I decided that bow drill might be a bit easier to start off with, so I carved a bow and tried my hand. The cordage that I was using kept breaking so eventually I gave up. I will have to modify my cordage in the future. I’ve also been experimenting with different wood types. Cedar, burdock, and cattail are all types that I’ve used. I find the cedar has been too wet while the cattail is to flimsy. The burdock has been alright and I’m drying the cedar sticks so they might work a bit better. 

I’m having a lot of fun noticing all the aspects of the land that I can work with. Before where I would have seen just pasture or swamp I now am looking for edible and medicinal plants, wildlife, and rocks for tools. I hope that this type of exploration of the natural world only continues to grow in my life. I love being more aware of all the life I am interacting with throughout my day. It feels like I am meeting and recognizing new friends all the time. 

Co-living continues to be a lot of work and space to learn. Everyday as I cook or wash dishes, I become more and more comfortable cooking and cleaning not only for myself but for others in the group. I find myself feeling more confident in systems discussions and facilitation. I no longer am struggling to understand what’s going on but instead I’m trying to further ideas. I’m still a bit unsure of my role in the house but I’d say I’m making progress.