Well, winter is setting in and we’ve finally got something nearly done! Last you heard, we had a deck in the works and that was about it. We had hoped to have things done sooner as we had family in town at one point (which was then skewed by a baby arriving to us three weeks early), friends were able to help us out (before
they caught The Virus) and finances were good enough to purchase nearly $300 worth of straw bales and then roofing materials.
Despite the ups and downs, there haven’t been any injuries or fits of rage towards the project.
Our foundation consists of railroad ties from CAL Ranch. Damaged ones cost way less than ‘intact’ pieces (a quarter of the price! Absolute steal!) and the hatch pit is free for additional pieces of wood. Once we got our straw, which happened towards the beginning of
October due to harvest, we were ready to go!
Armed with a huge roaster with stew, simmering apple cider and cocoa, and enough gloves to swap out during the endeavor, we began construction.
Our friends came out to help lug our straw around on the first cold day of the season and we enjoyed some laughter as Denise, a lovely soul, ‘volunteered’ to mix mud for the walls. You see, we decided to break the mold further and build a building of straw and cob. The walls 
are coated in a clay/mud/straw mixture that dries strong, similar to adobe, and the walls themselves are Lego-stacked straw bales. Not super sturdy on it’s own, but after reclaimed wooden posts were used to create rafters and wall supports, this thing isn’t about to fall.
We’ve got a roof on now, making the building ten degrees warmer than the surrounding area so long as the door is closed, and are currently working on the window and the rest of the walls. 
The snow scared us into submission, but we haven’t quite given up yet. Which, of course, is good as convincing Angela that chickens don’t belong in the house has become a struggle what with the weather.
What projects are you working on?
