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                         a   S T A M M E R  project              

2009 November 6 to 17

Having lived and slept for some weeks in the garden house, we can happily say now that conditions inside are quite comfortable. While outside temperature varied between sub-zero temperatures in the morning and about 16º C at midday, inside the temperature didn't get below 14º. When you step inside from the cold you have the feeling of a heating turned on. At night the silence and the darkness is almost complete and we sleep very well. But one of the first nights we heard a toad croaking. At first we thought that it was Blanca's mobile phone, ringing its alarm tone but then it became clear that a Natterjack toad (Epidalea calamita) must have found a shelter in the cellar under the floor where it can also enjoy  the pleasant temperatures.

Interior, with the recently installed kitchen unit.
12 Nov 8:42

Interior at night.
11 Nov 20:43

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We installed a small kitchen unit and connected the running water. The outflow goes via a 1-inch-tube to the nearest straw-filled basin of a fruit tree. A limitation of this extremely simple and effective waste water treatment (advocated by Art Ludwig) became clear one cold morning with temperatures 5º below zero. The tube is supposed to be carried from tree to tree and cannot be buried and then it gets exposed to frost with the accompanying obstruction of the tube. The tube can stand the extra pressure but for the first hours in the morning the outflow doesn't work.

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The running water reaches now also the two ponds and for the moment I prefer to maintain the water at a decent level with this clear water instead of the collecting of the rain water from the different higher terraces. This running-off water is very unpredictable and usually quite laden with earth, dirtying the pond. It takes the ponds weeks or months to  turn transparent again. The public water may be somewhat more richer in nutrients, with the risk of an outburst of algae growth, but so far the water stays clear.

I installed some kind of inlet shock absorber to avoid a violent water stream in the pond. When you open the tap only the tiniest bit, it produces a nice trickling of water droplets with a very relaxing sound.

Transparent water in the upper pond.
Looking south-east.
16 Nov 11:09

Upper pond.
Looking north-west.
16 Nov 11:12

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The water in the ponds is of a nice yellow brown colour. Surprising is the colour of the rain water we collect in a plastic rain gauge and also in a watering stone for the birds: dark red. Its origin is a complete mystery to us.

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Another job I decided to do over again, was the extra support for the roof. In order to stabilize the irregular roof I had used an oak trunk under a series of rafters. But when the temporal black hanging EPDM sheet is turned aside, you discover a rather ugly structure, like a horrible set of teeth showing up when a mouth opens. So the whole structure is going to be taken away and I installed an alternative supporting board embedded inside the straw bale wall. When I pushed the oak trunk aside the roof stayed in its position, so the operation seems to work.

To soften the protruding effect of the heavy rafters, their extremes will be sawn with a 15º angle.

Clay pit on the higher central terrace.
17 Nov 11:34

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The embedded supporting board formed part of the preparations for the exterior plastering. As most of the earth of the excavated cellar was used up for the interior plastering, I now had to use the earth of another pit on the terrain. This earth shows to be purer, with less stones than the cellar pit, while the clay content seems to be equally high. I am even considering using this earth without sieving, applying it, mixed with water and staw, directly on the wall.

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Yet another use of straw: pressed inside a plastic bottle it serves effectively as insulation for the water taps, exposed to the frost outside.

Water tap wrapped up in straw inside a plastic bottle.
Looking east.
16 Nov 11:01

introduction
floristic catalogue
faunistic catalogue
contact
index
gallery 1: 2006-2012
gallery 2: 2012-
map
>> 2009 Nov 24
<< 2009 Oct 25