Laurel Nest Yurts

There’s a new school starting this fall in a Laurel Nest Yurt, called the Little Round Schoolhouse.  It’s a Waldorf inspired school, with lots of beautiful activities and learning for rising kindergarteners from 3-6 years old.

They recently “raised” their yurt and are making preparations to start the school year shortly.  It was a wonderful yurt-raising, the children participated and so much thought went into the children’s experience in the yurt.   Here Becca writes how much fun they had choosing where to place their door:

“The fun part of this step was actually after the octagon was finished and we all gathered around and decided which way the door should face.  What do we want our children to see when they look out the front door?  What do we want them to walk past as they come to the schoolhouse each day?  After much shifting of directions, our front door has found a way to face–the woods and beyond to the mountains.”

Their yurt raising was a community event, and they had lots of people come out and help.

The yurt raising for the school!

Their vision for the school is so beautiful, and I know the children will thrive in a round schoolhouse with such a wonderful vision for learning!  Good luck with the next school year!

For more information about The Little Round Schoolhouse, check out their website, http://littleroundschoolhouse.com.  They also have a facebook page, so you may want to find them there.

This summer, one of my goals has been to explore more water holes and swim spots… One of the most popular ones around is Sliding Rock, which if you’re in the WNC area, this is a can’t miss, must do!

Emilia went down the rock twice, and loved it! She was braver than me, screaming the whole way down! Brr… cold water… and I can’t wait to take my family out there in a few weeks!

Here I am, sliding down the rocks...

Hal and Emilia going down the rock!

Sliding Rock is a naturally occurring 60-foot waterslide with a seven-foot deep pool that has been developed by the US Forest Service into a recreation area.  You can either slide yourself or watch others do it from an observation deck opposite the slide or above the waterfall.

This water is cold, so come on a smoldering hot day! Enjoy!

Hal, Emilia and I had so much fun at Sliding Rock!

There is a small fee to enter the recreation area.  The recreation area is open year-round, but the bathrooms and changing rooms are only open from Memorial Day to Labor Day.  Lifeguards are on duty during that time as well.

A few weeks ago, we built a mud oven at our home.  We had a lovely girl, Julia, who was woofing (see WWOOF.ORG), with us.  She came to work on the oven, and got most of her information about building from some books we have and various internet sites.  While she was working, she played around a lot with the mud, and shared that making a working oven is a lot of experimentation… so get out there and try one. (And please, invite me over for pizza whenever…)

The first step in making the oven involved getting the foundation ready.  We had to dig a pretty deep hole and then filled it with sand a gravel.

Once the foundation was ready, we arranged some blocks in a roundish shape, and made sure they were level… This is important, you would do better to use a level of some sort, not just eye balling it.

Once everything was nice and level we chose a piece of granite for the main base, and then more cinder blocks and fire bricks.  Any part of the oven that will touch fire needs to be fire brick.  We purchased this brick from a local chimney supply store.

Once all the brick is assembled, we made a form for the oven out of sand.

Then comes the fun part! Time to get your feet dirty and mix up some Mud!

On top of the sand went wet newspaper, then our cob clay mixture.  At this point an insulative cob base was built.  This holds the heat when you’re making your breads and pizzas…

Once the proper shape for the oven was created, and it had dried a good bit, the sand got emptied out of the oven.  We made several layers- a cob/clay layer and then another layer with straw and then a final layer of cleaner clay.

As you clean out the sand, you need to be careful and take your time.  Once you touch newspaper, you know you’ve gone high enough. The newspaper is your signal that you have emptied all the sand out.

At that point, we decorated the oven and put beads and other decorations.

Thanks Julia for all the hard work! And home cooked pizza, here we come!

I was hiking in the woods near our home the other day, and growing in the bark of a fallen tree was some Chicken of the woods!  This is the common name for the mushroom, Laetiporus is a genus of edible mushrooms found throughout much of the world. Some species are commonly know as chicken of the woods, the chicken mushroom, or the chicken fungus because many think they taste like chicken.

I ended up cooking the mushroom for dinner, and it was delicious.  Sometimes these mushrooms are a little dry, so I added a lot of butter and also water to moisten it up.  I’ve heard a lot of people cook it with greens, and then it can soak up some of the juice…

To prepare, clean the leafy sections thoroughly and cut away the woody core, using only the leafy sections of young tender specimens. If the mushroom is to be stored, keep it refrigerated and use within several days for the best flavor or cut into pieces, blanche or sauté and then freeze. The flavor which represents the name, tastes somewhat like chicken.

The peach tree blooms were so beautiful this year. Our friend Zack caught a bunch of pictures that show how the tree bloomed, from bud to flower. Enjoy!

Our peach tree in bloom...

My new beet babies...

We spent the afternoon in the Garden, and it was so much fun!  Our garden is in full swing, and we have a lot of vegetables growing… think peas, lettuce, cabbage, beets, radishes, onions, flowers, clover, potatoes, beans, asparagus, and more… I am so excited about it!  Anyway, today we planted our beats, radishes and onions together; they are companion plants.  Put them one after another, 3 inches apart.  That’s a lot of food!

While we were gardening, Jimi sang my favorite song, One Tin Soldier.   ”One Tin Soldier” is a 1960s era anti-war song written by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter (musician). The Canadian pop group Original Caste first recorded the song in 1969. Enjoy this cartoon of a recording by Coven!

On the mountain was a treasure Buried deep beneath the stone, And the valley-people swore They’d have it for their very own.
Go ahead and hate your neighbor,Go ahead and cheat a friend. Do it in the name of Heaven,You can justify it in the end.There won’t be any trumpets blowing Come the judgement day,On the bloody morning after….One tin soldier rides away.
So the people of the valley Sent a message up the hill,Asking for the buried treasure,Tons of gold for which they’d kill.
Came an answer from the kingdom,”With our brothers we will share All the secrets of our mountain, All the riches buried there.”
Go ahead and hate your neighbor,Go ahead and cheat a friend. Do it in the name of Heaven,You can justify it in the end. There won’t be any trumpets blowing Come the judgement day,On the bloody morning after….One tin soldier rides away.
Now the valley cried with anger,”Mount your horses! Draw your sword!”And they killed the mountain-people,So they won their just reward.
Now they stood beside the treasure,On the mountain, dark and red.Turned the stone and looked beneath it…”Peace on Earth” was all it said.
Go ahead and hate your neighbor,Go ahead and cheat a friend.Do it in the name of Heaven,You can justify it in the end.There won’t be any trumpets blowing Come the judgement day,On the bloody morning after….One tin soldier rides away.
Go ahead and hate your neighbor,Go ahead and cheat a friend.Do it in the name of Heaven,You can justify it in the end.There won’t be any trumpets blowing Come the judgement day,On the bloody morning after….One tin soldier rides away.

Dear Laurel Nest Yurts,

Our Dream Catcher railings

It is important to me To Live as Lightly and Simply as I may Upon this Precious Earth.  Yurtful living helps me to do just this.  YOU ALL help me to do just this!  I have been Living within a LN 15 foot yurt for 15 months Within the mountains of Western North Carolina.  Knowing that I am using a minimum of Earth’s Resources for my shelter helps my Conscience to be a little bit more Free.  I am Doing, Being and Living Earth Friendly!!

Living lightly in a yurt...

For me, Living in the Round is not only about Living Lightly WithThis Land but it is also about Being Closer to Nature…nearly Inseparable.  I wake in a Dream every morning Sensing Beauty so Calming…Leaves Blowing Within Winds, Squirrels Playing, Rains Dancing, Clouds Passing, Birds Singing, Coyotes Howling and a Sun Shine Soul Shine Radiating Through windows and dome!!  And a Moon and her Stars…lying in bed Observing this Earth as she spins…never resisting, never forcing…always working Together with Complimentary Congruence…

Asia, Scott, and Christina working the gardens...

What is more and perhaps most Agreeable of all (in my opinion) is how the circular structure represents my personal Understanding of Life.  I have met only One Truth throughout an on-going Exploration which Consistently Exists as Truth on all levels of spectrums…Everlastingly Changing…the Continuum…Constantly in a state of flux with a matter which may not be destroyed or created…without a beginning or an end…a symbol of Wholeness and of Infinity…A Process of Interconnecting, of Evolving, of going deeper Within, and of Expanding…the Spiral of Life!…Circularity!

The colorful liner we made for our yurt kitchen!

And then there are diamonds (to me, a symbol of Balance) Co-created by the Crisscrossing of  khana.  Every diamond Adjoining with the next Collectively Bringing into Being a Safe and Comfortable Haven for me to Relax and Rest my body…a terrific way to Integrate Healing!

Hal, Asia, Scott and Fellow Crews, I am truly Grateful for Your Efforts in Educating me as well as Others about Alternative ways of Living that are more Environmentally Sound.  I am Adoring You All for the ways in which you are Choosing to Live.  I am Admiring the ways in which You are Choosing to Give to Others.  You are Helping Human Beings To Live more Aligned Within this Web of Life.  Thank You so much for Sharing Your Time/Company, Your Explorations, Your Resources and all Your Yurtful Knowledge with me!

With Continuing Fortune, Blessings, and Care

Christina Lynn

March 2010