Day Four

October 5, 2023

this is my shovel. there are many like it, but this one is mine

dirt

there was a LOT of it. dirt, that is.

it’s kinda crazy to consider the effort that went into each tire you see in the pictures from today. if you disregard the architectural planning, and the procurement, and the transportation, and the time it took to sort them, and lay them into place … you still had to bring a lot of dirt to each tire, then pound each tire by hand, making sure they’re level and plumb. probably 30 minutes each (because of those of us who aren’t proficient). 600 tires. a LOT of dirt.

and then after lunch we put in the final 2 courses (rows). and once we get that last one squared away, i think we bring in the cisterns and start prepping for the roof. the way the crew was moving in the final 2 hours was a great indicator of how much they wanted to be done with the tire pounding stage.

everyone i’ve talked to has an interesting backstory. i spoke with a young man from bolivia who has been travelling for the past 5 years. he got stuck in india for a year because of covid. a young woman from north carolina who’s travelled all through central america. almost moved to nicaragua permanently. the head of the crew who’s built earthships all over the US, in france, germany, sierra leone, and more. and there’s a guy on the crew who was in a successful band called Voodoo Fix, i just watched a video of his online - very good. and it’s kinda neat to see that my life in nyc and chester springs is of interest to other people and that we pretty much always find a way to make a connection.

the slideshow of left, middle, and right.

i’m not sure that this lunch looks good, but i’ll tell you that it was. they’ve hired a really good caterer. not an enviable position if you consider the diverse palettes present in a band of hippies.

the berm is getting bigger. it’s covered the hard insulation (under the plastic). the cisterns are going to drop back there behind the tire wall. i’ll try to remember to get a picture of the other side of that wall where you can see the cooling tubes and the plumbing that’ll bring the water in from the cisterns..