A Few Of My Favorite Things

Why are you moving? (The question we are being asked frequently now). We've got a pending sale on our straw bale insulated home and shop. The setting is gorgeous, and the structures so beautiful and energy efficient that friends are wondering why we are leaving. If we could take it all with us, we would. Ken and are going to to miss this home greatly.

photo credit Moses Yuhanna Photography

We are excited to be moving on to the next chapter in our lives. Our only child is off to college this month. Our lifestyle will be inverted back to our former status as "city mice" who get away to the country. We will be downsizing our living space and drive time. Ken and I are moving back into the area of Minneapolis where we had our first home. We look forward to features of the metropolitan area that include live music and dance, theater arts, diverse cultures and ongoing friendships. Jen and Jeff Geisinger at Luke Team Real Estate have been terrific to work with. Thanks so much, guys. www.LiveinMN.com

I am spending the remaining weeks savoring all of the features that I'm going to miss.  Here are a few of my favorite things:

the woods view all around,
privacy,
dark night skies packed with stars,
bird song and frog chorus,
coyotes howling on summer nights,
the call of barred owls,
hummingbirds at breakfast in the flower garden,
locally grazed venison,
apple and raspberry orchard,
canoeing the scenic St. Croix River,
skiing and hiking Wild River State Park,
campfires with a glass of wine or marshmallows,
winter winds howling outside our thick walls,
my huge, bountiful veggie garden,
and most of all, our wonderful local friends!

A special thanks to all of the friends and family who helped to build our home and shop. We couldn't have done it without you. I will miss the feeling of living in a home touched by these special people who stacked bales and hand applied coats of stucco to both sides of the walls. It is a house built of sticks, straw, mud and love.

Spring Cleaning And Then Some

We had an unusually late spring this year, including snow storms in late April and early May.  We were getting anxious for the return of the sun and change of the season.  Springtime in our woods is fabulous.  The first sign that you know it's really here is the chorus of frog songs.  The spring peepers start up first, then other species join in.

The next sign I look for is green vegetation.  The late snow delayed the blossoming of woodland flowers.  The tall tree line to the south of our clearing keeps the yard shaded.  I watched the glacial retreat of that snow as it crawled towards the woods.  Finally...I spied the newly green horsetail growing on the ravine hillside.  Horsetail is great in an arrangement because it keeps its color.  I spruced up the front doorstep and incorporated a small bunch of horsetail on my grapevine wreath.

Springtime greens and blooms are welcoming.

Just a few days later, I found a small purple crocus that seems to have escaped from the flower bed.  I placed a plastic box over it when I heard another spring snowstorm was coming! It has survived.

Spring housecleaning is something I actually enjoy.  I get a real sense of satisfaction and enjoyment from having a clean, beautiful home.  This year there is an added sense of purpose; we have decided to sell our strawbale home!  It is time for us to return to the city.  It's not an easy move, we love our home in the woods.  We built this home ourselves with the help of many friends,  family and curious strangers.  It's beautiful, functional and located in an peaceful setting.

So, now with a burst of energy and a looming deadline we are sorting, storing, giving away, and cleaning. We are doing those little overlooked tasks that we always meant to and wish we'd done sooner so that we can enjoy the results.  Window cleaning is very satisfying, because the changing scenery is so compelling.  Two large picture windows in the dining room provide a great view of trees leafing out and robins returning.  This past week I also saw bluebirds, gold finches and a flock of 10 loons on their way north. (The loons were viewed from our canoe in the Sunrise River).

Another of my favorite views is of the woods through two windows:  the glass-walled walk-in shower and bathroom window.  There is actually a woods view from the shower!  Luxurious!

Towards the woods view through the window.

Marble countertop and custom cherry cabinetry.

A spacious, beautiful bathroom.

It's an especially nice place to unwind after a day of climbing ladders to clean upper windows!

Watch this blog for more information on the sale of Minnesota's first strawbale home. Cheers, Laura.

Minnesota Strawbale Home Slide Show

A slideshow of interior and exterior images.

A Snowy Valentine's Day

Snow, and enough of it to ski on!  This is turning out to be a great year for cross-country skiing at our local state park:  Wild River State Park in nearby Almelund.  http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/wild_river/index.html.  Wild River State Park is located along 18 miles of the St. Croix River.  There are 35 miles of trails for skiing and hiking.  We keep our skis alongside the front door so we're ready to go.  (If we're in the mood for downhill skiing or snowboarding, then we visit Wild Mountain in Taylors Falls http://www.wildmountain.com/).

A trailside bench with view in Wild River State Park.

So, on Valentine's Day this year we kept it local.  In the late afternoon it was warm enough to enjoy skiing at the state park.  The trail conditions were very fast on the advanced loop.  It was a great workout and a terrific way to enjoy some winter sunshine.

Next, it was time to prepare a Valentine's Dinner.  I love to cook great looking, wonderful tasting food. This custom kitchen makes it easy.  The cabinets are made of cherry and the countertops are butcher block.  It is a galley-style layout with the requisite work triangle and a gas/electric combination cooktop and oven.  There is lots of natural light from the south and east facing windows and skylight.

Galley-style kitchen in the strawbale home.

A view from the kitchen to the living/dining room open floor plan.

Local food after the local recreation:  corn-fed Chisago County venison, dry-rubbed and grilled to medium rare.  The venison chops were served with roasted grape tomatoes with garlicky white beans, and a mixed baby greens salad.  Warm chocolate fallen cake with whipped cream was enjoyed for dessert!

Local grilled venison chops with two salads.

Home For The Holidays

We are spending this winter holiday season at home in East Central Minnesota.  An early December snowstorm delivered 14-1/2" of snow and a Monday holiday from school to enjoy it.  Around here the roads have to be pretty treacherous for a "snow day" to be called by the school district.  When that happens we do a happy dance, make another cup of coffee and enjoy the falling snow through the picture window.  Later, it's time to put on snow pants and play in the drifts.  Fill the woodstove, put some bread to rise, pour a glass of wine and then we retire to the hearth to enjoy the evening.

One of our holiday traditions is to unpack decorations that have been handed down from Ken's grandparents and parents.  We also trim the house with natural objects and cut down a Christmas tree at a local tree farm.

A favorite cozy escape from the winter chill is our sauna.  This was the first structure Ken built on our property, originally a tool shed.  Since then it has been retrofitted into a chicken coop and a small art studio before its present sauna status.  Completely relined in aromatic cedar, you'd never know chickens once roosted here!

We had planned on going cross-country skiing at Wild River State Park, but by 1:00 it had only just made it to 10 degrees Fahrenheit.  A hike down the river bottoms seemed like a better idea.  Behind our home, and down the bluff you come to the north branch of the Sunrise River.  We found that it was solid enough to walk on, and in some areas was frozen as clear as glass.  We spied some live fish and insects clinging to the bottom side of the ice!

Tiny frost clusters resemble miniature icebergs.

A view of the back side of the house from the river trail.

Minnesota Autumn

Sunlight angles through the woods casting our home in a glow.

Nights cool enough to grab a sweater and mid-day temperatures that cause you to run the air conditioning in your car, it's autumn in Minnesota.  The turning of summer to fall is a brief, but beautiful passage in our region.  The red and gold colors of the leaves and the crisp edge of the early morning air alert me to my favorite season.  My attention turns to the vegetable garden.  Is there a frost warning tonight?  Can I cover the tender plants or do I need to bring them in?  (Oops, I lost some basil).  The herbs next to the house last the longest, as they benefit from the heat sink that is the massive amount of stucco plaster covering our strawbale home.  I recently made the first fire of the season in the woodstove, mostly for ambience, but it did take a chill off.

Another fall chore is to give the windows their last cleaning before cold weather sets in.  Our large south and east facing picture windows in the dining room give us a view of the changing seasons and wild turkeys that pass through as well as provide passive solar heat energy.  The house is backed up to the northern edge of the clearing to protect us from the northern wind while allowing as much natural light as possible in the winter from the south.

A dining room view into the woods.

This picture of the dining room gives you an idea of the mass of the strawbale walls.  There is a peeled pole in the corner that is a structural support in the post and beam framework.  To the left of the pole is a "truth window."  Truth windows are a traditional feature in strawbale homes that give you a peek inside the wall structure.  The chicken wire mesh (lathe) and straw bales are exposed and invite you to try to poke your finger into their depth.  Ken put built-in window seats with storage drawers below these windows.  It's a favorite place to sit in the sun for people and cats.

Minnesota children return to school on the day after Labor Day.  That holiday weekend is a traditional time to sharpen pencils and have one last summer fling if the weather cooperates.  The weather did cooperate, so we packed coolers and fishing gear and headed to the St. Croix River with my brother's family for some paddling, casting and a last swim in the river.

Canoeing the scenic St. Croix River in September.

We are fortunate to live close to the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, a part of the National Park Service.  We usually access the river through Wild River State Park, about 20 minutes from our door.  It's a great park and we use it for activities throughout the seasons: hiking, biking and skiing.  I am hoping for a more generous snow fall than last year so we can make use of the ski trails.  Although I am not eager for autumn to end, I do look forward to cozy time around the woodstove.

Fruits of Our Labor

The first structure we built on our 9 acres was the tool shed.  (After it served its purpose for storing tools it became a chicken coop, then a mini art studio and is now a sauna!)  The second structure we built was this outbuilding that we call The Shop (pictured above).  On the ground floor is Ken's custom cabinetry workshop.  He is a true craftsman.  www.woodwrightworkshop.com  The upstairs portion is used for storage, although I imagine a remote guest quarters or art studio as another use for that space.  What I really want to write about today is the fabulous veggie garden that is adjacent to the shop.

Ken doesn't fool around.  This garden began with an excavation 2 feet below the surface for the purpose of lining the pit with chicken wire to prevent gophers before backfilling it.  Landscape fabric was laid under the gravel paths and new soil was brought in to fill the galvanized steel raised beds.  A drip-irrigation system was installed.  A fence with 2 gates was erected.  The irrigation system also runs past the veggie garden to the apple trees and raspberry canes.  The raspberries have just finished their mid-summer fruiting.  We will get a second, sweeter fall harvest.  This morning's work included assembling fruit pies for the freezer and baking one to eat tonight.  SWEET!

http://christiescorner.com/2011/03/28/recipe-raspberry-pie/