Woodhenge!

And now for something completely humbling.

D&L have been working on their own post and beam house all summer, having finished the foundation pour late last year.

L's been sick with food poisoning, so some neighbors came over to help with some of the heavy beams so they can stay on target. They've got 25 of the needed 55 posts up to date.



No cheating here, every one of these things has hand-chiseled mortise & tenon joints. The actual walls will be straw bale, and the floors pressed adobe. L was mad because the building permit folks made her pour concrete piers for the posts: She insists it (and most of the ugly metal fittings they have to use on the beams) are unnecessary.

The house is on a high ridge and you can see it for a mile (hence the name) and when the afternoon monsoon thunderboomers roll in they put away their tools and take the ladders away so the lightning won't burn the whole thing down before they finish.

These same folks spent the better part of two years building an earthbag workshop, which they needed before they could start work on the actual house. Two retired folks, working at their own speed, and doing work I'm not sure you can even hire contractors for anymore. It's going to be breathtaking.