A New Bridge
We replaced an old bridge over the stream with a new one of the same design. We used old weathered thick willow poles, and newly cut green willow wands for weavers.
This design uses a lashed end-pole to help keep the spacing of the spokes while we weave.
It is amazing how flexible each of these individual strands are
and how strong the result is when they are all woven together.
We will show you the results soon!
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Yura Phyak-ches
One of the essential tasks of the spring is cleaning out the many yura (water courses):
Cutting rDung-ma
We cut and peeled these Yulat trees with our friend and companion Konchok.
They will dry for now, and in the late summer or fall we will use them as roof beams in a small new solar home.
This is the traditional technique for preparing rdung-ma (roof beams).
We enjoyed sharing a felling technique with Konchok that we learned in Maine.
This time, we used the best saw available — a powerful and sharp hand saw called Big Boy.
Rebuilding Tang ka
This is an essential spring task I really enjoy. These walls hold the hard-earned tilth to the mountain slopes.
Below is a time lapse of Jason rebuilding a small section of wall. The wall collapsed sometime between fall and spring, probably eroding due to water, animals, or just time.
We’ve written about it here:
This amazing sped up video of Jason repairing the wall, accurately placing the stones, then shoveling soil up behind the rising wall, is amazing. So much energy used in such an effective manner to restore the integrity and function of the wall. Jason has been learning wall building for many years now, and I am truly impressed with your skills and commitment to wall repair. It’s essential work to keep the fields at full function and provide enuf grain for the community.