Back to the Yurt

Phil was really sore today. Apparently the bulging arm muscles are not yet balanced with bulging muscles on the lower body, and swinging an axe on a steeper slope yesterday made for a sore bottom today.

So Phil went to the hardware store and the farm supply store. Almost three hours later, he returned having spent time visiting with: another Colorado transplant who works at the farm supply store; the Sri Lankan who works at the nearest convenience store, a man who’s been in the States for two years and is saving up for his wife and young child to come here, too (hasn’t seen them for those two years!); and postmistress Judy.

Apparently, I get my words out electronically via these missives, and Phil gets his out chatting up the locals.

After some discussion, this morning we put a large round bale into the sheep pen. Phil had been feeding them armfuls; the one previous time we put a round bale in, I felt like the animals wasted so much of it! (And they did.) But we calculated, and a 500 pound round bale should only last about 10 days, with the number of animals we have. I hadn’t realized how much hay would cost; it’s good we’re easing into this.

We felt pretty bad, though: after we put the bale in, the sheep ate for probably an hour and a half, burrowing their heads into the bale. They were hungry. And we were negligent (ignorant!) husbandmen. May the Lord grant that there be no long-term ill effects.

I made eggs for dinner. I mentioned that the eggs froze in their shells and split the shells. What I didn’t mention (because I had forgotten) was that we have about 15 dozen eggs from Costco; living two hours from Costco has made me stock up as much as possible. But 180 somewhat cracked frozen eggs sounds bleak. Bleak to deal with their coldness now; bleak to deal with runny eggs in warmer weather. It’s a “raw” deal, any way I think about it.

Our thoughts turn toward a future home. We were fairly set on a log cabin, hoping to get the basement at least put in this year. Then an off-hand comment from Michelle made me reconsider: our taxes would go up several thousand a year, and I’d rather not pay those taxes. Besides the $150/square foot construction costs we’d be facing.

BUT—if we did a finished basement, and then put a yurt on top of it, we wouldn’t have a residence, per se, just a “root cellar” and a tent. We would have plenty of square feet, and not too bad a finished cost—large yurts, while not cheap, are still the cheapest and easiest form of square feet we’ve found.

And if we ever needed to sell, we could put a log home on the basement and take the yurt.

Phil likes the idea. I pretty much like it. But since we’re not doing anything about it at the moment, I’m okay with not deciding today, too.