Makayla



Whidbey Island

To choose a favorite anything is frequently a challenge for me. As far as a favorite place goes, I know there are future places that I want to explore. For now, my favorite place is on Whidbey Island in Washington. (later I'll add a map of this area, to better show where this spot is on the island). Wow - beautiful. JC





My first exposure to Aldo Leopold's writing has been incredibly gratifying. I'm sure this is the beginning of a great relationship.

Aldo Leopold: Sand County Almanac Grade: Excellent - just a couple of days late.. 87% JC

"Marsh Elegy" In this essay the beauty of the cranes goes beyond the present sighting of them. It moves into the sounds, the, the patterns, and the deep history and ecological significance of these birds in this land. He moves so elegantly from the quiet of morning in the marsh, to the dance of the cranes with this land, to the soft foot of man at their side, and eventually to the harsh tread of industrialism. Subsequently all this ends with the last cry of a crane, irrevocable a feeling of irrevocable loss. Nevertheless, Leopold inspires the reader to preserve the wildness, because after all, it is an extension of us.

A few points on why Aldo Leopold's Writing is so engaging and GREAT: - He uses multiple senses, and very elegant rhythm to capture a scene and transport the reader there.

- He thinks about the big picture, the implications of things, and balances this with a sensitivity to the details even down to the level of his word choices: the very sounds of words work to his descriptive advantage.

- He balances the beautiful with the ugly, the happy with the sad to illustrate very real and passionate realities and ideas.

"Think Like a Mountain"

There is a tangible mystery in what the mountain thinks. How does one, "...listen objectively to the howl of a wolf." ? Is it through a lack of fear or eagerness? Is it that the howl means little to the mountain, or does it mean oh so very much to it?

A mountain seems to think beyond the immediate implications: the needs, the ups and downs, life and death. Instead, it dwells in an omnipresent calm of deep knowing. In this text I see the mountains like wise old men and women, who move so slowly we cannot see their movement, and who feel so deeply every gentle and harsh happening in the realm of their terrain. It is transcendant awareness among the fleeting. Perhaps Aldo Leopold is asking if man can perceive the world as a mountain does, with the depth of awareness and perception only time and unbroken experience can lend.


 * Jim and Sara Anderson’s Lot - Really outstanding. Only point missing was car access plans . 99% **
 * 5.35 acres **

Questions:


 * What is the ULTIMATE GOAL for this?
 * What do you want to do with the land?
 * What will your relationship to the land be
 * looking at it?
 * walking in it?
 * gardening?
 * outdoor meals?
 * Social gatherings?
 * How do you want it to feel?
 * Is this building for posterity?
 * How long will you be living here?
 * What is your motivation to live here?
 * Where will you be in 10 years time? 20?
 * Will this be a good place to retire?
 * What are you PRIORITIES?
 * house, space, sustainability, comfort in old age?
 * what is the most important to spend money on?
 * Any areas you want to feel isolated/more sacred?
 * What are your favorite natural elements:
 * water?
 * wind?
 * trees?
 * grasses?
 * animals?
 * rolling hills?
 * rivers?
 * Do you want to produce a percentage of your food on site?
 * How many people will be living here?
 * What is your aesthetic? (formal? wild?)
 * What level of upkeep are you comfortable with?
 * How many hrs do you want to put in per week?
 * Do you want alternative energy? Solar, Wind, Solar hot water?
 * Are you concerned about Power Lines - EMF etc.?

home owners association rules thoughts on what they would want to be near needs they have social connection with the Anderson’s what do they do for Energy? how are winters there? how is road maintenance what were the costs of roads and houses.
 * questions for NEIGHBORS: **

Questions that arose during brief:

How much of the land to you see cultivating? Will the rest be left as prairie? Do you want more tree on the site? do you want to change the foliage around there so that it’s?

Re-explain the Green House/heating situation with that?

What about the Neighbor to the East? do we know what it will be like in the future?

Is this in a flood zone?


 * Notes from what Sara Anderson Said: **
 * Husband does little
 * She’s an expert gardener
 * TM teacher

What they want to accomplish:


 * HOME BASE for the REST OF THEIR LIVES.(where they will retire)
 * Budget: **120,000** is the budget for the house and all the systems.
 * ~5 acres to work with

3 Focuses for House:


 * 1st**: BUILD A HOME for 2 people
 * Maharishi Styapatya (spelling?) Veda (this is the FOCUS on where the home is placed etc.)
 * The support of nature through MSV is very important to her.


 * 2nd**: Build Small (a lot of self-built stuff)
 * 1 story: so it blends with the landscape
 * house design is 32’x32’ about 900square feet in the inside\
 * wrap around porches 42’x42’ (earth footprint ~ 1600 sq ft.)
 * Double door on east side
 * used door on N. Side (with a vestibule)
 * Windows in a mini roof to let light into the center of the house


 * 3rd**: Build Sustainably
 * cost effective, easy on land, easy on money, energy efficient
 * post and beam, straw bale in-fill, lots of insulation, R-value of at least 42 Wall panels, and for ceiling
 * NON-CONCRETE foundation to build up from there.
 * OFF the GRID
 * Passive Solar on the S. kitchen dining and master bed (large windows on south) closing out in winter as greenhouse.
 * very few small windows on the N.
 * small, high up windows on the W.

Sizing and other aspects: Energy/utilities/water: Food/Garden: Plans for the rest of the land:
 * Minimum fence around house 60x60
 * about 10’ garden space (inside vastu fence) for around the house.
 * House: Northeast end of property (within 50’ of property line)
 * 14’wide culverts to help with the 2nd water way (for the Road)
 * high point on ridge: good light and drainage
 * 10x30’ Car port/barn/1 for milking stantion W. of house (not attached outside vastu fence)
 * they’ll get a lifetime lease for a right of way from their N. boundary to the pond (with a dock, gazebo, and a pier out to it)
 * need ideas for this
 * cooking with propane gas (with a propane generator for backup in the winter)
 * in floor heat
 * pex tubing for hot water in the floor
 * Rain Water Catchment
 * outside of the small vastu fence
 * All be S. of the house.
 * Start small and take it from there
 * maybe enough for a market garden (no preserving/freezing interests)
 * It will be seasonal - No root cellar
 * New to GreenHouse gardening - using intensively to grow whatever they can.
 * Milk Cow - to occupy the rest of the land -cow will overwinter in the neighbor's barn.
 * wild flowers