904, 2013
Building a traditional wooden roof with shingles
Building the first roof in Costa RIca made of natural wood shingles! The wood is salvaged Cedar.
2803, 2013
Ari’s Brithday!
Ari turned four last week!
2603, 2013
In The Kitchen: Mountain Rose Apple Kombucha!
If you read our recent post about our manzana de agua, or mountain rose apple trees, you might be wondering what we doing with the hundreds of apples that are ripening daily. So far, they have been processed and eaten in three different ways:
First, I made a batch of apple and ginger kombucha last week.
Then, our wonderful friend Vince (currently living at RDS) made a delicious apple compote which was eaten with oatmeal and fresh raw sour cream.
Lastly, our horse Thunder is feasting on the fallen apples daily!
1703, 2013
Working on “The Nest”
Working on “The Nest”.
1603, 2013
Ali and the munchkins
Ali visited us for a few weeks and Ari and Lela had a great time with her. Here’s some pics:
Ali with Ari and Lela.
Getting silly.
1503, 2013
Blanco – the farm’s cat
Blanco – the farm’s cat
1503, 2013
Double wooden swing
There are many projects going on in parallel at the RDS farm. In particular natural building projects. But we make sure to take the time for side projects as well! The building of our double wooden swing was a very quick and rewarding project.
We used Ceder wood which is a native tropical wood and does very well outdoors, especially if well maintained. One thing that’s very important for maintaining wood is to allow it to breathe naturally. Wood expands when it gets wet and shrinks when it dries. This flow of moisture is normal and Ceder wood can last a very long time outdoors while “breathing”. But if you use conventional commercial products to seal the wood what happens is that the added rigid layer eventually cracks and lets in some moisture – which is then trapped inside the wood, speeding up the degradation and rotting process. Conventional sealers are also toxic. Using natural products like pure oil (tong or linseed are common examples) can help protect the wood from sun and rain exposure. The flexible oil will “breathe” with the wood.
After a few design sketches, we put the swing together, chose a nice branch on which to hang it and set everything up tightly. We used a post of Melina wood to reinforce the branch and burnt the part that goes in the ground to increase its longevity. Here’s what it all looked like:
Setting up the post and compacting the soil.
Getting the swing ready.
The final details.
1503, 2013
Burning the tip of a wood post
Burning the bottom part of a wood post will increase its life span when put in the ground. You want to hold the post over the fire so that the outer layer of the wood burns slightly and evenly (until it’s black).
1103, 2013
We’re feasting on Manzana de agua
We’ve got so many “Manzana de agua” trees all around the farm we are blessed with a constant and unlimited supply of this true delicacy! Manzana de aguas (in Spanish) are called “mountain apples” or “malay rose apples” among many other names.
The trees are beautiful and lush and provide lots of shade. They’re full of leaves year round. Being so “dense” and prolific, they also make for very good wind breaks. The fruits are delicious, semi-soft, sweet, and with a tiny bit of sourness.
Our camera broke but I’ll update this post with some pictures as soon as I’m able to fix it. Stay tuned!
1003, 2013
Drying wood in the woods
The best way to cure wood is to do it in the woods.