Fire

Beginners Luck

Inside

Hearth and walls

Leaves changing

November scenes

Every one on an outing

A brick oven weighs many tons and requires an extensive foundation.

We drug deep trenches due to frost

The trenches were too deep, and the trench was in the wrong place, so we dug more trenches.

We rented a compactor, but it didn't fit in the trenches

Then we had these really deep tranches and we had to fill them with something- We used, sand, gravel, rebar, and finally hired a concrete truck to bring 2 cubic yards.  We had to take down part of the fence to get the truck close enough to pour the concrete, but it still wasn't close enough, so Noah built a trough.  Noah, Matt, Josh Harmony, the cement truck driver, and myself were on the team.

Naturally it was raining that day, so we had to rig up tarps to cover the area.  Rain got in and stained the cement pad.

Also, the pad was not level as it was an extension of the existing patio, which wasn't level either.  The back of the pad is 4 inches lower than the front.  So we had to pour another layer on top.

Weather is getting cold!

It is finally level

Chris helped finish the base- it was level and square thanks to him!

Kimberton farm visit

Up at 5, on the road by 6 to arrive at 7 at Sweet Water Bakery at Kimberton Valley Camphill Village, a co-housing community which includes developmentally disabled adults.  Sweetwater Bakery is baking about 300 loaves of bread today, and making deliveries of 7 kinds of bread, 3 types of granola and 3 types of cookies to health food stores, farmer's markets, and a CSA.  It is a heavy baking day since 30 loaves were ordered for a wedding in addition to the other orders.  Sam, the baker started baking at 3:00, when he took the coals out of the oven which had been heating the oven for 36 hours.

The oven is 4' by 6' inside and will bake 30 loaves at a time.

The mill

before baking, the bread building



The bread is prepared starting on Tuesday, when organically and biodynamically grown hard red wheat from
Montana is ground in this stone mill.

The bread is mixed on Wednesday, in 7 large plastic vats, one variety per vat, and left to rest overnight.
On Thursday, it is worked and shaped and placed in baskets ready for baking on Friday.

It starts with hard red wheat

Everyone is busy packaging for the deliveries

The end result

Time to go home- the outside of the bakery with the wood fired oven chimney

Until next week

October Enchantment

Out in the woods in early October

Herding dog plays with goats

Bright red fall turkeytail mushroom

Dorje blends in beautifully with the fall leaves

The sound of water makes for excellent meditation

Shama ready to junp in the creek at the slightest provocation

A fall flower- Joe Pye weed related?

Hanging out

tree house