Cob: Re: Welcome Mother Nature

[Ted Schluenderfritz]

Amen!

Sarah Kopp wrote:
> 
> OK, I know this post may not make me popular but I can't take any more of
> this...
> 
> Building a house is all about shelter.  Most of what we want to be sheltered
> from is nature.  Birds and bees are great in their environment, but not
> necessarily in mine.  While building my strawbale house I was enchanted by
> the birds who came in to strip random seed heads of grain; I nicknamed my
> house "the birdhouse."  But birds bring mites and lice, and those insects
> can carry diseases.  In fact my house was so badly infested with straw itch
> mite that it was questionable if we would be able to move in this year when
> it was completed.  How does getting 200 bites per day grab you as a great
> way to share your home with Mother Nature?
> 
> I am building a house because I don't want to sleep outside worrying about
> weather, bugs, snakes, etc while sleeping, eating and doing all the other
> cozy activities that I do in my home.
> 
> Making your portion of earth a refuge for nature and wildlife is great -
> birdhouses, bat houses, butterfly and bee attractors, amphibion habitats,
> rare plant nursery all great stuff and you don't have to have them in your
> house.  One meter away from your house, in your garden, they are sharing
> your habitat.  In the walls of your house they are intruders.  Keep them in
> their place and you and your home will be healthier and happier.
> 
> Sarah
> Tsfat, Israel
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bob <owl at steadi.org>
> To: coblist at deatech.com <coblist at deatech.com>
> Date: é"á àá úù"ñ 21:52
> Subject: Cob: Welcome Mother Nature
> 
> >You have spoken to my heart. The ancient scriptures say "bread made with
> >love is sweet. Bread made without love is bitter" to paraphrase its wisdom.
> >Can we add, "a house in tune with life is a vital cloak that holds us in
> >Mother Nature's arms." A machine build house has all the life squeezed out
> >of it and often these days is filled with poisonous off-gassing adhesives
> >and plastic carpets, covers and curtains..
> >
> > Shouldn't every cob house have cavities for birds nests built into them. I
> >know my mosquito eating swallows would love that. Maybe the cliff swallows
> >would too. Could I invite an owl to come and liven up the night, and
> >morning doves to sing in the dawn and dusk. Perhaps you who have seen ants
> >and wasps as invaders have forgotten we homo sapiens may be the invaders
> >and they are just taking back a little territory.
> >
> >When we learn to love the creations of Mother Nature we can sing in the
> >rain and catch the tingling snow flakes on our tongues like the hippo did
> >in our local zoo. We can liberate ourselves from the feudalism of
> >domineering machines and welcome gentle incursions of the wild creatures
> >around us. If my walls are 14" thick certainly there is lots of room for
> >squirrel and chipmunk burrows, too. What a joy it would be to wake up to
> >the happy voices of Nature's living creatures in our windows and walls.
> >
> >Cob is much more than a low cost way to build a strong and lasting house.
> >It is a bridge back to our ancient roots when our ancestors lived close to
> >the soil and tuned their lives into the seasons, and meshed their daily
> >chores with the living universe. Ianto Evens has made cob into cozy
> >cottages curved in all the walls like the trees and boulders near by. Sun
> >Ray Kelly has taken it further and sculpts buildings into pieces of art.
> >Many who build today add sculpted decorations to their buildings. To these
> >creative persons cob is an art form, a connection with the soul of life. To
> >them the building process is a living working community. All that is
> >missing is the singing that poured fourth from the spirit of former
> >peasants as they moved together like a great coordinated living.being
> >through their daily labors. Ianto's Welch blood must have flowed through
> >song. I just don't know him well enough.
> >
> >When I build my house there will be no effort to keep out the wild
> >invaders. It may have bee hives and special cavities opening not just for
> >inside nooks but also openings to the out side of the walls. I can even
> >imagine bird nest cavities with little glass windows I can look through
> >from within the house to watch the hatchlings grow.
> >
> >Thank you Elke for awakening my primordial spirit.
> >
> >Bob Luitweiler
> >
> >
> >

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