Back to the Roots

Or more precisely, rhizomes. Humbling it is...my bamboo project from 20 some years ago...just in time before the bamboo could poke through the living room floor we pulled the plug on it. All the rhizomes got dug up from a huge area, bamboo barrier is going to go in next. Finally. Whew.

What does this have to do with anything? It's a good motivator to take action. Also, turns out, as a fast growing grass, bamboo is actually an impressive carbon sink. It is said to be able to purify air and trap pollution though I am not entirely convinced but also have done no research to deny or verify. And it indeed reached the 3 inch diameter stalks 35ft high as promised when I picked and planted this variety 20 years ago. Making fence panels from it now. Hardy from China, not even the polar vortex could kill it. Seemed like a good idea at the time. By the time the polar votex rolled around I had fully understood what a force (and menace) it was, threatening to swallow my house...I kinda hoped it would vanish...

But bamboo anecdote aside..., time for Smith House 2.0 or as I like to call it now Kat's Farm.

It is time to build again and come full circle. To refocus on what is truly important and foundational as I am oscillating back and forth between doom & gloom and climate optimism euphoria...wishing to reconnect, ground, balance myself, play in the dirt, then build things.

So, back to the roots (rhizomes)...

The house is in excellent shape, holes cut into the envelope reveal materials as new and impeccable as if we just built the house yesterday. No utility bill except connection charges. Safe, comfortable, exceptional fresh air all the time. Survived multiple outages and blizzards with below zero temps handily. Large expansive windows, nature right there, completely quiet with acoustics to enchant a young Mozart or bird song filled when windows are open. Peace and deep enchantment at the same time. I can hear the universe.

The only damage: from wood peckers who found the rain-screen siding to be the sexiest thing on the planet (poetic in some way). Other birds moved through those holes into the outer layer of insulation, finding it well insulated and perfectly comfy for their offspring. I can relate and can't blame them. And well, yeah, a few carpenter bees...excellent pollinators though, you are forgiven too. We all shall share (birds are getting evicted from time to time).

But I digress...not entirely...the house is just the perfect compliment to the weave and wave of seasons, the early morning rains, the vegetation and wildlife, heaven to rare birds like the tiny owl whose name I can't remember, the bamboo and the woods on the other side, the cicadas, the stars and the lightning bugs...

My favorite place is sitting on the porch facing East, for hours, and watch the garden and flowers grow, and yes, the kale too and the sunrise. Chilly air, early morning coffee, first sun rays making their ways through the trees, morning dew...sunset and Midwest's glorious bright red, orange and purple big sky sunsets in the evening from the balcony in the West.

Where am I going with this...reconnecting with the core motivation, the respect for the land, the earth, the sky, the animal kingdom...soil...oh what a beautiful thing in the Midwest...so dark and black and fertile...it bursts open with potential for life year and year again.

Quiet. Phone left alone...quiet in my head, quiet in my heart. One with the world. Worry subsides. Focus shifts to what I can create. Envisioning the next build...an art/architecture studio...state of the art passive...this time the right amount of insulation for this climate, advanced micro load systems. This time we'll go for zero plus right out of the gate, nanogrid, EV, small battery, direct current, all of it.

Energy is free and abundant! I can feel the future arrive...