Drains and Frames

I have installed another draining system on the trails. This was a different situation (no initial puddle/mosquito pit - just soggy trail.)


I dug a trench in the soggiest part of the trail. The water immediately began collecting in it, so I dug a slope so the water could run off the hillside. I then filled the trench with gravel (which was not an easy job, seeing as how the trench was in the woods in an area inaccessable with a wheelbarrow.) I covered the gravel with larger, flat rocks to (hopefully) prevent/slow buildup of leaves in the gravel.

I also went back and covered all the PVC pipe at the older drain site.

We had a few rainy afternoons this week, so I spent a fair amount of time completing smaller jobs indoors. One that I am specifically very proud of is organizing the paint area.

I didn't take a before picture, but I assure you that it was bad. I didn't even know we had drawers in the paint area (so I painted on labels.)

Dave, Ashley, Anna and I have been working all week on framing some windows for the Home Design/Build class. Because the structure is being built with rough-cut lumber, the pre-made frames that came with the windows weren't the right size. We had to adjust them. So we milled all the wood and built the frames for five windows (several different sizes.)

Then, the Home Design/Build class installed them.

The Home Design/Build class is over now; there was a nice celebration last night for the group. I still find it incredibly odd to have class switch-overs.

Yesterday was my last day of intern duties. My next two weeks should be a completely insane rush of Community Design/Build. I'm pretty excited about it. After that, there's an intern reuinion that I intend on staying for and then I'm heading home. I'm amazed at how fast time is going by here. It doesn't seem so long ago that the core class was here, and they were my first introduction to the school. Strange.

Drain and Home D/B

Days have been very busy around here.

I have been adopted by the Home Design/Build class as the assistant while the class is doing construction. They spend their mornings in the studio working on designs and receiving lecture, then the afternoon in the quansit hut building a small house that will later be taken to a client. There are two instructors, but many students with different skill levels, so they ask that I supervise and make sure nobody chops off any fingers. So far, I have done an excellent job.

The Home D/B project at the beginning of today (yesterday, there was no frame at all.)

The project at the end of the day. They were building their first wall in place. Today made me thankful for the weeks spent putting together a traditional stick-frame modeled house in my Ecological Design class freshman year. I knew what a cripple was.

There are a lot of people around campus this week. NBI, Home Design/Build and a masonry fireplace course. It's always a little strange to have a massive class shift. I generally get to know the majority of the people involved in week-long classes. (I do not always get to know weekenders - it's too short of a time period to try to remember names.)

I have been checking things off my list, although the process is going slowly since my afternoon has been taken away. My big project for today involved a puddle of mosquito-breeding stagnant water.

The stagnant water is, in this picture, below the trail. In actuality, it's uphill from the trail, causing the walkway to be mushy at times.

I dug a trench through the trail leading downhill (where there is plenty of drainage area.) When the mosquito-pit was mostly drained, I stuck a PVC pipe into it.

To keep critters from dwelling in my PVC pipe, I drilled some holes in the top. Water flows easily, but frogs do not. (During this process, I did relocate a frog to a new marshy area on campus. I haven't chased a frog in years.)

There are still some aesthetic issues that need to be taken care of (like the exposed PVC pipe) that I didn't get a chance to finish today. My goal, which I achieved by working through most of lunch, was to install the tube and make the path walkable again. I will poke around more tomorrow. (When I went back up to the site after helping the Home D/B class, I noticed that the puddle was still draining- coming out of the pipe, just as planned.)

I'm pretty happy with my progress this summer. I have learned quite a bit of technical information and skills, but I have also been learning a lot about working and living with others. I'm able to identify a need and take the initiative to solve the problem. I am someone who students go to when they need an answer. I am far more comfortable here than when I first arrived.