Tiny House Ontario is in the process of installing a little place to wash up with our collected rain water.
The drainage is fantastic on the escarpment due to it being limestone bedrock with natural faults every few feet, so even when it is raining like crazy, for days, the ground is not wet. Thus a simple drain tube should do the trick. A sink and shower will be added… hopefully… on a raised platform. It depends on what the building inspector says about adding on to a non existent building/art project…
It was wonderful to get back to Tiny House Ontario even though it was just a Friday to Monday trip. The weather was perfect! I am very comfortable here in Hamilton in my small house, which has lots of light and a wonderful small studio for me to paint in; evenso, my home is Tiny House Ontario. This is not just because I love it there, but it is a place where people know my name. Mostly everyone.
My husband was also down with me and we brought the dogs out for a few walks while we were there. Unfortunately Honey got a tick and since that particular area of Ontario is awful for Lyme disease… we have to keep our eyes on her.
On one of the walks we went to the bottom of our escarpment and I found a wonderful old tree which made me think about how simple places can be and still be home. This single tree, rotting and twisted is the home to so many creatures. Additionally in the top there is a little nest.
In his book, The Embers and the Stars byErazim Kohák, he correctly says that we believe shadows fall, but we are wrong. Shadows raise up from the forest floor to meet the night. When this happens at Tiny House Ontario, the candles are lit and the dogs are sent out before the shadows raise completely. Sometimes, the crows blare out the last warnings of the day. The evening brings the howl of the coyotes and the screech of the fishers. Many find that their imagination allows fear to rise with the shadows.
For me it is a peaceful time of day where faced with too little light to read, or paint, I write or simply reflect on the day while I watch the bees wax burn. Due to this time of the day, I am relaxed all summer. All of the days difficulties are smoothed out before I rest.
Wolfe Island Wind farm is a an omnipresent part of life for some people on the island, but for other’s it is simply a part of the landscape. Do you think it is an environmental move forward, or a mass of metal that pollutes with sound and size? So many quixotically charged these giants before they were there and others invited them into their hearts.
Love them or hate them, the wind farm is now a part of the everyday visual intake of those who live on and around the island. Looking South from Kingston these giants are pretty hard to miss.
I purchased a copy of the Humanure Handbook the other day, and a minute ago I ordered the Privy 500 in Canada they are ordered from Canadian Eco Products. The dealer who I spoke to seemed to me like a pretty good guy. He says that the unit should arrive here in a couple of days, (depending on the Family Day Holiday), I will let you know how long it takes to arrive. I plan on building a box to hold the unit up and will take some photos of this process when I do. I had intended to buy the Privy 501 but the Canadian dealer says that the toilet seat addition made the cost of shipping high and if you want a toilet seat for it, you can add one later. Seems sensible.
Basically, my plan is to make something similar to this:
or this:
The difference is that I will have a drain for urine which is why I bought the Privy 500 unit. Urine is what makes outhouses so funky, because it makes the pile o’poop wet.
The thing is, all you need to do is keep your poop bucket dry for it to be stink and pest free. In the reading that I have done (I have not read the Humanure Handbook yet), I understand that many people vary on what they use. Wood chips, peat moss and coconut husk fibre are the materials that seem to be favoured. I intend to use coco fibre at least initially, because I understand this to be a renewable resource.
What would you do?
a) Wood chips
b) Peat Moss
c) Coconut fibre
d) Poop in the woods
e) Are you kidding? I would never consider any of this as an option!
Tiny House Ontario 