Sharing mud joys

Sweet April is here, and our projects are keeping us in the mud and full of spunk...

The Castle Bathhouse is looking fabulous:  the final plasters are going over the adobe bricks and earthbags...

 ...the "waiting bench" is getting smoothed...

 ...plaster delight!

 ...almost there...

 In the garden, we are still preping the beds for our little plantlings for our winter crops...

 ...and itty bitty seeds go into the ground...

 Fresh from the earth, mandioca root and her harvesting goddess:

 And Jax is keeping the kitchen team in line and aproned up:

Oh, and the recycling center gets some organizing love too.  We have just gone trash-free and are now producing eco-bricks (full explanation and photos to come...)

 Little flowers everywhere!

 Mandarine marmalade, bubbling iridescently in the afternoon light.  

 The community bathhouse extention is just about complete.  Bottles to finish the wall...

 Everyone finds a little inspiration from the farm dog Rambo.

 Plastering goes on.

 And the sink is installed, and a mirror mosaic dazzles up the mud wall.

 New stairs to the watering hole.

Ooh, and we had our first sweat in our new sweat lodge!  In the easy light of morning, we sat together in the steaming womb of the lodge right by the river, sang songs of joy, and celebrated the Easter dawn.

 See... we're all so shiny and clean now. 

Bonus shot:  anyone know what type of mushroom this is poking out from under our trees? 

Beetle balls and flying seeds

With summer subsiding and fall tempuratures finally here, we are back in the swing of things. Our internship is underway and so there is lots of activity going on.

After leaving the garden unbothered and growing during the peak of summer, it turned itself into giant jungle madness! Taller-than-human-sized flowers, peppers popping and poking out of the beds, long-necked super squash hanging in the trees, and lots of other fantastic surprises!

  But now we are back to the garden, taming her in just a bit, and planting our fall and winter crops.

Lettuce seeds sprouting:

Sheet mulch garden additions.

 

And we're back to the mud-stomping: We are currently working on two earthen building projects simultaneously: The first is resurrrecting the castle bathroom and remodeling it into a fabulous luxury dry composting bathhouse.

  Working with tight wall curves, a free standing structure, and integrating earthen walls, new and old.

A

Earthbag bench making.

 Stomping the bags into place with our heavy pounder.

Laying adobe bricks for the front wall, prepping for a window with a good jungle view from the "throne."

And trying not to have too much fun.

Prepping the bottles for adding into our earthen walls, a friend came along to check our progress.

Speaking of creatures, our duck family (totalling 7 now!) and chicken commune (countless and growing) are all thriving and happy.

The other building project is an adobe and cob extention to the community bathrooms, complete with sink and vanity/shelf area.

Building with delicious mud takes some self-control...

...and clean up too.

Putting up adobes over the sink area, prepping a flat surface for our soon-to-be-created mirror mosaic.

Other happenings: Tincture making with wild medicinal plants:

Apertif and liqueur making (for medicincal use of course.)

How to use a rainy day: make pear jam and peanut butter!

And if you lose a late-night game, you might just have to bathe Rambo! (He loves it, as you can see.)

In the extra time (as if there's much of that), we are also working on putting in the wood floor of the House on the Hill's bedrooms. Mud walls and local hardwood floors-- gorgeous combination.

Bonus Photo:

Beetle Balls! Check out all the special ingredients.

Finishing the Year with Gratitude

 So much to be grateful for at this year's ending!  The marvelous nature around us, the lessons learned in each day's work, the fabulous people who gravitate toward Mama Roja, and all the poetry of a homesteading life in the jungle. 

Thanks for another gorgeous internship!  We wrapped up the program with mud plastered sculptures and mosaics.

 Mud vines wrapping the outside porch of the house on the hill. 

 Giant sunshines with great ceramic tentacles!  Wow!  High art!

 Our dear, sweet, well-behaved interns...

Memories of peanuts and planting:

 Everyone's favorite toothless hero.  Watch out, he bites.  No joke.

 Herbal eye remedy:  Santa Lucia's magical flower drop squeezed into an ailing eye cures all aggravations of spirit and eyeball.

 Oh, the handsome harvest of sweet potatoes:

 Muddy feet make happy souls:

 As if we weren't dirty enough, medicinal mud makes our Ladies Spa Day into an exfoliating extravaganza.

 Still planting summer delights in the garden.

 Sombrero Silliness.

 Friends who love mud building:

 The big river on a hot afternoon.  The perfect way to end a cow manure-hunting outing.

 News on the duckling:  He is waddling and well, eating and growing, and has even started hissing and chasing us down for more food!  Thanks to our home-brewed microorganisms, we saved him from imminent duck-doom.

 And life in the jungle just keeps on.  The wonder, the blessings, and the joy.  Thanks to all who have journeyed to Mama Roja this past year to make this project a fun and successful adventure in sustainable living!