Almost Done

We are very close now to being finished with Anatoly's cottage!

Notice the lime plaster detail on the window sill of the sculpted window here - this is because lime is more durable than earthen plaster in areas where water will be collecting and streaming down.

Anatoly is building himself a beautiful cob oven under the roof that we made for him:

A bench finished with lime plaster, a purple earthen floor (not yet sealed and oiled), a ladder to the top bunk, and a hinged desk for Anatoly's office needs:

I'm always amazed by the strength of ants. I saw this big black speck moving down the side of the building, and saw the tiny ant behind the operation, upon closer inspection. It looks like he's holding this tree part in his jaws, and somehow making his descent slowly and carefully without falling or dropping his treasure. I bet he gets superb traction on the earthen plaster (how would he fare on drywall?).

Lime around the sink area.

I had some leftover lime and purple earthen plaster, so I combined them and made this comet-like mural detail on the northeast corner of the building. I hope that Anatoly is inspired to continue making the design into a bigger mural.

Here Mike finishes the roundwood bed rail with polyurethane:

The rocket stove, ready for next winter. There is a metal grate set into the cob above the top of the barrel, intended for dehydrating fruits and veggies.

We have one more day of finishing up details and sealing the floor with linseed oil and beeswax. After that, Anatoly has decided that he wants us to construct for him a Russian-style root cellar, so we are going to begin working on that!