If anyone has been following the story of this garden
they might be surprised at the sight of this tipi.
I had yurt fever for a few years..I really liked the space
and it seemed easy enough to move if needs be.
I drifted from that after realizing just how much I could save if
i built my own octagon-shaped cabin instead.
It wouldnt be portable but it would be warm and cozy
and really just more sound and sturdy I felt.
The tipi came into play when I started to think about the bigger
picture. Would it be smart for me to spend 10K on a cabin or a
yurt when I could use that money for something else?
If things REALLY got crazy with civilization collapsing,
we would all just be in my parent's place anyways across the road.
Why get crazy so early about a permanent structure?
Maybe in a few years but now...it was time for something a little more...
simple?
The tipi fit the bill..I could have bought a good tent and it would probably
be more waterproof than, but the tipi grabs eyes for sure.
Aesthetics come into play - they really do! We have to feed our eyes too!
I think its such a good fit in this garden, plus, since its basically a tent,
its not considered a permanent structure so no increase in property taxes.
Thats really something to think about...adding more living space
without adding to your property taxes.
I can eventually take the tipi off of the deck and place it in the
western meadow when the time comes for a more permanent replacement.
Im quite sure it would be an octagon shaped cabin with
*possibly* a dome greenhouse on top for some raised beds and
container plantings...the dome would warm up the house so well
in the winter time (if anyone even wanted to be there in the winter!! lol)
I always planned to make this a seasonal thing.
April to October mostly...then head south.
Now that everything is planted I just have to stay on top of
mulching around the trees and making sure the grass doesnt
compete with them too much. Im happy to be into that phase now
- its mostly mulching and harvesting.
My ideal is to have a tropical food forest.
Either in SE Asia or Hawaii..
Maybe Latin America...
To be in a year round food forest...to never have to worry about the
bees freezing to death...always lush...always things to harvest.
I could keep coming to the MN food forest in the growing season...
but afterwards it just hibernates - even the greenhouse up here goes to sleep.
Thats why the tipi made so much sense right now.
For $2,000, I have a living space that is bigger than many studio
apartments Ive seen in NYC. Its paid for and done - no housing bills
for now...nice to have it *kind of* taken care of.
Dont get me wrong - earlier this spring it was COLD in there.
Waking up in the tipi to see 35F on the thermometer
DOES NOT make you want to get out of bed.
Sleeping with wool socks and thermal underwear
makes it more than bearable, but for how many people? Not many.
Most folks are WAY too far down the path of domestication to
actually want to sleep in that kind of weather, but I assure you
that once you start doing it - it becomes addictive.
I know people that have gone year round in MN in a tipi
with just the woodstove and warm clothes...obviously
the Native Americans of the Great Plains had worse weather than
my springtime 35F with rain.
luke doing a BD stir in front of the tipi..we just set it up in this photo.
The tipi is the happy medium.
Maybe thats what will be there for a long time.
If I were to actually start a family here, of course there
would have to be an upgrade, but for now with me here by
myself its really perfect. I have a kitchenette, a bed, a place
to hang my stuff and put my stored food...its fine.
And who wants to be inside anyways?
Design more living space OUTSIDE. Fresh air!
