earth language

A dirt cheap floor, a small green house, and other progressions

2012-02-04T13:41:00.000-08:00

My friend Justin spent the month of January out here to progress the status of the dome project, which had been on hiatus for awhile due to a hefty music itinerary. In exchange, Justin left with a set of dome frames to begin his own off-grid abode. It has been awhile since I posted a progress update, so there are quite a few picture for anyone who might be interested. It is at this facebook album link, which I made public.

For more photos and the process description, go to this album link

The Mighty Monarch Migration

2011-10-11T11:04:00.000-07:00

This last month has been gorgeous and eventful. The monarchs have chosen the Big Bend area as their point of Migration to the south...

view the rest of the album here

I am performing every Friday night at the Chisos Mountain Lodge this month. Last Friday happened to coincide with Yom Kippur. It was a magical night and a good way to start the 24 hour fast:

Panaorama of Casa Grande in the Chisos during a Monkey's Wedding

An above average sunset in the Chisos

more photos here

And last week, I just completed a nice little mini tour of Texas with a great songwriter named David Moss:

Shower House UP dated

2011-09-02T10:13:00.000-07:00

After hauling and stacking many locally collected rocks (all within a mile) in the heat of the Texas desert summer, the shower house walls are at a finished level. All in all, I estimate it took between 40 and 50 man and woman hours. Since this wall is a dry stack, it will one day fall down, maybe tomorrow, maybe in 300 years. I just hope it doesn't happen while I am showering.

The shower now has privacy. The temporary water collection bucket makes it easy to distribute the used greywater to the trees that surround the shower house.

I spent a day helping a new friend work on a concrete floor in his hand built strawbale house. Greg Donner is here for a year to work on his paintings in an inspiring and distraction free setting. I try to sit in on friends' projects when I can in order to pick up new skills and inspiration. Greg then talked me into going to the hot springs in our national park, which I never would have thought of as a summer option, but any temperature water is a respite in this unrelenting Texas summer .

Good friends and fellow off gridders Kevin and Zoe stopped by for morning coffee and a tour of Don's Domeland. Kevin and Zoey are also coordinators for our recycling program in town and have been naturally living by example out here for many years.

Texas' Toll on Trees

2011-08-27T09:21:00.000-07:00

My fig tree before and after the Texas Summer

I go back and forth on whether to maintain this blog or not. It sometimes seems like a long ramble, and so I am considering a more focused approach, perhaps a short self-published e-book or downloadable PDF, something along those lines sometime in the future.

Anyhow, I am now back in the desert after my tour up the East Coast by train. This last month (after the tour), I have been visiting with friends and family in Houston and Austin, and somewhat dawdling my return to the heat of the desert. Now that I am back, I find the heat quite tolerable. Even though I don't have AC or even a swamp cooler, allowing my body to adjust to the gradual heating and cooling between day and night is easier for me than constantly going back and forth between very cold AC interiors and the scorching outdoor temps that have settled over Texas this Summer.

Sadly, my fruit trees (one plum and one fig) didn't make it through the Summer heat and drought. My water catchment and timer system was foiled. This is because either a good intentioned neighbor or a very evolved rabbit or coyote turned off the faucet that my timer was attached to. I know that I left it in the right position before leaving because I monitored it for the few days leading up to my tour. Perhaps someone was just thirsty and needed water. Who knows? But I've realized that an automated system is far inferior to a manned system when it comes to being a caretaker of life, or of anything for that matter. It is OK. I feel fortunate that everything else is intact. Many people around here lost homes, property and livestock from fires caused by the drought. I may try to plant new trees this Fall. Or just focus on harvesting what this area provides naturally, i.e. mesquite.

Quebec

2011-07-14T06:14:00.000-07:00

The Solar House in Montreal with the Biodome in the background.

I have spent the last week in Quebec, in the middle of the the old European settlements of Montreal and Quebec City. They are perfect models of integration between the old and the new. I asked a few people what the catch was to living here. The answer was unanimous. The Winter. I think this is an area that I would consider moving to if it weren't for the winters being brutal and long.

Making good use of a $5 a day Bixi bicycle in Montreal

Living in the center of town in Montreal for about a week, it doesn't take long to learn one's way around. I have mostly been bicycling around, with the occasional subway and rideshare. It is nice to have some real car free options that are also safe and well thought out. Some say that Quebec is somewhat of a separatist province. It could be its own country. It could be France. Some think that it IS France. Some make a clear distinction. I found myself in some situations where no English was understood.

The streets of Quebec City

In order to travel to Quebec city without a tourist budget, I joined a rideshare service called Allostop. They run a background check on all the drivers and passengers and have set times and payment amounts for certain common trips that drivers and passengers can sign up for. It is a very reliable service that is very popular and well used. It is much cheaper than the bus or train and faster too. I'd like to see a similar service in the USA. All of my rideshare experiences in the USA have been organized through craigslist and thus less reliable.

Now that's a bike lane!

My gracious hosts who work for the Cique du Soleil comped me a couple of tickets to a eye popping show.

celebrating Joann's 30th birthday with what she calls and "eclectic" crowd

this $3.50 vegan vietnamese sandwich has been a staple lunch for me in Montreal as my budget wears thin being that
I currently have no income after having to cancel my Canadian shows.

All the money that I made in the East Coast of the USA on my tour by train, which wasn't much, I have spent in Canada, and then some. So Canada wins. Canada could have been an even bigger winner if they had let me bring in my "tools of trade" because any money that I would have made in Canada would have been spent in Canada as well.

A couple of blocks from where I was staying, outside the St. James hotel, a small crowd awaits an appearance from Bono and the rest of U2. It seems that Canada not only allowed them to bring their guitars across the border, but also the largest traveling entertainment convoy ever in history of time. And the largest environmental footprint to go along with it.

Independence in Canada

2011-07-05T08:56:00.000-07:00

Toronto

I am a free man in Canada. The train tour has come to an end, after the border agents required that I cancel the Canadian leg (3 shows). And now I am on a Canadian vacation, after leaving my guitar in Buffalo, New York with a friend of a friend. The border agents let me into their country on my 4th attempt under the condition that I didn't bring my "tools of trade" into their country. We were each triumphant in our own eyes. They feel that they prevented me from working illegally in their country, and I successfully got across the border when it was seeming less and less likely. I didn't come all this way from Texas just to go home. It is all an absurd display of protocol, because a guitar is not hard to find in Canada.

Montreal

I spent a couple of days in Toronto, reuniting with more of my South African cousins. I got to experience my first Canada Day (Canadian Independence Day on July 1st), and also each a grilled cheese sandwich with the great Canadian songwriter, Corin Raymond.
My 8 year old cousin Jessica Rabin's Jennifer Lopez imitation:

Kensington Market, the neighborhood I would live in if I lived in Toronto.


Corin Raymond at the Grilled Cheese in Kensington Market

Then, the Megabus took me to Montreal, a 6 hour comfortable bus ride with wifi on board. Just in time to see my good friend Emilie Clepper at the Montreal Jazz Fest where she hypnotized the audience with a perfect set. I didn't understand her banter in French in between songs, but I did hear her mention Texas and then my name and then realized that she was calling me to the stage to sing one of my songs. I didn't expect that at all, which was good because I didn't have time to get nervous in front of a large crowd in a concert setting, an atmosphere that is mostly foreign to me. Emilie's very skilled band chimed in with the perfect amount of accompaniment, especially for a song they have never heard. The audience seemed to like it and after the concert were asking me questions about my trouble getting into Canada. I assumed that Emilie had given a brief synopsis of my circumstance in French while introducing me.


Emilie Clepper at the Montreal Jazz Festival

I spent most of the last couple of days riding bicycles around Montreal with my hosts Joann and Jon, who work for the Cirque de Soleil and are positioned in Montreal for the next couple of months. They have graciously given me shelter in their extra room in downtown Montreal.

Jon And JoAnn outside of their "workplace" in Montreal.

Bixi bicycled are for rent for $5 a day in Montreal and Toronto. Available at almost every other street corner, a rider can pick up and return a bicycle from any location an unlimited number of times in a 24 hour period. This has been my transportation around Montreal. They even have built in flashing LED lights for safety.

Last night, fireworks erupted all over downtown Montreal, as a finale for Montreal Jazz Festival. It just happened to be July 4th.

Entering Canada with a Guitar is a Red Flag

2011-06-29T21:02:00.003-07:00

Stuck in Niagara Falls after being denied entry into Canada

Being declined crossing a border is like being declined for credit. Once you are declined, you keep getting declined. In fact, one of the standard questions at the border is "Have you even been denied entry into Canada before?". Like with bad credit, the gatekeeper doesn't view your circumstance from a fresh perspective but rather, from a lens that is tainted.

And so now I've been declined entry three times in three days, each time given a new checklist of what I need to do to get permission to cross.

My itinerary started to fall apart a few days ago, during the last leg of my train journey, heading into Canada on the Amtrak into Montreal. I had a few informal shows booked, and because of the nature of the shows and varied advice from other musicians, I didn't think that a work visa was necessary. I was wrong. In Canada, even if a gig is unpaid, if it is in a bar or restaurant, a work visa is needed. This isn't so for street performers. One is allowed to busk on the streets without a work permit, or play house concerts and festivals where performers are exempt from needing work visas.

This first attempt, I was turned away after a 10 hour train ride from New York City to Montreal. After an escort back to the USA side, there was a Greyhound bus waiting there heading back to New York City and the border agent suggested that I jump on it. I didn't know what else to do, so I did. It was an 8 hour bus ride back to NYC. And so it was 18 hours of travel to get from New York City to New York City. After talking with a good friend in Canada who works for the Cirque de Soleil in the immigration department for performers, and also the American Federation for Musicians, the consensus was that I shouldn't have been turned away and should try again from another border entry after I cancel my shows. I had one more segment allowed on my train pass and so I decided to hop on the train to Toronto, another 10 hour train ride.

I figured that they would have the resources and technology to verify that my shows were canceled, such as calling them on the phone, but they told me that I needed to provide proof. After rejecting me a 2nd time, and also searching me for narcotics and frisking me, they gave me a new checklist of what I needed to do to gain entry: Letters from the venues confirming that my shows were canceled, proof of self-employment, my bank statement, a letter from a utility provider proving residency in Texas, proof of my flight home, and names and addresses of friends and family in Canada. The agent also suggested that it would help if I were to leave my guitar in America. I reminded her that I was flying out of Montreal and didn't have any logistics worked out for getting my guitar back to Texas from Niagara Falls. She understood and agreed.

Today, I went back to the gatekeepers with all of the documentation that they requested after spending the entire day gathering it all. I was turned away a 3rd time. The agent said that because I am still carrying my guitar, I am a musician by profession with my tools in hand, and thus can find work in Canada. I reminded him that I had canceled my shows, and have proof, and that it is virtually impossible for a musician to book a gig in a venue with less than two months notice, and that I am only here until July 7th with proof that I am leaving the country. I just wanted to fulfill my travel plans, visit relatives in Toronto, explore Montreal and the Montreal Jazz Festival where a good friend is performing, and take up my good friend's offer in Montreal for a free ticket to the Cirque de Soleil. Oh, and also catch my flight back home out of Montreal. He said that he is not confident that I won't be working. I asked for a supervisor. She explained that each agent makes their own determination and that she doesn't want to override him. It is a quick stamp of rejection from them after many many hours on my end of extra travel and meeting their requests for documentation. He recommended that I go home, wait a couple of months, and try again. Or I can leave my guitar in the USA and try again tomorrow.

I found out that I can fly home out of Buffalo tomorrow with only a $25 change fee. Or I can leave my guitar with a friend of a friend in Buffalo (with a ride to Texas in a couple of weeks) and try to cross again tomorrow. But there is no guarantee that they won't just deny me again. Especially since I've been declined 3 times already.

Part of me doesn't want to accept defeat and fulfill my travel plans in Canada after getting all this way from Texas. Part of me just wants to go home and forget that Canada exists.

The Red Lounge Hostel on the American side of Niagara Falls is a budget traveler's oasis
in a town of uncountable tourist traps.

Halfway in between Canada and the USA on the rainbow immigration bridge with Niagara Falls in the Distance.

DC-NYC-PROVIDENCE

2011-06-28T03:14:00.000-07:00

photo by Stephany Yantorn

After being denied entry into Canada, which I'll expand on in the next post, I find myself back in NYC. I am at Penn Station waiting for my final train in about 4 hours. Sleeping is not allowed in Penn Station but using the internet is. And so, I'll take this time to share s photo journal of the past week.

Bicycles lanes leading the way to the lawmakers in D.C.

DeeDee's farmhouse in Rhode Island

3 little pigs

Jessica and DeeDee at the show in Providence

Cliche NYC photo of Times Square

Museum of folk art - one of three gigs in NYC

The seating for the concert at the Museum of folk art in NYC.
A nice listening crowd turned out for the show.

Jamming with Pickled in D.C.

NY Photographer and friend, Stephany Yantorn

Philadelphia, Jersey Shore, and the Milkboy

2011-06-21T11:15:00.000-07:00

Jersey Shore

I reunited with about 20 of my South African cousins in Philadelphia. From when we grew up in Johannesburg together to present day, we went from visiting each other every few days to seeing each other every few years. The addition of a last minute show at the Milkboy in Philadelphia was mostly an excuse for a stop in Philly for a little reunion. The Milkboy is a cool little joint in the suburbs, but it is also one of those venues that feels it's being generous by giving a performer one free beverage and letting them put out a tip jar. Almost the entire audience were relatives of mine, which makes a tip jar somewhat awkward, but I've learned to adjust to many different situations and be flexible.

The Milkboy in Bryn Mawr

Buried

My cousins were very hospitable and besides giving me my own basement apartment for a couple of days, they also included me in their Father's Day outing to the beach. The last time I saw the Ocean was in Israel almost two years ago, so this was a real treat. I went body surfing with my 12 year old cousin Aaron after running a few miles on the beach with his mom, Lynn, my first cousin. The day ended with a great meal at a restaurant called Harmony, and satisfied all of the various dietary restrictions in our group: vegetarian, gluten free, and kosher.

Some of my Philly Phamily

Dani + Aaron = Daaron

Playcation

2011-06-18T14:57:00.000-07:00

It is hard to imagine a place as lush as Virginia after leaving a desert that is
going on 10 months without a drop of rain

Playcation is the word I am using for a leisurely music tour routed to places and people I want to see. I may not earn very much, but I have a perpetually paid vacation, with a healthy amount of hard work mixed in.

The last couple of days, I stayed with my friends Keleigh and Thomas, who live part time in Terlingua Texas.

The secret hot springs in Big Bend with Keleigh and Thomas.

Niko and Jana Laven sit in at
Oddfella's in Floyd, Virginia.

Serendipidly, mutual musical mates, Niko and Jana Laven (Mother/Son duo) were touring through at the same time. And so we all became the house band for a house concert in Roanoke, Virginia on Thursday where the entire staff of the Roanoke Food Coop were present and contributed gourmet delights. Friday found us all in Floyd Virginia, where the Texas troubadours helped me fill my 4.5 hour set. The tiny town of Floyd has more going on per capita than any place I've ever rolled through. Our Friday night show was a full house, in spite of the famous Country Store Friday night concert down the road. And I had the best Chimichangas I've ever eaten...in Virginia.

Back on the train, I tried to convince the snack dealer to let me use my own coffee mug, but he explained that Amtrak verifies the amount of coffee beverages sold from the amount of disposable cups missing from their inventory at the end of a shift. This protocol doesn't fit with their campaign to use the train as a greener form of travel. It is also incongruent with their their substantial efforts to provide recycling bins on board. But I needed the coffee.

The Floyd pickers

Virginia

And now my playcation takes me to Philadelphia, after 6.5 hours on the train, where I will reunite with 20+ South African cousins.

the susTRAINable Tour is Launched

2011-06-16T11:08:00.000-07:00

I am a couple of days into my train journey. I have 12 shows in 15 days, and the Amtrak is my portal to the shows. These first train segments are the long ones, but there is no hurry. It is not time lost, like when driving. On board there is a restaurant, a lounge, and plenty of space to walk around while the world streams by outside the windows. It is a good time to relax or be productive. With a 15 day train pass, each day on the train costs me $26, not bad considering the distance traveled. And I don't have to worry about unexpected car troubles.

My first exit off the train was in New Orleans. I walked a mile to Canal Street to catch the streetcar. And this is when I realized that I may be carrying too much stuff. Besides my guitar, I am also equipped with a small amplifier, a mic stand, a sleeping bag, music cables, food, and clothes. I'll have to play around with redistributing the weight, or consider unloading a few things. I dropped my things off at Chickie Wah Wah and then took the streetcar to the French Quarter, a nice glimpse of how American cities could be if character and architecture were emphasized instead of speed and efficiency.

Chickie Wah Wah turned out to be a great show. The venue is in Midcity, and so the crowd was mostly locals. And they wanted to listen. And support my music. They fed me the best tacos I have ever eaten...in Louisiana.

Food from the Desert

2011-05-27T09:45:00.000-07:00

Every year, it seems that I am gone while the Mesquites are podding. Usually I return from the road and they have fallen from the trees and are rotting on the ground. There is such an abundance of Mesquite pods, not even all the birds and hungry desert critters awaking from hibernation can make a dent in the supply. Ever since I have moved out here, I have wanted to harvest the plethora of mesquite pods and make mesquite flour, which is very high in protein and minerals. It is also gluten free and has a very desirable sweet and nutty taste. Yesterday, when I should have been indoors instead of outside in 108 degree weather, I harvested a few gallons of pods in town. I have read that the ones to pick are the ones that snap off the tree easily and taste sweet. This is the easy part, unless it is 108 outside. The hard part is grinding them down into flour. It would help to have the right tools. I'd like to harvest enough to be able to at least sell some mesquite flour at the Farmer's market when the season starts again. And in the future, sell it here on the interweb. But I only have a few days in town in between tours, so I may lose the opportunity once again.

figs!

I was excited to find that my water timer setup worked while I was gone on tour these last three weeks. I have a hose going from my rain catchment to my plum tree and another going to my fig tree. I didn't get a chance to test it very well before I left, and was a little worried, but I put my faith in it and this whole desert agriculture thing is a big experiment anyway. When I got back, I counted over 20 figs and this is only its first year. They are on the verge of ripening of course as I am about to leave again, but at least the birds will get to feast on this desert delicacy.

My new friend Lillis, an amazing singer-botanist, passed through Terlingua and helped me identify some of the native plants on my little piece of earth. I have a hard enough time remembering people's names and so now two days later, I have no information to impart.

Lillis Urban

Mesquite pods can make flour, tea, jam, and more.

Tour Summary: Through Deserts, Mountains, and Forests

2011-05-23T10:56:00.000-07:00

the cost of touring and cashflow over 3 weeks

Another tour has come to an end. Or I suppose a tour never ends. It just pauses on this perpetual road. Of 22 booked shows, 18 actually panned out. I had to cancel two shows due to being sick and losing my voice. A Saturday night in Denver never manifested. And I was double booked in Las Cruces on the way home, but still paid. 18 shows in three weeks is still a rather dense schedule. And while I don't feel road fatigue, I would take a few more days off next time in order to better experience these incredible far away places that took a lot of driving to get to.

The price of gas was a real killer this tour. I was expecting that though. Car expenses accounted for about half of my touring costs. It was mostly from gas, but also a $200 starter replacement and an oil change along the way. Other than that, Ruby is a true road dog, just hitting 260,000 miles upon returning. She even starting pumping out arctic air again, which she hasn't done in a year. Getting sick was also an unexpected cost, from lost revenue from canceled gigs, having to quarantine myself in a hotel for couple of nights, and also from prescribed medication which I pay for out of pocket since I don't have health insurance.

All of my income was from music (guarantees, tips, and CD sales) other than a few bucks from a couple of rideshares. The rideshares didn't pan out so well this time since I traveled mostly off the beaten path. I also had to quarantine myself for about a week while I was sick.

I've gotten in the habit of documenting every single expense and source of income while on the road. If I didn't, I'm not sure I would break even. I used to do this on a pad of paper, but now I use an app called iXpensit that makes it really easy. It helps me tremendously to know exactly where I stand and what my cashflow is at all times. That way I know if I can get a hotel room or go camping instead, or whether I can treat myself to some sesame tofu at a nice vietnamese restaurant or stick to the groceries in my on board refrigerator. Thankfully, most venues I played also offered me a meal. Usually a really good meal that also provided leftovers for lunch the next day. Traveling with a solar powered refrigerator was a true luxury. I think maybe even a necessity. It saved me from eating any fast food on the tour and I was able to store goodies from co-ops and natural food stores that found along the way. I've traveled with a ice cooler before, but I'd have to replace the ice almost daily which is an extra expense but even a greater annoyance. And much of the food would drown in the melted ice if left an hour too long.

Last show on the tour in Marathon, TX at the Gage hotel. Nice Lotus, but she's no Ruby.

Anyhow, I know that this is not the romanticized version of this livelihood, where I'm flown or bussed around from show to show, and they have my favorite brand of mineral water waiting for me in my hotel suite. This is ground level, where I'm not only the musician, but also the booking agent, the soundman, the roadie, the driver, the chef, and the accountant. I don't mind being on the ground. It provides real experiences and material for new songs.

It's funny, each time I tour, I hear of a new artist that people repeatedly say I sound like throughout the course of the tour. Last year it was Iron and Wine. This year it is Ray Lamontagne. I don't mind either of those comparisons.

And now I'm back home in Terlingua and here is the forecast for the next week:

High temps of 111 degrees expected this weekend. It is hard to believe that it was snowing just last week.

Buckhorn Saloon and Opera House

2011-05-20T19:06:00.000-07:00

This middle of nowhere venue in Pinos Altos, NM is tied for first place for my favorite venue this tour.

The Buckhorn Saloon - Pinos Altos, NM.

Not only is it a great listening room, but they also put me up in a swanky house for the night

It was undisputedly the best shower of the tour

I don't regret ignoring the GPS suggested route and taking the winding road through the Gila National Forest to get there

I like the mixture of accommodations while touring, from rest stops, to camp grounds, to hotels, to friends' houses, to strangers' couches, to venue floors, to swanky pads. I only sleep in award winning rest stops though.

Award winning rest stop in Las Cruces, NM.

This rest stop in Las Cruces has a giant Road Runner monument.

Upon further inspection, it is evident that the entire monument is made of trash.

Including a belly of shoes

Tonight I was double booked in Las Cruces. This happens about twice a year. They still paid me the guarantee and told me that I must have good karma to get a paid night off. But really the difficult part of touring is the driving, booking, and other logistics. Playing music is the fun part and the payoff. After playing almost every night for the last 3 weeks though, I didn't argue.

Colorado & Isakov

2011-05-17T10:45:00.000-07:00

I've been hanging out with my friend and songwriter, Gregory Alan Isakov for a few days. Out of anyone I know, we have the most parallel lives. Besides being a jewish South African born songwriter, we have also been vegetarian for about the same length of time (over 15 years). And we also have some uncanny details in common, such a the fact that we both have broken speedometers and position our gps devices on our dashboard so that we know how fast we are going. I convinced him last minute to play a show with me at the Jamestown Mercantile. It was a much smaller venue then he usually plays in Colorado, but this tiny mountain community houses some avid fans of his and when word got out, there was a nice turnout.

A couple of nights later, he played an 800 seater in Colorado Springs. Gregory leaves for his first European tour next week.

Driving around Colorado doesn't seem like work. Ruby has found a good rhythm through the Mountain passes.

Plenty of fresh snow for the month of May.

Denver

Rocky Mountains

It has been about a week since there has been a sunny day. I have tethered the spare battery that runs the refrigerator to the car battery so that when the car is running, it will replenish the lost energy strorage without the dependence on sunshine entirely. Since I have left Texas, the fridge has remained in the 30s. No ice!

Pearl

2011-05-13T17:22:00.000-07:00

Ruby's alter ego, "Pearl" this morning in front of the Speedtrap in Palmer Lake.

The first precipitation I have seen in over 7 months is in the form of snow. Last week in Terlingua it was 105 degrees. And 800 miles North it is snowing. It's incredible what a little distance and elevation can do.

Last night was my 2nd post flu show and it seems that my full vocal range is back, with a slight Tom Waits effect, which is fun for now.

Kinfolks Mountain Shop and Bar in Manitou, CO.

After two days off from canceled shows, a friend of a friend , Conor Bourgal of the Changing Colors, booked me a last minute show at Kinfolks in Manitou. As the first show after being sick, I considered it a warm up for the busy schedule ahead. It was a nice evening with nice people in a nice place.

Manitou, Colorado

Ruby's snowlar panel

No Paid Sick Days

2011-05-10T09:06:00.000-07:00

There are no paid sick days while on tour. In fact, being sick is costly and I figure that the flu has cost me several hundred dollars on this tour.

Rio Grande Gorge in Toas, NM.

Though this tour has been my best planned and routed tour to date, one can't plan around the potential of getting sick. In a typical job, there is the security that if you get sick that you'll be able to rest and recover at home, while still being able to maintain your budget. This is not the case for a touring musician. The show must go on unless it is absolutely not physically possible, for instance, if their primary instrument is lost. In my case, it is my voice.

I had to cancel two shows, but if I could have, I would have canceled a few more. I ended up performing three shows during the incubation period of the flu, fulfilling a few three hour performances while my nose was dripping like a faucet and my sinuses were seismic. I was able to pull off the first two shows because my voice was still intact. But the last one was a mistake. I didn't know until I started the performance that my vocal range was down to a few notes and I had to adjust my singing style over the course of the evening to where I was mostly rapping through my songs. While the melody was lost, I wanted to make sure that the lyrics were salvaged at least. A couple of guys came up after that show and told me that they really liked my style. I don't know if they were trying to boost my spirits or what, but they may be disappointed when they listen to the CD that they bought when they find out that I'm not a rapper.

These shows were anchor dates with guarantees that I didn't feel I could miss, especially after I had already driven hundreds of miles and paid a small fortune to the oil companies. I also didn't want to let down the venues who gave me a slot that could have gone to another performer.

I'm on the upswing I think, and I am planning to be back on track after a couple days of rest.

I jumped the border into Colorado yesterday

Other than this hiccup, the shows have gone very well. Audiences have been very kind and generous. And Ruby continues to defy planned obsolescence.

Ruby looks brand new after a car wash. Her new solar panel is working
marvelously and has been a topic of conversation wherever we stop.

ELIPHANTE

2011-05-05T16:25:00.000-07:00

This is Eliphante. Perhaps the most unique space I have ever performed in.

The chapel of Eliphante.

Detail of the glasswork

Gracious hosts and caretakers of Eliphante, Tracy and Ryan

And their pet goat

Entrance to Eliphante

Hand carved Kitchen

Solar bath house

Every room has a piano of some sort. And the same cat who follows you from room to room and poses for pictures.

Another view of the chapel of salvaged glass, wood, and rock that I performed in last night. A good crew of friends and friends of friends crowded in. When I sang "Bad Bad Bad", the goat even chimed in.

Ruby gets a Starter Transplant in Tucson

2011-05-03T09:41:00.000-07:00

Ruby in Tucson with Terlingua dust. She could sure use a shower.

Ruby received a starter transplant in Tucson. She has had a worsening condition for over two months now and yesterday morning after 10 tries to get her started, I finally got her some medical attention. She only has catastrophic coverage, so this preventative procedure was out of pocket. Luckily, I found a place in Tucson that only works on Volvos and did the job for half of what everyone else quoted me. That is because they use salvaged authentic Volvo parts rather than new junky versions. She has been given new life and is now much more excited to get started in the mornings.

I am going to try my best to report from the road, but there isn't a whole lot of time left over after driving for hours, and then being the roadie, sound man, merch person, promoter, booker, AND performer. These are common duties of the modern troubadour.

The price of gas in Terlingua when I left was $4.228 and rising.
I got enough gas to get me to Alpine, where gas is 30 cents less.

This past weekend took me to the Paisano Hotel in Marfa, where I performed in the courtyard as planned, and at the last minute was also asked to do a pre-show in the Ballroom where there was a fundraiser and auction to purchase a Therapeutic horse. Unplanned.

The Horse Therapist

While in Marfa, I had the privelege of attending my friend Alyce Santoro's art installation which was presented by Ballroom Marfa. Alyce has developed a 'sonic' material woven from old cassette tapes. In this exhibit, she combined it with her other passion, sailing, by weaving sails out of the material.

Alyce Santoro

The next morning, I feasted on a delicious vegan casserole, salad, and some ice cream at the Chinati Foundation's free brunch during their annual Community Day event.

Chinati Brunch

As I headed out of Marfa, I passed by the house that started the 300,000 acre fire that engulfed Far West Texas in latter April.

Rock House Fire Starter

Sunset in Big Bend - April 29th, 2011.

And this was the view from my last show in the Big Bend until the Fall and also the first of 22 shows in this tour. A good way to end and begin.

Ruby Goes Solar

2011-04-28T22:19:00.000-07:00

Ruby gets a solar panel

It was one of the things I wrote off getting done before I left on tour this week. But then my neighbor Rusty popped by (out here, anyone within 20 miles or so is a neighbor). Rusty salvaged my pipe dream about hooking up a solar panel to the roof of my Volvo in time for my tour through some very sunny areas.

Rusty mentioned that he needed a break from his current building project, and thought he'd stop by to see what I was working on. I told him my idea and asked if it was possible. He said "You mean to tell me that you want to get this all done by Friday?! OK, I'm in!!"

Luckily, I already had everything I needed: I borrowed one of the solar panels from my home, since I won't need it while away. I had the leftover battery from my old battery bank before I upgraded, the roof rack that my brother gave me a few years ago, a small charge controller from my first solar setup, and all the necessary cables. Rusty threw in some nuts and bolts, as well as his time and experience modifying cars.

And so I followed Rusty to his adobe house up the backside of a cliff on a steep rocky road with very loose gravel. The road seemed to be moving in the opposite direction that I was driving, and after getting stuck a few times, I eventually made it to the top of the mesa where Rusty and his tools live. We did some drilling, soldering, metal bending, wiring, and eventually sleeping once we ran out of sunlight.

In the morning, we daisy chained the engine battery to the new battery, so that the Sun would charge both batteries and also so that I could choose to have the alternator charge the 2nd battery while I am driving if need be.

Ron Mohr, the solar dealer, built this solar array that moves electronically with the angle of the Sun

Afterwards, I drove by Ron's house to get his approval. Ron is the solar dealer (one of the them) around here. He sold me my panel and also the battery bank and other toys.

While on the road, I can now power my fridge (same one I use at home) and laptop, and if the situation arises, plug in a sound system for an impromptu performance on the side of the road.

McMercy Family's Annual Pilgrimage to Far West Texas

2011-04-26T10:26:00.000-07:00

The McMercy Family Band returns to Far West Texas for their annual pilgrimage.

The themes this week have been trains and music, a great combination I think. Of course, there was the well publicized and well attended Ralroad Revival Concert that passed through Marfa this weekend. But there was also my lesser known train trip back from a short Passover trip to Houston to play a weekend warm up show at Padres in Marfa with my friend, Jack Wilson.

AND, The McMercy Family Band's annual pilgrimage out to Far West Texas for Easter Weekend. This group of unique personalities perform eccentric versions of traditional and not so traditional gospel tunes. It was the usual... nonstop jams, soaking in the hot springs, energized perfomances, large feasts for 20+ musicians, no sleep, a large suspicious convoy driving late at night down the heavily patrolled West Texas Highways (we didn't get stopped this time), and a couple of car breakdowns.

Here are some pictures from the weekend:

Lots of jams in Tent City

large breakfast feast in the dome

Michael Rubin hand grinds the morning coffee.

some of the best music was off stage:
Ron Scott and Linky Dickson

Some of the best music was ONstage:
The McMercy Family Band at the Starlight Theatre

train window view of
burnt fields in west texas

So far, so true. You may need to click on this one to read it.

Build Some and They Will Come

2011-04-14T08:19:00.000-07:00

Ike and Wendy perform a desert ballad on mouth harps

Well I haven't even finished building and they are coming. Since early February, most days I have had friends or strangers camping on my land, from anywhere from one night to two weeks. This seems to be a popular getaway for Canadians. I have had 3 sets of guests from Quebec. Two from New York. Many from Austin. And from a few other places with cold winters. It has been enjoyable. I seem to do more hiking and see more sights when I am showing visitors around. I also learn a lot from watching the way that others live off-grid, what they cook, etc. Hopefully, they learn something too.

Ike and Wendy, who I know from the Kerrville Folk festival camped out here last week. Ike is more of a dome enthusiast than anyone I know, other than Don Bryant. He ogled over Don's work and I could see his head spinning with ideas. Same thing happened to me when I first saw Don's buildings.

Derek masters the Cram-Alot

My current guest is Derek Hansen, a cyclist who is prepping for a short little bicycle ride to Montana. We are linked by mutual friends in Austin. We put him to work this week in our volunteer recycling crew in Terlingua. And of course, I coerced him to mix a few batches of stucco after I showed him how, while I stuccoed the last piece of the exterior perimeter. Now all that is left of the outer cover coat is the very top.

On Tuesday night we had a dinner in the shade of the dome. Eight friends and neighbors came by for a big pot of pesto pasta and some jalapeno and onion mashed potatoes.

I do have to get more disciplined about keeping to a schedule, as I am falling a little behind on booking Summer shows as well as all the logistics that go along with my tour coming up in May (making and mailing flyers and other forms of promotion).

One thing that definitely keeps me homebound is the Fina station in Terlingua, where the lowest octane is now over $4 a gallon. Ruby prefers top shelf gasoline, but she seems wiling to make the sacrifice in these hard times. It now costs me almost $10 to get to Terlingua Ghost Town and back, so it defeats the purpose of two for one (veggie) burger night at the Starlight Theater.

The Blackened Fields of Far West Texas

2011-04-11T19:56:00.000-07:00

photo by John Schwerdtfeger

As I headed home from weekend gigs in the Big Bend and Marathon, along the same highway I have driven many times, it was unfamiliar. Unrecognizable.The vast West Texas fields that alternate between green and yellow have turned black in an instant.
After more than 6 months without any rain, the aggressive and unrelenting winds are taking this opportunity to escort the blaze through unconvincing obstacles, such as hilltops, meadows, and houses of convention. While there have been no human casualties, many other mammals have perished after being trapped inside barbed wire boundaries. As hydrants run dry, firefighters are combating the flames with a resource we'll never have a shortage of here in the desert...dirt.

Big Bend Getaway

2011-04-07T21:03:00.001-07:00

Lost Mine Trail overlooking Mexico

The last few days I've taken a much needed break from routine and spent some time in our National Park. No gigs, no booking, no building, no dishes or laundry, just convening with one of the greatest national parks in the country. There is a rumor that Big Bend National Park could shut down this weekend indefinitely along with all the other national parks in the country because Congress members are using public programs and workers as pawns in their game of chess.

Rio Grand Village Swamp

The 3rd Green Scene last weekend was a success. There were demonstrations on cob building, earthship construction, and rainwater harvesting. Don Bryant and I gave a demonstration on building with ferrocement. And the live music was all powered by the sun, which we did not have a shortage of that day. All proceeds went to benefit Terlingua's community garden and recycling department.

Ocotillo Tea, Ferrocement, and Tour plans...

2011-03-30T08:24:00.000-07:00

Ocotillo in bloom

Today, Don Bryant and I started prepping for the ferrocement demonstration at the Green Scene in Terlingua this weekend. Our one hour workshop is one of many on the subject of off grid living and sustainability. Ferrocement is the binding of sand, metal, and cement. It is the material that the dome studio is being built with. We stopped by Bonnie Hill, a friend of Don's, who he built a ferrocement cistern for about a decade ago. They last forever, unlike the plastic cisterns that are expensive and allow algae to grow. Bonnie has a thick Ocotillo orchard that is in bloom. She told me that she makes a tea out of the blossoms and she let me pick some to take home to try. It is good! Fruity!

ferrocement cistern

inside a ferrocement cistern

I am in the midst of booking two tours. One is complete, other than I still have to do the tour. But it seems that booking is the hardest part. A full time job in itself. The actual tour is the payoff. It is a good thing that I don't have rent or utility bills, or I would never have the time to book. In May, I leave on a 3 week tour that will include about 15 shows in New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado.

The tour after that will be around the perimeter of the country, by train. It has been very challenging to build a tour around where and when the train goes, but I figure that by Summer, gas will be at least $4 a gallon and the train will be the better option. I also like the idea of a car-free tour. I've done it once before with fellow songwriter, Elam Blackman, last time gas went above $4 a gallon.

Domeland Security

Signs of Spring

2011-03-24T20:20:00.000-07:00

Even though it hasn't rained in over 6 months, the Mesquites are tapped into the source with roots that can transport ground water from up to 100 feet away. The very dry desert is suddenly green as these trees come back to life, signaling without a doubt, the end of winter.

Each leaf on a Mesquite is divided into leaflets. This uses less water and allows it to grow faster than one large leaf.

Someone sneaky made a contribution to the Ruby Road sign.

And the day ends with another epic sunset.

SWTX

2011-03-21T08:33:00.000-07:00

So, like last year, and the year before, I chose SWTX over SXSW (the much hyped annual music fest in Austin, TX). And glad I did. It is not only a magnificent time of year for Spring weather here in the Big Bend, but there is also heavy tourism, and thus, a built in audience for a songwriter like me. They are the right kind of crowd, one that listens and buys records. Over the last week, mostly from record sales, tips, and the guarantees from the venues, I have raised enough money to pay for my Amtrak pass for my tour by train this Summer. Not a cheap ticket.

Over the weekend, I drove a 230 mile circuit from Terlingua to my show in the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend to another show at the Gage Hotel in Marathon, TX, and then back home. Here are a few pictures...

Jon Sufficool and his disciples planting trees the right way in Marathon, TX.

The progress on one of Don Bryant's domes at La Loma del Chivo in Marathon, being finished out a completely different way.

Whenever I perform at the Gage in Marathon, TX, the chef makes me a surprise vegetarian dish.

The beans are jumping in the 'garbage patch', the garden that we planted on Don Bryant's land.

My best attempt at capturing the Super Moon with an iPhone rising behind Casa Grande in Big Bend

Plumset

2011-03-15T18:53:00.000-07:00

plum tree roars to life with the first sounds of thunder this year

The plum tree that I planted last fall loves it here and apparently also loves my dish and shower water. The roughly 8 foot tree is the greenest thing around and survived well through the deep freeze that we had last month. We'll see how it likes the heat. There are about 50 flowers or so on the tree. I have received varied advice about picking off the flowers the first couple of years so that the energy is sent towards making the tree bigger instead of making fruit the first few years. I think that I want to keep this tree small though, so that it won't have the water needs of a very large tree. And I'm hungry for plums.

I also planted a new tree today...

A FIG TREE!

Solar Cooling

2011-03-14T18:36:00.000-07:00

I am no longer living out of a cooler, as I have done for the last couple of years. Gone are the times where I purchase a big block of ice and watch it melt over the course of a few days as delicate food items drown in the glacier melt.

When my new refrigerator arrived via Fedex, I was still skeptical. I wondered if my minimal solar system would hack it. Can the sun really power a refrigerator? The idea seems like a conundrum.

I had been looking at the Sundanzer refrigerators, an off-gridders dream, but they are priced way out of my range and also are bigger than I need. After much research, I found the perfect fridge for my needs. It is 43 quarts of arctic containment and about 1/3rd the price of a Sundanzer. The Edgestar refrigerator opens chest style so that the cold air doesn't spill out. And it only uses 60 watts, the same amount of energy as an average incandescent light bulb. And only while it is cooling. It can run on both AC and DC, which means that I can take it in my vehicle on tour with me as well.

There is so much space when that huge block of ice isn't hogging all of it. After about a week of using it, so far, so awesome.

In other news, my new friends Michelle and Jim left this morning after making the Earth Language their home for the last two weeks. For a moment there, it was like a little village.

In even more news, my neighbor and friend, John Wells, was written up in the New York Times for making the leap from the desert of New York City to the desert of Far West Texas. Just in case you haven't stumbled on it yet, here is the link. There are many off grid pioneers around here doing interesting things. Some of them broadcast what they do, some of them don't, but it is nice when off grid success stories get picked up by mass media. Hopefully soon, this kind of living will be the norm.

Spring Visitors

2011-03-06T19:17:00.000-08:00

Pretzel Cigars

Michelle's Kitchen

My new friends Michelle and Jim, from Canada, have taken over the place... cooking nutritious meals, helping with the building, and driving us all to Mexico to stock up with groceries. Jim and Michelle are a very enlightening duo. They travel for most of the year and garden at their off grid Canadian home for the remainder. They are also avid sailors and are currently planning a year long expedition. And they do this all on $12,000 a year, combined. Even while on the road, they cook almost all of their meals, and practice grocery management without a refrigerator. They were here to witness the only sign of spring on my property. The plum tree that I planted last fall, the one I have been giving all of my grey water to, is flowering.

Flowering Plum Tree

This picture is from a year ago.
This year, NONE.

Friends, Kevin and Mark, gave a cob building workshop at the farmer's market this weekend. It got dirty.

The Afterlife of an Ice Block

2011-03-02T20:54:00.000-08:00

Being off grid in the desert, with no access to city water or unlimited electricity, we have to come up with ways to stretch out the lifespan of our resources.

I have been keeping my food refrigerated with an ice box. It is actually a broken mini fridge that I keep cold by replacing a block of ice every few days. This is easy in the winter. I just stick a tub of water outside on a freezing night, let it freeze, and then switch it out with the melting block inside the ice box. It is rare that I have to purchase ice in the winter months.

Now that we are getting into the warm months, I have to buy a block of ice every few days. Luckily, the Grub Shack down the road sells blocks of ice. It is a nice 7 mile round trip bike ride, and I can strap my cooler to the back of my bicycle to keep the block from melting in the hot desert sun. I can also get a Trevor sandwich while I am there (the veggie version of their breakfast sandwich, but with grilled onions instead of bacon).

During the hot months, switching out the blocks every couple of days, I can rack up an ice bill of about $50 in a month. And so I don't want anything to go to waste.

When the ice melts, I am left with over a gallon of potable water. This is enough to wash dishes with. I then use the used dish water to water my plum tree. It gets some extra nitrogen from the soap and extra nutrition from the organic materials in the grey water. The plum tree is supposed to get 5 gallons a week and the used dishwater seems to suffice.

I then use the bag from the ice as a little trash bag for whatever household waste can't be recycled. Since we don't have trash collection, I take a little bag or two with me when I make a trip to town and make a tiny contribution to the trash collection of a business that I patronize.

This is not the ideal or most economic system, but a good way to get started without a refrigerator. Soon, my ice box, which used to be a refrigerator, will become a pantry, once my new highly efficient DC powered refrigerator arrives in several days. I just placed the order.

Sunrise Mountain Scramble in the Neighborhood

2011-02-21T18:12:00.000-08:00

It has been a very social week, with guests visiting and camping here on my land. We took turns improvising some gourmet home cooked meals and sharing ideas about living off grid. My favorite event of the week was a pre-dawn hike up the mountain behind my house.

We woke up at 5:30 in the morning to catch this view of the sun rising over Mexico.
This is from the mountain right behind my land

Couchsurfer from Quebec (on left) and Ryan from Oklahoma (right) congratulate each other for reaching the summit. This is the first mountain that Ryan has ever climbed.

a view of Camel's hump from the stratosphere

braised peppers, mustard greens, and couscous, compliments of neighboring land owner, Xilia

that's Xilia

Full moon rise over Terlingua

Our Week of Winter

2011-02-15T06:50:00.000-08:00

This supercooled bottle of water was just waiting for a disturbance to change properties from water to ice in seconds. This happened to me last week and took me by surprise. The next day when I found my water bottle in liquid form again while it was 15 degrees outside, I grabbed my video camera and hoped it would give a repeat performance. It did!

Other winter images...

a desert snow dusting

Indoor vs. outdoor temp. It is nice to have heat and insulation. It actually got down to 1.9 degrees, the lowest I've ever seen here.

This husky followed me for two miles back to my home during my jog. I didn't have anything to feed her other than cereal. Unfortunately, I found her owner.

This couple from the Ukraine (via Brooklyn) also followed me home and stayed at Earth Language for two nights. I taught Alexa and Ella how to play Klabberjass, and old yiddish card game, which it turns out was a very popular game in their hometown, Kharkiv.

Lennon's Ghost in Marfa

2011-01-26T08:45:00.000-08:00

Sean Lennon and Charlotte Kemp Muhl
(photo by Lacey Jones)

It was a surreal evening and the product of a fluke happenstance. Last month, my good friend and gifted songwriter, Laura Gibson, informed me that she was going to be the opening act on tour for Sean Lennon's new project, the Ghost of a Sabertooth Tiger, a duo with himself and his partner Charlotte Kemp Muhl. Since Laura had a break in the tour in between Austin and Tucson, she asked me if I wanted to put together a show for her and I. As a joke, sort of, I suggested that if Sean Lennon wanted to play on the bill, we could make room. She called me back a few days later and said, "Well actually..."

And so that is how I ended up on a bill with the son of John and Yoko, the beautiful boy himself. While Sean does not lean on his heritage, he doesn't reject it either. He is the incarnate image of his 60s era father and doesn't try very hard to sound or look very different. Why should he? He seems comfortable with his inherited talent, but not necessarily the legacy. His tiny band travels with one extra trumpet player and a sound man in a modest van that they load and unload themselves.

I played a short 30 minute set, backed by my friends Drew Pressman and Jack Wilson, which was nice for a change from the 3 to 4 hours that I usually have to fill. Then the lovely Laura Gibson took the stage with her partner Sean Ogilvie and seduced the audience with intimately stripped down versions of her songs, while telling uncharacteristic off kilter jokes and ending with an audience participated singalong.

Sean Lennon and Charlotte Kemp Muhl then took the stage after getting lost in Marfa for an hour trying to find the El Cosmico trailer that they were staying in. The paparazzi emerged with cameras and other modern devices. The duo ignored the cameras and played a beautiful set filled with tight melodic harmonies and compliments about West Texas. Charlotte later told us that Sean had a stomach ulcer and wasn't as energized as usual. Without an optimal performance to compare it to, I was satisfied. We had a great crowd that drove in from all over Texas for the show at Padres.

Since Lennon and crew kept asking about the Marfa Lights, we took them there after the show. He was really enamored by the beauty of the West Texas night under an almost full moon. I told him about the Big Bend National Park further South and the Terlingua Ghost Town and the Starlight Theatre where he should play when he comes back through next. His eyes widened at the thought and we exchanged information. He said that he loves those kinds of 'weird gigs'. Charlotte told me that with the hat I was wearing that I looked like a hassidic hipster and that I should adopt that identity. But I think that novel combination has already been used.

Another enjoyable evening in Far West Texas.

Slinging Mud with Emilie, Jason, and Dinozard

2011-01-07T09:20:00.000-08:00

Emilie Clepper fashions a prehistoric lizard sculpture, which we named Dinozard

The Big Bend area has been fortunate for a visit from good friend and incomparable songwriter and performer, Emilie Clepper, from Quebec, as she used the space and silence in the desert for inspirations and to finalize her forthcoming album. We found that our voices are a good match for harmonizing on each others' songs and we performed at a wedding together on New Years Day in the Ghost Town. We learned an Iron & Wine cover of Such Great Heights as well as a song from the Once soundtrack, at the request of the wedding party. I spent the last couple of days hanging out with Emilie and mutual friend Jason Greeley (Big Bend Park trail crew). I took them on the tour of Domeland, Don Bryant's museum of experimental architecture in the desert and they also helped me sling some stucco onto the dome at my place.

Jason lends a hand, literally, as he demonstrates his trowelessness.

Jason is the first person I've ever seen to use his bare hands to stucco cement. I told him that he is meant to be a cob builder (hand sculpted adobe) and I'm sure he will be.

As usual, the day ended with a stunning sunset

And less usual, a drink of fine whiskey sent as a gift from Xilia Faye!

Dinozard will probably outlast us all

Fried Asparagus Tacos

2010-12-28T18:49:00.000-08:00

December has been a very busy month for gigs in the area. The weekly shows this month up in the Chisos mountains have gone very well and have also been well attended by international and domestic travelers. It also means that I was able to save some money this month, which I'll need since January is going to be real slow. One can learn from the vegetation out here how to be resourceful. In times when there are showers, we must open out pockets. And in droughts, we must hunker down and ration what we've caught.
It is a comforting thought that the money I make will trickle through my local community as I buy groceries, eat out at locally owned restaurants, buy hardware and building supplies, and hire help when needed. As a musician, I try to position myself in the right places at the right times, and where there might be an audience for what I do. These past couple weekends, after performing Fridays in the Chisos Mountain Lodge, I have ventured north to play at the Gage Hotel in Marathon on Saturdays. The Gage has a gourmet restaurant called the Cenizo, that I would never be able to afford if it wasn't part of my payment for services rendered. Being a vegetarian, the chef always makes me something special that is not on the menu. This time, he made me some fried asparagus tacos.

Nuclear Catchment

2010-12-13T12:16:00.000-08:00

solar reflection and digestion

Yesterday, I tagged along with my friends to a neighbor who is selling solar panels. Good quality solar panels, not the junky (though usable) Harbor Freight panels that I currently have two sets of. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to purchase a high quality panel at almost wholesale prices. And when I installed it today, I almost doubled my energy. I can now harvest 170 watts of solar power every hour, enough to run multiple computers, lights, radio, power tools, and even a refrigerator.

The weakest part of my system now is my battery bank. I have two decent deep cycle batteries. Good for now, but not enough to maximize storage of all of the energy that is now available. I may want to save all this sunshine for a rainy day.

One of the great things about a solar system is that you can add on incrementally, as you feel that you need more power, and as you can afford it. It is a marvelous investment with guaranteed dividends.

Moving Poo and Surprise Visitors

2010-12-08T19:12:00.000-08:00

Mark and Shannon

I was ready this morning for friends Mark and Shannon to come by to gather goat manure from Don's Domeland for the Community garden in Terlingua. What I wasn't expecting was an early arrival and surprise visit from...
long lost neighbors Keleigh and Thomas, with daughter Mattie in tow. They have been promising a return for two years now!

Zbenik, Mark, Shannon, Keleigh, Mattie, Thomas, Bones, and ?

We then all went to Jim and Anna's house in the works, and the Ballroom Brothers were reunited...

The Ballroom Brothers

It didn't take long for us to load up a truck load of poo (kid friendly way of saying that) and make a lot of poo jokes in the process. We then sat in the sun back at Earth Language and drank some hand ground Big Bend Coffee, and ate some of Shannon's homemade bread and jam.

UPS delivery

UPS then drove up in a huge truck to deliver a little light switch after Amazon.com separated my one big order into many little orders to expedite delivery time. I would have been happy to wait for the one big order if they had asked.

The Peaks of Being a Musician

2010-12-06T13:29:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite songwriters, Johann Wagner (Austin, TX), joined me for a couple of shows in the Big Bend area. We were slightly rusty as a duo, since it had been about a year since we toured together, but it didn't take long to find our stride.

The morning after our show in the Big Bend, we hiked Lost Mine Trail to the summit of one of the Chisos mountains. After a deep breath of cool mountain air, Johann mentioned that this kind of experience is one of the perks of being a musician. I corrected him.

We performed at the Starlight Theater the following night to a large audience of Marfans, who were there for Adam Bork's bachelor party. Mr. Bork owns and runs the famous Food Shark in Marfa. It was a good time.

Insulated

2010-11-23T19:32:00.000-08:00

My little shed is more like a little cabin now that it is fully insulated, thanks to my friend and local musician/carpenter for hire, Jim Keaveny. Thanks also to a full house at the Starlight Theater on Monday night and a generous audience which helped me to afford this last installment of the winterization process.

Carpenter Jim Keaveny

Superstars Raina Rose and Drew Pressman also paid a visit this weekend and performed at the Starlight Theatre. Lucky us.

Raina Rose and Drew Pressman

Touring locally in December

2010-11-19T18:21:00.003-08:00

Some gig opportunities have finally panned out around my region and just in the nick of time, financially speaking that is. While music venues in large cities or saturated music scenes book many months in advance, out here it is the opposite. The venues, (restaurants, hotels, bars) book their music only when they know for certain that they will have high occupancy, and it is not uncommon to be booked for a gig the day of the show. It's like being on call and re-applying for my job every day.

The logistics behind each gig is a full time job if I count the promotional aspect of it (designing and printing flyers), and being my own roadie, sound guy, and merch person. I also have to write and practice the songs when there is time left over. I'm not complaining. I'm just letting you know why I'm not finished with my building yet. And if I wasn't doing all of the work to sustain my own creative endeavors, I'd be putting in all that work into someone else's.

My music calendar for the rest of the year has shaped up fairly well. I will be performing every Friday in December at the Chisos Mountain Lodge in Big Bend National Park, one of my favorite gigs. The Starlight Theater is open again and I will be playing several shows there, as well as the Gage Hotel in Marathon.

Here is the link to my calendar.

One of the great things about performing music in a tourist location is that it is like being on tour, playing to different people from all over the world each night, but instead of having to drive or fly long distances, I can stay in one spot while the audience does the traveling. I also don't have to space out my shows months apart to avoid the locals getting tired of my music.

Terlingua House Concert with Jack Wilson

2010-11-16T19:32:00.000-08:00

Jack Wilson

There have been many conversations recently about setting up a house concert in Terlingua, and we finally did. Thanks to the Hunnicut family (Greg and Stephanie) for hosting us in a fantastic desert setting. I would say that the first house concert was a success.

House Concert @ 248

It was a starry, and chilly night with a healthy campfire, good company, and fans of music who usually don't make it out to the smoky bars. Yes, smoking is still allowed in restaurants and bars in Terlingua. While that is the attraction for some, a 3 or 4 hour gig can really take a toll on a folk singer who's lungs and eyes aren't used to the indoor pollution for an extended amount of time in rooms without good ventilation.

My friend Jack Wilson, who recently moved to Austin, TX from Seattle, WA joined me for 2 sets in the small desert amphitheater. It felt good. It also felt chilly and so we bolted after the show and headed for the hot springs in the national park.

The following night, we had a fun show at the historical Gage hotel in Marathon, TX.

Greg recorded the audio from the show. Here are a couple of tracks:

Out of Bed from Greg Hunnicutt on Vimeo.

Dirt and Stone from Greg Hunnicutt on Vimeo.

And a video of Jack practicing a new song:

Plums from Dishwater

2010-11-05T07:15:00.000-07:00

I woke up yesterday morning and found that my kale starts have been eaten! It was either a rabbit, or the quail that have been showing up around here every morning. I was bummed. I waited a day too long before deciding it was time to protect them with a barrier of some sort.

I drove to Alpine as planned, to get more insulation for the shed, as winter is approaching. My neighbors Ben and Vanessa were generous to give me their leftover insulation from their own project, and it covered over half of my 120 sq. foot ceiling. That got the ball rolling.

While in Alpine, I decided to stop at a plant nursery that has always interested me. They had some fruit trees for sale, which also interested me. Plums, nectarines, cherries, apples, and pears. I bought a healthy looking plum tree for $25 and this made me feel much better about losing my kale this morning.

It also makes me feel better to have an organism that will take my used dishwater and give me juicy plums. I feel that most trees, especially ones that produce food, are a form of water catchment and storage rather than water wasters.

The plant enthusiast at the nursery informed me that the fall season is the best time to plant a new tree. He also thinks that the plum tree should do well here in the desert, as long as it gets enough water. I figure that I have enough grey water (dish and shower water) for this plum tree, plus maybe one more fruit tree. Pear maybe? During the times when I tour, I'll have to set up an automatic timer attached to my hose from the cistern. When the tree needs the most water, in the summer, is when we get our rains.

The other day I asked Don if he is going to can all of his ripe tomatoes before the winter intrudes. He recited an old proverb that I had never heard, "Eat what you can. What you can't, you can."

Domania!

2010-11-03T17:33:00.000-07:00

A small team from Marathon Texas came by a couple of weeks ago to borrow Don's dome frames for a new structure at the Marathon hostel. Whereas I had to transport the dome frame piece by piece on top of my volvo, the Marathon crew demonstrated the portability of the dome frame by coming prepared with a trailer so that they could get all of the frames in one go to Marathon, about 90 miles away. They are using Don's design for a gazebo type structure that will be finished in papercrete. You can track their progress here.

The beauty of Don's design is that the same frame can be used over and over and over again and finished out in many different ways.

Vidrios de Ojinaga

2010-10-30T09:44:00.000-07:00

ride to Ojinaga with Don, James Jackson, and Bubba

I needed some windows cut, asked around, and the consensus was that the best and least expensive window cutters were right across the border in Ojinaga. And so yesterday we went.

I was all set to drive Don, James, and I, but then James couldn't find a dog sitter and we ended up taking Bubba with us in James' truck.

Ojinaga is a small but bustling Mexican town which doesn't have the border effect of Juarez or other border towns. It is quite peaceful, safe, and everyone is friendly and jolly. This is why Don loves any chance to go.

When we first got to Mexico, we gained an hour even though the Sun was in the same place. This was beneficial since we had a late start and had a lot to do. We went right to the window specialists and they quoted me a whopping $30 to have 6 windows cut. We shook on it and then we were off to make the shopping rounds...

Ojinaga Bakery

One can't go to Ojinaga without a visit to the Bakery. It is just not acceptable. We hunted for the empanadas with pumpkin in them, and some mouth melting pastries. Even after paying, I felt like a shoplifter when walking away with a big brown bag of goodies. Next, we went to the fruiteria, loaded up on queso, bananas, avocados without the seeds, and other items that we are allowed to bring back over the border. James showed me where to buy Mexican roasted coffee beans in bulk, and a bottle of sotol for a friend.

Cesar's guitar

We went back to collect my windows, and Cesar, the owner of the wood shop next door and brother of the owner of the glass shop showed us his one of a kind hand made 12 string. He told me that his band was looking for a banjo player and asked me if I played. Cesar can't go into the United States even though he gets a lot of requests for carpentry work on that side of the border. Don asked him, "Wouldn't it be great if we could all just come and go as we pleased?"

Ojinaga Park

Our last stop before heading through the portal back to the United States of America was a small park filled with eucalyptus trees so that we can eat our peaches, avocados with seeds, and other items that we are not allowed to bring back. James told me about the time that he and Don stopped there at the park to boil 60 eggs after finding out that they weren't allowed to bring their raw eggs back across the border. They made a stove with a gallon can and used sticks form the park to fire it.

City Folk

2010-10-26T19:44:00.000-07:00

the trail ends here

Whenever I get visitors out here, it is a great excuse to visit the National Park and other area sights and also put my visitors to work. Earlier in the week, my friend Chad from Austin made a return trip to scout out land in the area. He also helped for a day on the dome. Stuccoing is more fun with a friend. On the other days, I have MPR to keep me company as well as podcasts and Pandora.

Then on the weekend, my sister showed up with 3 friends. We went for a hike in the Chisos, and they didn't do too badly for city girls who were recovering from two nights in Marfa. I made sure that they were well hydrated. We had a grand old time.

Today, I worked solo with MPR keeping me informed about the happenings in the world. I talked to Don on the phone and he let me know about a new idea that he had for a huge ferrocement water container that will also be nice to look at when compared to the plastic cisterns that are all over around here. Don loves to start new projects. He can use a small team to help him finish them though. Any volunteers?

Big Bend Bugs

2010-10-24T17:41:00.000-07:00

Today, I decided to install a bug screen on my front door. There are some unique (and large) bugs in the Big Bend area, but I don't like them crawling up my leg or jumping in my face.

A curious tarantuala examines my front porch

A resident alien

Texas Lubber. They are prolific at the moment, but will vanish soon, as their eggs are planted in the ground, waiting for the perfect conditions to once again make this land theirs.

Jiminy? Is that you?

Boquillas Singer

2010-10-22T16:37:00.000-07:00

There is a promising rumor that the border at Boquillas will once again open be open to Americans and Mexicans who wish to explore each others' cultures. Until then, this man's voice reverberates back and forth between both countries, as he stands on the edge of the Rio Grande, singing at the top of his lungs, ignoring the perceived borders.

Marathon2Marathon

2010-10-17T11:10:00.000-07:00

It was a fun but exhausting weekend. I decided to run the 10K portion of the Marathon 2 Marathon, a Boston qualifying event in Far West Texas. I drove up the night before, where there was a pre race dinner at the Gage Hotel. I asked the new entertainment coordinator if they were interested in having live music there this Fall Season being that I had some good gigs there earlier this Summer. We figured that right then and there would be a perfect occasion, so I set up there in the courtyard and played to a mostly fit crowd of spaghetti eaters.

In that crowd, was my friend Aaron from Terlingua, the leader of the now mostly dissipated Terlingua running group. He was there to run the entire Marathon, but had halted his training during the hot Terlinguan Summer. On top of that, he drank 11 beers at the Gage, the night before the Marathon. Those extra carbs must have helped because he placed 4th overall and ran a 3 hour and 20 minute marathon, an unbelievable time for a first marathon or any marathon. Some people are just born to run.

After the race, I drove to the Thirsty Goat in Lajitas, over 100 miles away to play another last minute show to a full house. By the end of the day, I was exhausted, but I still managed to catch a bit of the Terlingua Music Bash. There sure is a lot going on in this tiny town.

Work Continues

2010-10-15T09:44:00.000-07:00

Earth Language sunrise on 10-15-10

Don had the sniffles this week and so he stayed home to rest. Whenever he is under the weather, he diagnoses himself with distemper.

This past week, I have been working by myself, stuccoing the outside of the dome. It is like icing a cake compared to stuccoing the interior. Gravity has decided to be my friend. It is more than satisfying to see the rusty metal bars and wire erased from sight with each brush stroke. I have been staring at it for so long.

As usual, this week I have been happily distracted with music events in the area and small gatherings with friends. My closest neighbors Ben and Vanessa are back in town to work on their house as well and it is motivating. We are a neighborhood under construction!

Don came by today in his functional, but glitchy sedan and was very excited about the progress on the dome. He told me that he'd give anything for a Model T Ford. I made him some french toast and he went on his way, holding the front door slightly open as he drove in lieu of his broken window.

Chinati 10-10-10

2010-10-10T18:27:00.000-07:00

I drove up to Marfa to perform music at the historical Paisano hotel during the Chinati open house festival, Marfa's biggest weekend. I performed three sets on a beautiful Saturday evening to a packed courtyard of friendly art enthusiasts. They were kind to me. It is satisfying to play for a crowd interested in hearing original works rather than the familiar standards because that is what I do.

After the show, I was energized but tired at the same time. My neighbors in Terlingua let me stay at "Trailer Marfa", their Marfa getaway home. I was planning to take a short nap, but slept through the night, missed some potential drunken interactions, and woke up the next morning to meet up for breakfast with a couple of friends, which ended up morphing into lunch instead.

I strolled over to the Chinati Foundation to check out a new exhibit, but as usual gravitated to Donald Judd's permanent aluminum box installations, a perfect sanctuary that is complimented by the reflections of Marfa's signature cartoon sky.

Another highlight included a celebration of the old fashioned clothesline, which also featured my neighbor John Wells' pedal powered washing machine.

A good weekend.

Stucko

2010-10-08T15:58:00.000-07:00

Yep, more stucco. We'll be stuck doing this for a little while longer as we round out the edges inside the dome. Don is quite the perfectionist when it comes to the details. It is labor intensive, but also meditative, and doesn't cost anything, so I don't mind. This building material should last 100 years at least. Once we get to the outside stucco portion, it will be easy because we will have gravity on our side. But on the inside, we are used to having stucco fall on our face and in our eyes.

It is nice to get back into the groove, especially on these perfectly climate controlled days. While we work, Don gives me short but numerous history lessons. He also has a very good understanding about what the economy is doing, especially for someone who doesn't have a television, the internet, or a newspaper. He thinks that people should invest in silver right now. While everyone is scrambling for gold, and while it is still going up in value, it is very expensive to buy into it right now. Silver on the other hand, is at a low point, but is about to skyrocket he says. I told him that rusty rebar is worth more to me right now than silver or gold , because I could build something with it. I think that anyone with a mortgage or any kind of debt should pay them off before investing in anything that might have a perceived value but no function.

I don't know what this whisky translucent flower is that is seeding on my property, but I'll call it a Dandelion Tree in the meantime. Can anyone identify it? I can see it on my property from a couple of miles away as it shimmers in the sun.

In other news, I relocated a black widow yesterday and then saw another one today (same one?). Perhaps I need to relocate her a little further away.

the gift of heat and hygiene

2010-10-08T07:38:00.000-07:00

The UPS truck drove up to my dome yesterday with two unexpected packages, an indoor propane heater and a new solar shower bag. Some sneaky person sent me these couple of items off of my Amazon wishlist. I will get to the bottom of this and find out exactly who it was. In the meantime, thank you for these two luxuries. It might save my life this winter. THANK YOU!

Work Trade

2010-10-06T18:55:00.000-07:00

Now that I am back from tour, the weather is good, and I have some time, it is back to building. Yesterday, I helped Mr. Don Bryant with an adobe project at his place. It is good to see the old guy excited about working with earth materials instead of cement and metal for a change. With adobe, one doesn't have to worry about getting cement powder in the pores of your skin or in your lungs, as well as not needing to clean off your tools at the end of the day. We acknowledged how much faster the work goes with two people instead of one. Depending on the chemistry, it is usually more than twice as fast, which is why it is helpful to form work trades as much as possible.

This perimeter footing is literally just dirt from the ground, as is, mixed with water. Don noted that with the economy souring, we are alright, because even though we are dirt poor, at least we have dirt. "You can build a house with it". I responded, "If we have dirt to build a house, doesn't that make us filthy rich?"

Today, we resumed work on the dome. It took almost the whole day just to re-prepare, locate all the tools, and get the materials ready (sifted sand, fly ash, etc). We did manage to get some stuccoing done though. It has been a number of months since any work has been done on the dome, so it was good to have an easy day to get back in the mode.

Exploring the Big Bend

2010-10-02T08:39:00.000-07:00

Having a friend visit is always a good reason to go exploring Big Bend. This last Summer, I traveled through a half dozen National parks, including Yellowstone, The Grand Canyon, and Glacier National Park, and I must say that Big Bend holds its own when compared to these more well known parks. Big Bend is the least visited National Park in the country, but has the highest percentage of return visitors. Those who make it all the way here, come back for more. The last few days, I did a lot of hiking, including 14 miles in the Chisos within 24 hours. The 14 miles included my first venture up Emory Peak, the highest summit in the Big Bend. Here are some photos:

a glimpse into the window

the window in Big Bend

On the Window trail

Casa Grande in The Chisos

The Emory Peak trail was full of Butterflies

The top of Texas (Emory Peak)

iPhone app confirms that yes, we're high up there

The new improved Emory Peak Trail

The famous but sparsely traveled River Road

The River Road is as green as Ireland after the summer rains

Closed Canyon

Closed Canyon Reflection

Starlight Theater Closes / River Trip

2010-09-27T10:46:00.001-07:00

On the Starlight Theatre's last night ever, I ran into Billy, my river guide friend and he asked me to join him on a river trip the next day for the maiden voyage of his new boat through the Santa Elena Canyon. In the few years that I have been here, I had not done the full 21 mile downstream trip through the Canyon, I am almost embarrassed to say. Since I had to wake up before 7 am, I wasn't able to stay at the Starlight after midnight for the 50 cents any drink in the house deal and If I did, I don't think that I would have made the river trip.

And what an adventure it was! And lucky was I, being that this trip is usually out of my financial capabilities. Right now the river is high, which makes the trip easy and more spectacular. The river gets lower and lower through the Fall until eventually this particular trip is not offered as a one day trip any longer. I recommend to anyone who visits the Big Bend, to look into boating down this river.

I didn't bring a camera, but there were some pictures taken and I'll post one or two if they should ever surface.

Back on Ruby Road

2010-09-25T08:48:00.000-07:00

I'm back in the Big Bend after an epic summer tour up to the NW and back over the span of over two months on the road. It was a fantastic journey but I'm glad to be back in the post monsoon green pastures of the Big Bend, here on Ruby Road.

I am a bit nervous about music opportunities down here at the moment. Usually I perform regularly at the Starlight Theater, but it is closing its doors this weekend indefinitely. The other venues in town don't have enough capacity yet to hire musicians for the season. I am currently speaking with Big Bend National Park about playing shows up there in the Chisos this season. We'll see what pans out.

Luckily, I don't have rent or a mortgage out here, nor electric or water bills, as all of those basics are free as long as the sun shines and the rain falls, but I still need food and to be able to invest in the materials needed to continue building my studio. I also have to pay for communication (phone, internet, etc). While some folks move out here after they have already built up a nest egg of some kind, I have to make my income as I go, and it consumes a significant amount of my time. No complaints, I think it is a good balance and I get to spend my energy on things I believe in.

If you have too much money that you don't know what to do with, I do have a contribution page here. I figure that instead of getting paid indirectly from advertisers, that perhaps a reader or two might want to contribute directly.

The good weather and downtime will hopefully get me back on the dome studio project. There are some things that I can do that require labor instead of money and so I'll focus on those.

I'm looking forward to being out here through the Fall season.

Where Water Falls from the Sky

2010-06-22T08:34:00.001-07:00

I came back home from the Kerrville Folk Festival to a full tank of pure rain water. I didn't have to haul 8 pound per gallon canisters from the water plant at 10 cents a gallon. Nor did I have to pay any municipality to pipe it to me. IT LITERALLY JUST FELL FROM THE SKY!

Now, if oil fell from the sky, which could very well happen here during the hurricane season, you'd catch it right?

Just sayin'.

2010-05-11T13:48:00.000-07:00

The Desert in Bloom

2010-03-28T10:31:00.000-07:00

A Bee In A Bonnet (Click to Enlarge)

Ocotillo Blossoms

Terlingua Chihuahua Races

2010-03-09T09:33:00.000-08:00

Ruby Road Sign, Snow in Terlingua

2010-03-02T16:36:00.000-08:00

My nearest neighbors, Ben and Vanessa delighted me when they brought their hand made Ruby Road sign to Terlingua and installed it at our intersection. They are the only other residents, part time or not, on Ruby Road. I named the street after my grandmother, and coincidentally, Ruby is also the name of Vanessa's car, as well as my red Volvo.

Ben and Vanessa, who live most of the time in Fredericksburg, have a great house in progress very close to my place. I got lucky.

Friends from Austin, The Lonesome Heroes, came by Earth Language for dinner on their way out of town after rockin the Starlight Theater. We talked about the status of the music industry, outdated concepts, and new opportunities in the modern musical landscape.

And then it snowed....

This is the most snow I have seen out here. I had a temporary igloo.

I went by Don's place, and he had one too.

Ruby was covered....

The snow melted by afternoon, as I was headed to Mexico to visit my friends Abe and Josie, which will be the subject of the next post.

My Afternoon Run Measured with an iPhone

2010-02-11T18:17:00.000-08:00

It sure is nice to have a gravel exercise track right outside my door, where I don't have to worry about traffic, noise, or pollution. Here is the 3 mile run/walk routine I did this afternoon after the sun came out after a rainy winter day:

(Click the picture to enlarge)

Instead of 4 times around for a mile, as is dizzyingly typical for an exercise track, this one is once around for 3 miles,. I used an iPhone App called Runkeeper which monitors my location, speed, etc and then uploads it and gives statistics. This run seemed mostly flat, but it is nice to be able to look back and see the slight changes in elevation and other interesting data. After being near sea level for the last couple of weeks, the sudden altitude out here had me out of breath pretty quickly.

Water, Sun, Food, Bicycles, Friends

2010-01-13T13:11:00.000-08:00

I've been back out in Terlingua for a few weeks and am excited to have accomplished all of the things I wanted to get done this time around. With help from friends and 'experts', I was able to optimize my solar system, organize my new temporary living space, and most importantly, set up water catchment.

Now that I have a shed with an angled roof, it opened up an opportunity to install my solar panels on my roof as as well as set up water catchment.

It turns out that Ryan, the solar guy is equally proficient with water catchment as he is with solar electricity. He says that plumbing and and wiring are more or less the same thing.

Ryan's partner in crime, Diego...

I got the catchment set up just in time. There is a 60% chance of rain in the next few days. I just need to leave out some cement bags to seal the deal.

My one almost dead battery has made a bit of a comeback. I can run my interior light all night if I want and since I have converted my modem, router, and laptop computer to DC, I can run everything without the energy drain of an inverter. During these winter days, if it is sunny, I can use and charge my computer between the hours of about 10 am and 3 pm. Once I have a full charge, my computer can work unplugged for about 3 hours.

Since my iPhone hardly draws any power, I use that for streaming radio and podcasts and reading the New York Times. I have even watched movies on it. I have one switch inside the shed that turns the whole network on and off.

The nights here have been COLD. One morning, I woke up to 18 degrees INSIDE the shed. I was very warm, however, wrapped in a down sleeping bag, two other down comforters, and a ski suit. I am looking into some sort of non toxic DIY insulation solution for the shed. I am also looking into getting a small propane heater suitable for indoor use. It doesn't get any colder out here than this past week, so I feel that it was a good test and quite manageable.

Other highlights from this most recent visit included...

My first visit to the brand new Terlingua Farmer's Market...

Eating fresh Terlingua Greens from the Farmer's Market...

Riding mountain bicycles through the desert under full moonlight with my Denton friend Remington Pohlmeyer...

And hanging out with my new neighbors Jim and Anna, also musicians who are building a house out here.

I got the privilege of helping them raise a wall...

12/25/09

2009-12-26T11:42:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning to 25 degrees, but I was wrapped warmly in my sleeping bag. There were some fragile ice crystals on my red wagon. Just to breathe on them erases them from existence. They quickly retreated with the emergence of the sun.

Just like last year, Santa came by to give me some candy. He told me that I was good enough. I don't think that he is as strict this far south.

Yesterday, my friend and local musician Jim Keaveny came by to lend me a hand with some shelves, furthering the spacial potential of this 120 square foot...cabin. I spent today organizing and adding a few more shelves.

It is nice to finally have complete protection from the wind and a door that I can open and close. This little shed, though not insulated, still manages to retain some of the heat from my little propane heater. It is probably due to the thermal mass created from all my belongings being crammed into a small space.

My one battery in my battery bank is almost dead. I can only use my computer when there is full sun, as my power is pretty much coming right off the panels, with the dead battery merely acting as a conduit. My one battery worked great for two years, but it is time to deposit a couple new batteries into the bank. My friend Ryan, the solar guy out here, tells me that the more batteries in the bank, the longer they all last, because they are all sharing the labor. Makes sense.

Radiant Floor

2009-11-13T17:23:00.001-08:00

Awhile back I was considering installing a radiant floor, as friends have highly recommended their inexpensive heating capabilities during the winter. Rusty, my neighbor, renewed that idea when he suggested the same and took it a step forwards by offering to help me install it. Rusty has some experience after installing radiant heating beneath his poured adobe floor on his own house. He happened to have some pex pipe on hand. Pex is a great durable water pipe that is also inexpensive. It's flexibility makes it easy to shape. The pipe will move hot water underneath the floor, which will then conduct through the floor and into the interior space, providing free heating in the winter. A solar water heater on the outside of the dome will provide the heating mechanism.

We only had half a day to start this process. Rusty was the foreman and my friend and songwriter Johann Wagner also leant a hand. Johann and I are currently on tour together, and so the poured adobe floor, which will cover the pex pipe and provide a plateau for bare feet, will have to wait.

Living in 120 Square Feet

2009-11-08T06:49:00.000-08:00

I am moving up in the world. I decided to send back the shipping container I have been renting and buy a shed. It is the first thing I have put on a credit card in years, but the monthly payments will be less than what I have been paying to rent a shipping container, and in a couple of years, I will own it. In fact, 88% of my monthly payment will go towards ownership. With the shipping container rental, only 0% went towards ownership. So technically I am not debt free anymore, but my situation is better and my monthly expenses a bit less.

When living in small spaces, it is important to think in cubic feet, rather than square feet. Believe it or not, inside this tiny shed I have an office, a kitchen, a sitting area, and a bedroom. Bunk beds, shelves, stackable containers, etc help to make the space more functional.

I was debating between purchasing a used shipping container or this shed. The shipping container is larger, more durable, and provides a 2^nd life for used material, but the shed won because it is more suitable for living in temporarily and the angled roof also has potential for water catchment and solar panel installation. I was also considering building one myself, but I have never built a shed and I needed something fast. Since I will be using the shed for water catchment, I was able to claim a tax exemption, saving me about $200.

The dome will be twice as big, and when I am able to move into it, the shed will be used as a guesthouse and storage area.

Kibbutz Lotan in the Arava Desert in Israel

2009-09-18T01:12:00.000-07:00

I had the privilege to visit Kibbutz Lotan in the Arava Desert in Israel, an area that hasn't received any significant rainfall in ten years. On average, less than an inch falls per year. Ground water, and a world famous permaculture program makes Lotan an oasis in the desert. Their Bustan Neighborhood is a prototype neighborhood, consisting of a dozen (so far) off-grid strawbale/adobe domes. These were built by the students and teachers of the Green Apprenticeship program. I stayed in one of their domes for two days during their very hot season. Here are some photos.

This is dome # 5, the one I stayed in
The inside of dome # 5
The Bustan Neighborhood
Lush gardens in an unlikely environment
A Desert Oasis
Children's playground...there are over 100 children at Kibbutz LotanMud tiled wall made by children at Kibbutz Lotan

Solar Oven Demonstration

Bathroom wall

Bottle Window
Mike Kaplan explaining the natural cycles and how Humans have strayed
Hebrew Class with Avi

update

2009-08-19T11:32:00.000-07:00

I skipped the summer in Terlingua this year and have been traveling instead. Highlights include the Kerrville Folk Festival and almost a month long visit to my former state of Oregon.

Here are a couple of photo albums from Oregon:

oregon1

oregon2

The heat seems to be following me everywhere I go, even reaching an

all time high in Portland of 108 degrees. I find that the heat is easier to take in the desert, because it is dryer and my body is not constantly trying to regulate between air conditioned buildings and an outside temperature that really isn't much higher than body temperature. Our bodies have an amazing ability to cool themselves off when given the chance.

Next month I'll be visiting Israel for the first time. I have some cousins there who I have never met. I will also be visiting Kibbutz Lotan, a community living in strawbale adobe domes and practicing permaculture.

I'll be back in Terlingua in October to play shows and work on the building.

Things have been going very well musically, which is one of the main reasons I left the 40 hour work week in the city and fled to the desert. Here is a picture from the Kerrville Folk Festival of the 3 Trevors (Myself, Trevor Smith, and Trevor Mills):

Reunited

2009-05-17T18:40:00.000-07:00

Don's 1st cousin, Ludelle, and two of her daughters, made the trek down here from Abilene to visit Don this weekend. After trying to locate Don for quite some time, they stumbled upon this blog during an internet search and contacted me a few weeks ago. It had been about 20 years since they had seen each other last. I can tell that they were related to Don, because they all had that same genuine compassion for those around them. We gave them the abbreviated tour of Terlingua and the more in depth tour of Domeland. I think that they were all quite impressed with Don's achievements and the word is that they will be back again in a month.

Here is Don explaining how his jig creates a template, which when assembled, provides the frame for the dome. The dome in the background is about 1000 square feet on the inside.

Don talking geometry with Ludell's daughter, Janet.

Brown Recluse Bite

2009-05-11T18:06:00.000-07:00

"How are you doing this morning, Don?"

"Very Bad! We must go to Ojinaga to see a doctor about this spider bite. I think it was a brown recluse. My whole arm is swelling up!"

And so I picked up Don, and off to Mexico we went. Don doesn't have health insurance and so a $20 doctor's visit across the border is quite appealing. He has a certain doctor there that he likes.

Don couldn't quite remember where the doctor's office was, or even what his name was, and so he wondered around the town showing people his arm and asking questions in broken Spanish. We finally found a woman who spoke perfect English who led us to a very modern building and in it we found Don's Doctor. The visit only took about 15 minutes, Don was prescribed some antibiotics, and then we ate lunch and went grocery shopping. I also took advantage and bought some cemento, which is half the price of cement in the USA.

On the drive home, we listened to Michael Pollan's The Omnivores Dilemma on audiobooks. Since Don is hard of hearing, I panned the sound over to his side of the car and cranked it. Don was excited about Pollan's viewpoint on food production and kept nodding and agreeing with the points made.

110 in the shade

2009-05-07T22:37:00.000-07:00

I never would have thought that 110 degrees would feel pleasant, but it does in the desert, as long as there is shade. Don and I stuccoed for most of the day at above 100 degrees. It sounds hot, but I'd take it over 85 degrees and humid. The nights are still cooling off into the 60s.

One way to keep cool out here is to dip your shirt in a bucket of water, ring it out, and then put it back on. It is COLD, even when using warm water. This is due to evaporative cooling. This form fitting AC unit is good for about 30 minutes before it has to be recharged. A siesta is also a good way to avoid the hottest part of day, though I still have yet to adopt that pastime.

But the BEST way to cool off around here is at Agua Fria, a year round cold spring about 12 miles from my place. Don and I went there during the hottest part of the day today. Heaven!

Don's Cousin, Ludell, also in her 80s, tracked him down through this blog. She is coming down here next weekend to reunite with Don after about 20 years.

Anyways, I am getting pretty good at stuccoing.

Brown Coat Continued

2009-04-25T12:50:00.000-07:00

I have been back out here in Terlingua for all of March and April, mostly playing music around the area. Now that the season is coming to an end, I am finding some time to get back to the building. This last Thursday, we had a great team to work on and almost finish up the brown coat inside the dome. Don, Mundo, and myself developed a nice rhythm and got the hardest part done (the center of the dome, where the stucco can fall down on you as you apply it). Since we aren't using any power tools, all the stucco from beginning to end of this project is being mixed by hand, rather than a power mixer. We are also using our own aggregate in our stucco mixture, found locally for free, rather than a pre-mix such as quikrete. In order to prepare for a full workday such as today, all of the supplies must be gathered beforehand. The sand is gathered a couple of miles from my land, where it settles on the road from nearby natural deposits. The road becomes difficult to drive on when the wind piles the loose sand in heaps on the road. By gathering the sand, it also clears the road so that it is a bit easier to drive on. Since I don't have access to a conventional pickup truck, I use my volvo, Ruby, pretty much like a truck by putting the seats down and then covering the back of the wagon with a heavy duty tarp. There is almost as much room in there as a pickup truck. The sand then has to be filtered very finely. I screen it with both lath and mosquito netting. We also have to make sure that there is enough water on hand. Stucco gets very thirsty for the stuff.

Don and Mundo are both expert stuccoers, with very different techniques. I learned a lot from watching them as I mixed stucco. I felt pretty comfortable with stuccoing the scratch coat since it doesn't have to be perfect and gets covered up. But for the brown coat, the part that get seen, I wanted more experienced hands to do the task.

A long day makes for a good night's sleep, however, I learned later that my slumber was only a few feet away from a rattle snake, the first one I have seen on my land.

A Bizarre Dream in Far West Texas

2009-04-19T19:54:00.000-07:00

I had a very lucid and bizarre dream that about 25 extraordinary beings , mostly musicians, from far away places such as Austin, New York, and even as far as Denmark, showed up here in Far West Texas and enlisted me in their adventure.

Find the rest of the story here.

Wired Up to the Sun

2009-04-02T20:49:00.000-07:00

I don't have access to the grid out here, but I do have access to the Sun, which is a more secure source of electricity in the long run.

My friend George helped me wire up the outlets in the dome over the last couple of days. I have never wired up a house before, so I wanted someone with experience to be in charge of this part.

When Emile visited last year, we installed the

outlet boxes (the easy part).

We decided to run both Romex wire (standard housing wire for AC outlets) and DC wiring through the same conduit that wraps around the outside of the dome. That way, I have a choice whether or not to plug in AC powered appliances or equipment directly or less energy intensive 12 volt DC versions. Once the outside of the dome is stuccoed, the conduit won't be accessible anymore, so we felt it important to have the option for both AC and DC, as they both have positives and negatives.

We spent much of today driving to find the pieces that we need. We went by George and his wife Anita's property to get a couple of connectors that we were missing. They are also getting started here as well, and have built a temporary structure and outdoor shower (pictured here with their dusty puppy, Lulu).

I learned a lot about wiring by watching George. And I got to install a couple of outlets, as well as the DC powered light in the center of the dome. It seems pretty easy once you've done it a few times. The dome's power will be on two circuits. My current inverter doesn't quite have enough power to move the current evenly through the thick Romex wire, and so until I get a stronger inverter, I will use DC power.

Up till now, I have been running power right from the battery bank, plugging everything directly into an inverter. George pointed out that my connections were messy on my battery bank and stressed that those should all be tight so that it won't short out the circuit or fry the battery or something. He showed me some easy ways to fix those connections.

I've spent about $500 so far for solar panels, an inverter, conduit, connectors, etc and that seems to be enough for running the basics right now (computer, internet modem and wifi, lights, radio, and rechargeables. I am sure I will have to upgrade soon.

Other than those expenses for infrastructure, my electric bill each month continues to be $0!

Ocotillo Explosions, Dark Blue Bonnets, And Lions

2009-03-27T17:27:00.000-07:00

We have been hard hit this year by an explosive spring flower demonstration. The Ocotillo blooms make it look like Van Gogh went mad with a paintbrush, dotting the landscape with reflective orange and red highlights, matching the color of the desert sunsets. And the Crazy Gaint Bluebonnets add a dark blue, almost purple hue to reflect the morning sky.

In other news, a couple of days ago, a friend and I spotted a Mountain Lion pacing around in front of its cave, the 2nd lion I have seen out here so far.

This is certainly the Texas that most people are unfamiliar with.

Domain Change

2009-03-10T20:20:00.000-07:00

I am back in Terlingua for a couple of months. I'll be playing lots of shows and working on the studio a bit. Last night I played at the Starlight Theater to a large and appreciative spring break crowd. I appreciated them right back.

It has been raining for the last couple of hours (first rainfall in several months) and the smell of creosote is very potent. It smells similar to sage, which happens to be one of favorite smells. All the folks out here who are catching their own water are very satisfied right now.

For those of you who have bookmarked www.earth-language.com, I am working on fixing the forwarding. I recently changed domain hosts and so there is a bit of a lag. I also purchased www.earthlanguage.net, which will probably become the default domain name for this blog. Feel free to bookmark it. I tried to purchase earthlanguage.com awhile back, but there is a cybersquatter who owns it and wants $10,000 for it. earthlanguage.NET comparatively was a bargain at only $12.99 .