Caveman Parenting: Busy Spring

I haven't posted in a couple of months. I guess I haven't made this blog a priority. As you parents know, the little ones can take up a lot of time, and of course there is getting the garden going. I have again tackled some big, time consuming projects in the yard. I always think that all I will have to do this next year is maintain my infrastructure, but then I think of something new to do.

Every weekend up through the last in April we ski at Arapaho Basin, where I teach. I have yet to post about our experience with teaching our 3 year old to ski, and my thoughts on that. The post is mostly written. I will try to get it out soon.

Caveboy did get in several days of skiing at Arapaho Basin, and even a couple of day at Taos, New Mexico.

In the lift-line with Momma

I have posted a few pictures on the Facebook page, but I haven't yet written about this year's silly time-consuming project: fixing and expanding the hoop house. The plastic ripped over the winter and I took this opportunity to expand. I was lucky enough to trade for 30 feet of new plastic, but at 28 feet long I would need to make a wall on either end. I saw something about building with wattle and daub, and cob earlier this year and decided it would be fun to build an earthen wall on the shady side of the structure.

I had no idea how much work it was to do this. I don't know how many hours I spend mixing clay/dirt and straw, and piling it up. Part of the reason for doing it was that it would be cheaper than plywood, but the cheapest straw bales I could find were $8.50, and I needed two. So right there I saved exactly no money. But we all built some character.... and a little under half a wall. It turns out that some light does enter from that side and I wanted to take advantage of that.

The start of the wattle

Caveboy doesn't actually like touching mud. Is he really my boy?

Bam Bam likes the mud, until he realizes its all over his hands.

The new look

The wall as I called it done. It will be nice to have the fan for the heat of the summer.

At three and a half, Caveboy is becoming a good help in the yard. He can actually move a bit of dirt with his shovel and wheelbarrow, and cleared all these sticks for the wattle on the wall.

Turning the soil in the beds with his own shovel

Cleaning sticks for the wattle of the wattle and daub wall

Raising wild boys comes with its share of dangers, bangs and crashes. Caveboy had his first couple of Urgent Care visits and his first stitches. Funnily enough these came from wrestling with the baby and climbing out of the pool, and not from jumping sofa gaps or crashing his bike.