Tenting and sleeping at Destiny can be somewhat difficult due to the sloping nature of the property. Last summer, when I decided to alter my life and pass the majority of the summer on the Land, I knew I needed a better sleeping situation. So I quietly constructed a 10 x 10 foot tent platform according to the guidelines set forth from Land Use. I say quietly because "living" at Destiny is raising some issues and concerns for members of the community. Trust, exclusion, and ownership issues come up when some of us reside. I'd chosen to come under the radar to avoid public scrutiny or sentiment. So, most people don't know that I'm living on this cool little tarped platform off the meadow. Michel, on the other hand, completed a structure on a platform begun by Dhamiboo in 2006. He was not so quiet about his plans. The results for us individually were comfortable nights sleeping off the ground in fairly dry conditions. Michel was confronted with some of the community concerns and responses mentioned above.

Daisy's platform

This summer, I took the month of July off from my professional work in NYC to work at the Sanctuary. It was great to come back to my little platform in the woods and set up home for the season.   

Others have followed suit this season by using wood left over from our milling projects.

Clockwise are Matt's red tent, Autumn in front or his tent in the newly named Tawdry Meadows (where the septic system resides), Peter at his new platform east of the Crone Circle on the Old Drag, and Mr. Pendergast's platform.

 
Matt Bucy writes in the FCD worklist report:

"friday, peter and i put together a couple tent platforms. it took about a 1/2 hour a piece to assemble the frame and then we lugged them up to their sites with the help of moss and daisy and nailed boards to the frames to create the platform. we made them of green hemlock i bought from a local sawmill. i'm pretty sure some of the boards were only a day or two out of the mill so they were heavy! the platforms are propped up on rocks to keep them clear of the ground. i must say, it's awfully nice to sleep on the level. when we get to thinning the forest as part of our forestry program, we ought to have plenty of timber to mill for more of these. they're easy to make and light on the land. meanwhile, glitter and daisy kept up work on the porch posts, carving the tenons and reductions expertly. michel took up kitchen duties and learned how to make white sauce and used it in an innovative way with eggs and rice. it was delicious. "

With the month of June coming to an end (and hopefully all of the rain) the Destinettes will be picking up on the work weekends. Work will begin in earnest at the Governance gathering with efforts focusing on the porch rafters. If we're able to get that finished up will be even closer to getting the upper clerstory windows in and nothing beats having more space to hang out on a rainy day. 

We'll also start work on framing up the walls for the bathroom, shower and mechinical room. Obviously, once we get the walls framed in we can focus on getting the shower and toilet and wash basin set up. If you have skills to offer on this be in touch with Daisy or Bambi. 

We could also use a good chainsaw weekend with all of the downer trees and widow makers lurking out there. If it goes well we'll look into renting a splitter.  

Work weekend schedule for July: 

July 3 - 6        Governance gathering (work on the porch rafters)

July 18 - 20    Work weekend (work on the rafters / maybe start on interior framing)

Jul 25 - Aug 3 Lammas gathering (rafters/ interior work/perhaps begin install of porch)    

Throughout July, Daisy will be around so folks who want to come up during the week to work can also come on up! 

Projects other than the rafters and interior framing need work, the gardens, trimming the meadow, dealing with downed trees, making more tent sites and improving trails are on-going efforts that you might want to plug into as well.  

Out In The Mountains 1986 – 2006

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Mountain Pride Media, the corporate body that put out Out In The Mountains, has re-emerged with a web-based site -- http://www.mountainpridemedia.org

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