Welcome to the Garden of Invasive Species, otherwise known as my backyard...
We've got ivy
and japanese knotweed (deliciously edible tho)
and lots and lots of Vinca Major!Not to mention, I compiled a thorough list with the help of my landscaping buddy, Ethan Rainwater. Here goes:
Ivy, Vinca Major, English Holly, Japanese Knotweed, English Laurel, Port. Laurel, Himalayan Blackberry, Dandelion, Wood Hyacinth, Sing. Hawthorn, Mazzard Cherry, and Norway Maple. Yikes!
So, I don't feel bad about changing this landscape and taking some of the heavy clay soil out of there for my next cob structure. Score!
Digging out a small retaining wall
Let's curve it to define spaces I'll actually want to use
We use up some leftover urbanite from the cob greenhouse project and have some fun with the lines we can create, nothing like getting nerdy and muddy with a fellow designer...
we find a little shiva statue in the ivy and give it a proper rebirth
soon to plant edible nasturiums and strawberries!
So, it's been a long time since my last post, the winter has been good--restful and yet productive, planning away the 2010 building season. I did manage to squeeze in some building time over the course of it however, and finally it is a project for myself! And a hardcore exercise in renovation! My folk's property in southern Oregon had this little run-down cabin on it, built some 60 years ago by a teenage boy who needed some room from the main little house. I believe all the wood used for it was logged and milled on site and the cardboard insulation is totally a tribute to the food that was popular in the 1950's. Our insurance company says we needed to fix 'em up or tear 'em down. And since this little cabin had just about the most character of anything on the whole place, we decide to fix it up and hire fellow builder, Sebastian Collet, for some carpentry assistance and the story unfolds... 
we find home-canned salmon and blackberries still sitting on the shelves! 
and all sorts of treaures
funky mushrooms grow on bits of wood beneath the steps
my mom and I frame out a 5 foot cedar deck using a ledger board
Sebastian does the dirty work, and tears off five layers of asphalt shingles!
and finally down to the skip sheathing
wait, yeah, how about let's get rid of that too!
we completely reframe the roof and north wall (which was sinking badly) 
the new beams and rafters extend to cover the new deck 
we use plywood as underlayment for the metal roofing
we put up a temporary railing for the insurance inspection, a more natural version is sure to replace it at some point
mom and I are so happy!
then on to some more fun things, we harvest scraggily oaks nearby to frame the porch and railing
Sebastian works it with a drawknife
we enjoy peeling the fresh poles
and then we ran out of time for November...
and four months later, we finally finish them, putting in another building session on the moon lodge
we notch the bases really cleverly...
just a slit with a circular saw to slip in the base and you can't even tell there's Simpson hardware in there
the top branching part of the poles gets notched to meet the rafters
classic bread cuts! 
it's looking so much better with those round poles branching up to the roofline. 
the rest of the railing soon to come, stayed tuned