Work on the chimney exterior (needed to be finished before the roof), 05/05/06:

Freshly tilled garden with mulched garlic, 05/07/06:

Smoking the bees, 05/07/06:  

Finishing off the chimney top,  05/19/06:

Nodding trillium near the riverbank, 05/15/06: 

Bumblebee on dandelion, 05/21/06: 

David's homemade hot water coil in the fireplace, 05/31/06: 
 

Installing drains for rainwater (from gutters to sand filter), 06/05/06: 

Finished chimney (made of rocks we collected),  06/06/06:  

If you don't have a scarecrow, you need to act scary, 06/11/06:

Bees are thriving, 06/11/06:

Filter bed for rainwater catchment system, 06/09/06:
 

Completed fireplace (mortar on the hearth still fresh), 06/15/06 
 

We made a blender that's powered by a bike, 06/25/06:

And we shared our road with the neighbor's steers, 06/21/06:  

Mixing clay (subsoil), sand, and a bit of Portland cement, 06/27/06:

The first compressed earth blocks emerge, 06/27/06:

And a closeup of the front, 06/30/06:

Blocks are piling up inside, 07/06/06:

And outside (note nearly finished roof & windows on 2nd floor), 07/06/06:

Inevitably, equipment repair has been necessary, 07/07/06: