a burly guy

IMGP4139, originally uploaded by thaddeusss.

this is paul claussen, a woodworker from bandon and friend of ernie's. he makes incredible furniture... I was tempted to post a photo of his work, but I like this portrait of him better.

please excuse his freedom

IMGP4096, originally uploaded by thaddeusss.

this is simon, one of the interns at cobville, sitting on the hot bench in the myrtle house, next to the rocket stove. he is french, and when he curses, he excuses his freedom... I like it.

cobville

IMGP4109, originally uploaded by thaddeusss.

a few of the many hobbit-like houses at cobville in coquille....

the rocket stove

IMGP4119, originally uploaded by thaddeusss.

this is the rocket stove we built at cobville... it's made of stovepipe and a barrel and mud and bricks. fuel wood goes in at the left and comes out as steam somewhere up and to the right... in the process it heats up that cob bench on the right, serving as a heat battery which stores up the heat and releases it slowly into the house over time. the wood burns clean (no smoke) all the heat gets released into the house (less fuel use) and the house temperature stays very constant. incredible!

david & june

IMGP3993, originally uploaded by thaddeusss.

david, I've been trying to capture your image as long as I've known you. finally got you!

is this the carribbean?

IMGP4075, originally uploaded by thaddeusss.

ernie, kiliii, rick and I took the umiak out after the students left and went fishing for an afternoon - no fish, but a beautiful day. it is amazing how curious seals and sea lions are about the umiak - they come up close and looking around all the time.

twenty pirates

IMGP4065, originally uploaded by thaddeusss.

twenty people crammed in the umiak.

going to sea

IMGP4038, originally uploaded by thaddeusss.

I think this is one of the best photos of the launch of the umiak, but I didn't take it! I handed my camera up to one of the students in the very front, and she took this for me. what a great shot.

I'm a bit foggy in the mornings

IMGP3998, originally uploaded by thaddeusss.

we woke up early to get things ready to launch the umiak, and I took my camera out to get a picture of the boats being loaded. the camera was still cold and a fog instantly formed over the lens that created an effect which very neatly fit the scene.

burning the midnight oil

IMGP3953, originally uploaded by thaddeusss.

the night before we launched the umiak, all the students stayed up late huddled in the barn finishing their paddles. emily here is tying up her final lashing. it was a really magical moment to watch - only ten or so students were actually working, the rest all gathered around to watch and entertain and it all felt very familial.

ernie and the whale

IMGP3930, originally uploaded by thaddeusss.

I like this one because it shows the character of the umiak so well.

tension

IMGP3907, originally uploaded by thaddeusss.

I want to dedicate this photo to kiliii. not only because I was thinking of you when I took it *grin* but because it looks to me like exactly the kind of photo you would shoot. hope you like it.

a grisly scene

IMGP3850, originally uploaded by thaddeusss.

sean here is showing some students how to butcher a deer. he is hanging it up in the back of the barn - but the way the picture turned out it looks a bit like he is hanging there himself.

helping hands

IMGP3892, originally uploaded by thaddeusss.

coating the skin of the umiak in urethane - there were so many hands to help spread it on! the plastic spreaders each made a *zip* *zip* sound as they scraped along the nylon, and with half a dozen people doing it at once it made a very interesting and peculiar kind of music...