Cold frames on a cold day

I'm so anxious to get back outside and do some work around the domestead. There are still about 1500 bags to fill with earth to finish off the new home. Rocket stoves to build, wiring and plumbing to do all will take a considerable amount of time too. But right now it's still too bloody cold out. We have a long weekend and it's still -30 outside. It's not like we don't go outside at all in this kind of weather, but you can only do so much. We did go out for a couple hours to plan some landscaping, measuring out where trees and bushes will be planted. Also have to take the humanure out to the compost bins every couple days no matter what. So for indoor work this weekend I made a couple cold frames for starting seeds and some 'scabs' for the dome windows. All the materials I used were either scraps from previous projects or things I have scavenged and saved from the landfill.

The scabs are embedded in the walls between layers of earthbags. The purpose of them is to place a chunk of wood in the wall so you can screw or nail something to it after the wall is complete. The ones I made this weekend will give me a place to affix the header boards for the windows. The 2x4's are cut-offs from a previous project. The slats are cut from pallets that were headed to the dump. I beveled the 2x4's with a good whack on a chisel. This allows the bags to lay nicer on the wood, without leaving a gap or the sharp edges of the wood puncturing the bag. At first I was thinking of doing this bevel with my ancient table saw but then a little voice said "Fuck that, you don't want to spend the rest of the day at the hospital".

Having kept my fingers from the previous project I got started on the cold frames. Again, the wood was scraps from previous projects. Even the screws had a previous life holding together the temporary frames for the arches in the earthbag walls. For the first one, the glass and frame was from a picture that a friend had displayed at a trade show. It would have ended up in the dumpster after the show. The glass for the second one (no pictures, not complete yet) was found under the stairs in the farm house we bought a few years ago.

The rest of the weekend has been spent polishing my trophy wife.