What's new in the world of Dickinsons Reach Yurts?!? Summer's Bounty is upon us. Cucumbers, Zucchini, Peahes, and Corn - OH Yes! We've had more than enough heat spells here in Southern Vermont but the swimming holes and daily rainwater buckets dumped on the head never cease to drop my core body temperature just when I need it most. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In July, together with almost 30 other friends and relations, we re-shingled 1,400 sq ft of the 1st floor roof of an old and most treasured yurt. 2024 Yurts to come: We've been getting things in order for the two upcoming 2024 yurt workshops as well as workshops in 2025:
2025 Yurts to come:
Yurt Sauna Plan I've been claiming to be close to finishing the Yurt Sauna plan for a while now. Over the past couple of years, things in our life have been tumultuous with leaving our former homestead, our move, and settling into our current yurt homestead. BUT, now the yurt sauna plan is getting close! If things continue to progress, the plan should be finalized in the next couple of months. With any luck, the next update I send out will be to tell you that they're ready to order. New - Past Newsletters Page on our Website In case you've missed any of the past Dickinsons Reach Yurts Newsletters, now they're all cataloged for reading here. Articles, Essays, & Websites
Parting Thought If Wrecked Upon the Shoal of Thought How is it with the Sea? The Only Vessel that is shunned Is safe - Simplicity - - E. Dickinson
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Greetings Yurt Aficionados,I'm writing from Southeastern Vermont where the weather is turning milder after an already mild (not wild) winter. What has been going on with Dickinsons Reach Yurts, you may be wondering? Well..... - Our family has been lovingly settling into our yurt home atop East Mountain.
2023 Yurts BUILT
2024 Yurts To Come
- 2025 Yurts To Come
- Articles & Essays
- Books we've enjoyed
- Websites
Phew! What an update. I won't wait so long to send out the next one. - Mike ife has been full. There are a lot of big changes happening for our family at this time. We are in the process of moving out of the cooperative homestead we helped create here in Guilford, VT back in 2014. Our family of 4 will be moving into this yurt so lovingly crafted with the willing hands of friends and family on East Mountain in Guilford. It's been an enormous undertaking to uproot ourselves, our homesteading POPS (Piles of Possibilities), and take steps towards leaving the passive solar house we've built, gardens & orchards we have planted and tended, and land & people we have loved. We don't know what the future holds for us - but I'm certain it will entail endeavoring to create beauty wherever we are. We had an incredible yurt raising in our home town of Guilford, VT back in October. We raised a 24' standard yurt in a 12 day workshop over 3 long weekends. This one has a standing seam roof - the first I've been part of. The kind folks at the Maine Coast Craft School have a standing seam roof on their 24' Standard Yurt and provided a lot of encouragement and inspiration for us to try it. We bent the seams by hand with a tool called the WUKO bender. Many thanks to all of the hands who came out to help and to Anna and John for their adventurous spirits. We plan to have an "open yurt" for everyone to come back and say hi once we are settled. The Yurt Sauna plan is still in the works, but has been put on the back burner for now while we focus on moving. Here are some pictures of the yurt raising in October - followed by dates for Upcoming YURT WORKSHOPS in 2023!!! with love, Mike We installed a ring of cedar around the outer perimeter as well as just below the skylight. The roof assembly is vented at the bottom for air to enter - and at the top under the upper ring of cedar to allow any moisture laden air to escape. Upcoming YURT WORKSHOPS!
We have 3 workshops scheduled for 2023:
These dates are also on our website. Greetings from Southern Vermont - Here's what's happening with Dickinsons Reach Yurts: There's an upcoming Taper-Wall yurt workshop..... Here in our own backyard...... on East Mountain in Guilford, VT.... SOON. We'll raise a 24' diameter yurt in 3 consecutive 4-day weekends. (Sept 30 - Oct 3, Oct 7 - 10, and Oct 14 - 17th 2022). Wanna join the crew for the whole build or just part of it? More info and Register here. This yurt will be 314 sq ft of insulated floor space and have glass windows. In the future it will be a residence - or a workshop space - or both. AND, The other piece of ENORMOUS news is that back in June we raised a GIANT free-span yurt at the MOST BEAUTIFUL site of Experience Learning in West Virginia. It's a 40' diameter free-span pavilion yurt. As far as I know, it's the BIGGEST free-span taper-wall yurt to date. We had an awesome crew. A huge thanks to all of the hands that participated. I've recently updated the dryurts.com website - and lots of pictures of this build can be found here. Thanks to skyview.org and Erika Vikander for sharing these pictures! Maybe you want one of these GIANT YURTS for your education, retreat, or gathering center? It's a lot of fun to learn about yurt math and raise a yurt by hosting a yurt workshop.
Yurt Sauna Plan The yurt Sauna Plan is still in the works. For all those of you who are patiently waiting for the plan - it is still coming! Our family's personal life is in a bit of a whirlwind as we are prepare to move - but, the sauna plans are still happening. In the meantime we continue to test the yurt sauna on our homestead and it never fails to please. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Can't make the October yurt raising? Don't fret, there are a couple yurt workshops in the works for 2023 and 2024 - I'll spread the word about these as things are firmed up. If you have any questions about custom taper-wall yurt designs, yurt plans or hosting a yurt workshop, visit dryurts.com or email me. kindly, Mike If you've got a hankering for some yurt building this summer, here's a quick update of some upcoming Taper-Wall Yurt workshops. This coming week we begin the LARGE 40' freespan yurt up on Spruce Knob in West Virginia. It's at the site of Experience Learning - an outdoor education center that's been around since the 70's. There are many beautiful yurts there and this new freespan yurt will be an open air pavilion. The foundation is poured and will be ready for us to start making parts and installing the canted white oak wall posts on June 1st. The first week is full, but if you want to join the fun, there are still spots on the crew for the second week, from June 6 - June 15. Email Jackie ([email protected] ) to sign up or if you'd like more info. Here's a picture of the 3"x4" roof matrix will be assembling. AND, There's also another two week yurt build in Pembroke, Maine from July 8 - 21st at the Greenhorns Campus. We will build some small wooden residence yurts like you can see here. Email the Greenhorns ([email protected]) for more info. The rest of 2022 is full, but if you can't make these workshops, there are a few Taper-Wall Yurt workshop offerings in the works for 2023. I'll send out more information about those as it becomes clear.
Enjoy the day, Mike I know you have been wondering - what's been happening in our world of taper-wall yurts? And why has it taken so long to send out this inaugural newsletter? I'll explain. A New Website! - Yes, a new website describing What is a Taper-Wall Yurt, background story on how Dickinsons Reach Yurts emerged into existence, info about upcoming Yurt Workshops, as well as a plethora of yurt pics. I hope you like it. Yurt Plan Digital Payments - After receiving ever more requests for digital payments for Yurt plans, you can now order and pay for plans through the new website on the Yurt Plans Page. Of course, you can also always acquire your yurt plans via snail mail. Or, even better - send me a note professing your love of yurts. Yurt Sauna Plan - A new Taper-Wall Yurt Plan is in the works for a Yurt Sauna. We built one on our homestead in Southern Vermont and have been rigorously testing it. It is awesome. We built another at Smithereen Farm in Pembroke, ME this past July. Plans are expected to be ready in March of 2022. Here's an incredible timelapse of the Greenhorns Yurt Sauna build. We had fun. Yurt Workshops in 2022 - Things are lining up for some yurt workshops in 2022 -
The real reason it has taken so long to get this newsletter out to the world is that time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a banana. - Mike |
AuthorMike Iacona has been designing and helping people build Taper-Wall Yurts for 16 years. He's been a carpenter, a cabinet-maker, furniture-maker, and chair-maker. He's been working with and enamoured with the wonders of wood since 2004. Mike learned about Taper Wall Yurts from the late Bill Coperthwaite who had the best bad jokes he's ever heard. Archives
August 2024
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