messy courtyard

Grading work commences in the courtyard. Decomposed granite dug from our pond fills the arcade. We'll tamp the hell out of it before adding sand and laying down bricks.

All these poor plants get moved from A to B to C...Currently we're staging them inside the courtyard until grading around the perimeter of the house.

clerestory windows

Clerestory windows open and close, letting warm air escape at the end of the day and pulling in cool air through windows lower to the ground.

outside / inside

No A.C. here...just lots of insulation and wide, shading roof overhangs.

sunrise

Sunrise filtered through smoke makes for nice art on our entry hallway wall.

Other photos show our hallway book shelves (minus the ultimate built-in book shelves, but providing space for cd shelves at the moment).

The tree is one of many sitting in pots around the courtyard (and around the entire house) waiting to be put into the ground.

smoke

Smoke from Northern California wildfires. At first glance, I thought this sunset was actually not the sun, but the moon.