"How's the tipi coming along?"
"When is the tipi going to be up?"
"Have you made any progress on your tipi, yet?!"
Holy crap, get out of my crack!
Cripes almighty. If I had a dime for every time one of y'all asked me about the tipi, I'd be lower-middle class by now. Lucky for me, though, your incessant inquiries make for wonderful encouragement. I'm so pleased to know so many of you are excited to see the outcome of my tipi. So, thank you guys. I really do appreciate it.
So then, why am I taking so long? Admittedly, I can feel myself flirting with the temptation to just erect the damned thing and be done with it sometimes. But that would be dumb. As with putting together any house, the foundation work is often the most important and time consuming part of the process. It can also be the most exhausting; just ask Boo!
This weekend, myself and couple folks dug in and began leveling the ground in preparation for some gravel and drainage. Tedious work, yes, but necessary (I can't thank my helpers for their efforts enough!). For, you see, if I don't level the ground, the covering of the tipi will suffer from uneven wear on one side and that could cut years off the longevity of my tipi. Since this is to be my house for years to come (at least I hope so!), that means I need to take proper measures to ensure its durability.
As with making sure the structure is balanced, the tipi needs to be kept from sitting in water for extended periods of time. To your right, you will see the Boo digging diligently to k̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶s̶o̶m̶e̶ ̶p̶o̶o̶r̶ ̶i̶n̶n̶o̶c̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶c̶r̶e̶a̶t̶u̶r̶e̶ help build the drainage that will guide the water away from the tipi floor.
Anyway, long answer short, I don't know when exactly the tipi will be up, but my due date is before July 23rd. When the time to put it up draws nearer, I'll be able to give a more definitive date for the tipi raising party. So, be patient, for cryin' out loud.
Note: Due to the lack of images of any people thus far working with me on the project, I'm using Boo as a human-stand in. I don't mean to insinuate that the people who helped out this weekend look similar to this here mongrel. I hope I've caused no offense in using the image of my dog as the replacement face to you who've helped me out. Thank you.