All Things Sauna

[jbeegoode]

We have been promoting the new sweat/sauna, keeping it open to the community on Sundays. My sciatic pains were down and I applied some determination to it. The sweat needed wood. I have a pile of old 2x’s and these needed split.

The day was chilly, off and on. Very nice when the wind was calm. The sun kept popping behind clouds as they passed. No one had shown up, and wouldn’t until later in the day.Passing into the warm room, to check the fire and to make sure that the temp was increasing was a pleasant respite.

 I pulled a stool and my hatchet out and sat splitting wood and creating kindling in the sun outside. The stove pipe runs out the side and up, which provided me with a touch of heat at times. It clouded over for a time and I grabbed a sweat jacket, a hammer and something to pry out some old nails from the wood. I enjoy putting around with wood like this and nudity just adds to the experience. AND you know me. There is an aversion to clothes.

I have a pile of wood out by the drive that needs to be moved to the sweat area. It is visible from the goofy neighbor’s house. I suggested that we grab a few loads while the weather is chilly and clothing would be comfortable. I slapped on a pair of shorts with the jacket, DF a bit more. We got a few loads until I figured I might begin to aggravate my injury.

It was time to crank it up and spill water on the rocks. We lay there stretching out on the picnic table, a part of the temporary bench set up, watching the clouds rush by through the skylights. Our nude bodies are a good gauge for temperature and air flow. The sweat isn’t completely finished, just functional. For one, there are gaps at the top where wall meets roof. This was our first time using it on a cold windy day and it was working less efficiently. Cold air was seeping in and warm air was being sucked out all along the ceiling line. I grabbed some sit towels and tucked them in there for the day and then began to measure the cuts for the 1x3 slats that will go there to cover that up. I’ll need to find caulking material with no off-gasses or toxic properties and probably buy a case of it. I seem to remember reading of a natural filler that pioneers used in log cabins. Is anybody familiar with such processes? Where is our friend from Tennessee?

Anyway, we got healthy, and an old friend came by, and stayed for dinner.
Jbee

[reubenT]

The pioneers used just what was around them,   clay and moss,  larger cracks got stuffed with shingles along with mud.  There are still a few log buildings around with the shingles and mud chinking,   The old house on our place has a rock chimney mortared with clay.   Mortar was scarce back in the mountains over 100 years ago.  Hauling it from town by horse and wagon 15 miles was not easy.  And probably not cheap for them either with limited means of making money.       

    Just have to research the supply places and see what's available in modern products,  I know there are commercial log cabin caulking products,  but I don't know how odorless they are.    Maybe just a common wood caulk/glue product would work.  I've used a brown stuff that worked quite well,  liquid nails brand,  it sets up hard.   Some things will set up flexible.   Hard is OK if the place where it's used remains rigid,  if movement will happen,  or shrinkage,  flexible might be better.

   My sauna I built almost 30 years ago has just about served it's time,    I built it to the minimal design of an old natural healing guy we were learning from then.   It has the fire box under the floor with a 4x4 ft wood box on top,  room for 2 at a time.  (Although he would jam 6 into one like it)   Made it of tongue and groove pine,  it never was as tight as I would have liked,  and the firebox is leaking smoke into it too much to be usable now.       One of those future projects waiting on my time is to build a new one,  and I want one large enough to be comfortable and tight enough to heat very easily.    I think cob would be good building material for it,  just mud and straw,   Maybe some portland cement added to clay for an inside plaster.

[jbeegoode]

I found eco-bond caulk while I was poking around the internet. It is silicone, which is inert, and not so toxic. The smell goes away in 24 hrs. and then the sensitive people claim a week.

It has to be flexible, being wood that has temps change from as low as 60F to as high as 200F. Usually 140F to 180F. It is rated at that.

Did the resin seeping out of the pine ever cause problems? I still have to buy the wood for the benches.
Jbee

[nuduke]

This is indeed an esoteric discussion - best construction methods for home made saunas!

Am I on the right forum?

WHY YES!  Where else would one get such informed eclecticism?!

John

[jbeegoode]

This is indeed an esoteric discussion - best construction methods for home made saunas!

Am I on the right forum?

WHY YES!  Where else would one get such informed eclecticism?!

John

Most of the construction has been done by naked people. All construction by people wishing to get naked and help others get naked. The labor has all been a gift for others wellbeing and seva. There's a great vibe about it. It is definitely best to build a sauna naked, except when applying sheet metal to the roof on a hot day.
Jbee

[jbeegoode]

We had a friend in from out of town for a funeral. She helped with the construction mudding on the sauna. There is no sweat where she moved to (North of New Orleans).

I invited her out to have a sweat and a letting go ceremony. She brought two friends, guy and gal. We got caught up and I got to know her friends while we sat warm and naked. We took a nude but brisk walk out to Havarock after the first round. We watched the amazing sunset and the fiery red mountains as the clouds cleared. They appreciated the nude freedom, the nature, the gift and the moment.

We got back in and it was even more luscious warm in the sauna. In time, another friend came by with her sister and sis’s SO from out of town. She also brought her two lovely boys 6 and 9. Great kids. This last week was the anniversary of the passing of her infant daughter. She hadn’t grieved and shared yet with her sister from New York. It was the right time.

We gathered around a small table and candelabra as I beat a large plastic water bottle with a heartbeat rhythm. Each person was given a block of wood to write what needed to be let go. The six year old drew a picture of his sister. We shared with family and new acquaintances as we felt appropriate and the beat went on. When I stopped the heartbeat, we tossed the blocks into the fire box stoking the fire. As the heat rose, we began to pour the water on the rocks, singing. Different scents were added. We dripped wet, shining in the candle light. We sang and got upbeat. We let go, turned things over…it was good. We had a bit of a sing along drumming party for a while, cleansing, wiping off both physically, mentally and with spirit. Hugs and goodbyes.  For some Shiva thanks, some fire and water, and some a reflective heartfelt moment and tear.

We are circling, circling together,
We are singing, singing our heart song.
This is unity, this is family,
This is celebration, this is sacred.

That’s what a sweat is for. Sharing it as family, support and health, in prayer. There is more than one way to be naked and aware in a sweat. It all fits together.
Jbee

[jbeegoode]

I just posted story about a day around the use of the sweat among a surging mass of yellow and cream flowers. There is a short hike, sauna activities, community, camaraderie, and a stroll during the day as people come and go, on The Free Range Naturist site. Click here, and click the pics to enhance and enlarge:

https://thefreerangenaturist.org/2017/03/30/strolling-and-sauna-in-a-desert-in-bloom/

Last Sunday, great day and way to be alive.

The photos were taken over a few days, if the varying sky confuses anyone.
Jbee

[jbeegoode]

Wholesome, good clean fun, body acceptance, family, community...naked.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvIF4RW7FwA
Jbee

[nuduke]

Good heavens!  Shangri la indeed.  I don't think you have ever posted vistas of the desert in spring, blooming as in your current blog post, Jbee.
It's amazing!  Over what period do the plants emerge and flower?  Is it in response to rain?  How long does it all last?
John

[jbeegoode]

The spring blooms depend on all factors and individual plant responses. The right amount of winter rain pro misses hope. Then the timing of spring rains influences the low ground cover. The heat makes a difference. Early heat this year has confused many plants. Palo Verde, and ironwood are doing things the last two weeks in March that usually happen in May. Some of the species are confused and some are still waiting.

These three or four plants than are making the display so intense this year (and early) started off for a week, peaked for a week, what you see here. A week later they have curled up getting their seeds ready. Pretty quick. Still there are many in full give me bees mode. The mallow bloom longer. Part of this timing has to do with the lack of rain. It is almost as though they dried up. I think that with another well timed rain, they would have gone longer, but we got just a trickle. Then, sometimes a strong rain or wind will strip the color away in an afternoon. On the ridge tops they curled up, but around my house below, they haven't yet. The bees don't swarm this early, so the timing for all of the brittle bush (the bright yellow bushes) wasn't so good, but they have grown a great deal this year. They had been died back from a drought a few years back.

It is getting time for the succulents to explode. There are lots of buds.

There are many smaller spring plants that are going off along the ground during this. To give you an idea. I plotted two 10x10 foot spots for a couple of years. I counted like 35 different flowering plants through the course of that. This IS the most bio-diverse spot in Arizona, as the forest service states.

Elevation has a lot to do with the timing of the desert garden, too.

The rule of thumb used to be, about every seven years, the whole thing would go off at about the same time, making an incredible show. With the climate changing, this has happened two or three times, the last ten years. In my memory, this is a pretty wonky year, with these species blooming so early.

I love watching this place, how and why things vary. It looks as though the place is dead and gone, the rains come and it's wonderland again.

 All factors, change from year to year, so you just don't know when or what you're getting.
Jbee

[nuduke]

It is getting time for the succulents to explode

Hopefully you'll post a picture or two?
John

[jbeegoode]

Back on TSNS site, there was one of the first pic posts that I made called Desert Flowers. The last pic was DF on her porch. I think the first nude pic of her that we put on the internet. I intend to one day gather pics of desert flowers and do something similar on TFRN. I have many through the years.
Jbee

[jbeegoode]

A write up and homage to the Shagralee at my website:
https://thefreerangenaturist.org/2017/05/17/a-40-year-old-naturist-community-closes-the-door/

Next week were taking you on a recent adventure.

Jbee

[eyesup]

Great write-up on the passing of an era, Jbee.

Sadness for what is gone but with 2 new sweats to provide a place to retreat and rejuvenate for a bit, there will be many new people and meetings.

Duane

[Kayaker2]

JBee this folklore you are creating is very honoring to your community, and knitting the future to the past.  I am not surprised that you have chosen to continue the traditions and provide a place of continuance in spirituality for community and family.   I envisioned each one bringing an object of personal importance from the prior lodge to the new, or rocks and stones from the desert now that some time has passed. Even grafted into the walls as mosaic as you build. This is a great tribute.