Ka Puana–The Refrain: My Year in a Yurt
Following are excerpts from Pa‘auilo resident Jen McGeehan’s book, My Year in a Yurt. Used with permission.
Look Up!
There are many elements to yurt living that make it both unique and enjoyable. The ceiling is just one of them.
Our little love yurt offers only one entrance/exit. We refer to it as the front door. Upon entering, one almost instinctively looks up as the eye follows forty-two 2” × 4” rafters attached to a center ring. The crowning jewel is a six-foot, pop-open acrylic dome creating additional light and ventilation inside, as well as a peek-a-boo to the outside world. I believe that one of the key factors to successful small-space living is a high ceiling.
Ours is approximately fifteen feet from top to bottom. This design concept not only enables our lightweight structure to stand on its own, with no interior beams or load-bearing walls, but also creates a sense of roominess throughout the 450 not-so-square feet.
My favorite view from inside is looking out, more specifically up—especially while dropping off to sleep each night. The combination of circular bone-colored vinyl and naturally-stained wooden rafters create a vision similar to that of the sun’s rays shooting three hundred and sixty degrees from its center, or petals exiting the seed-filled center of an enormous sunflower.
On a clear night, I can see a myriad of stars suspended from the evening sky. If sleep escapes me, I attempt to count those stars, far better than drumming up a vision of sheep and then unsuccessfully trying to count them as they scramble around in my head.
Occasionally, after giving Pat his goodnight smooch and pulling the covers up to my chin, I lie on my back, look up, and behold a stunning view—the moon, whether sliver or full, depending on the time of year. I lay there mesmerized, thinking that every home should include a dome! (I guess skylights could be considered the next best thing, but not as large or attractive, in my humble opinion.)
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The very first thing I do upon waking up every morning is look up. The dome tells me what my ears might not have heard through the night. Did it rain? If I see circular coin-size drops on the dome, I know the pasture has been nourished and the water tanks replenished.
Contact author Jen McGeehan: jenmcgeehan1@gmail.com
My Year in a Yurt is available from the author and local bookstores.
