I know that the Shire, from the Hobbit doesn’t actually exist. But I like to fantasize that there are some places on this Earth that have the the same other-wordly feel and fantastical atmosphere. Back in the day, houses have roofs that were made out of Earth. Oftentimes in the winter the animals would take shelter in the ceiling to keep warm, and once in a while an unlucky animal would fall out (this is where the phrase “raining cats and dogs” comes from – true story).
These turf houses still exist to this day in Iceland and are on my to-do list of things to see before I die of beauty. Nowadays we live in our pockets of well manicured lawns, our dwellings constructed of crazy things like plastic, and our ceilings paved over with drywall and popcorn (yuck). I understand the necessity for this as they are pretty much leak-proof but in my head once in a while I like to hearken back to a time when things were simpler and people took the things around them and created homes from it. There is something more innocent and human about it that I see when I look at these pictures of turf houses.
If I lived in one though, I would insulate that shit and coat it down with an intense layer of Kilz.
