The Murie Center's Teton Sustainability Project and Teton County Library hosted authors Wayne Bingham and Jerod Pfeffer earlier this week for a presentation about their new book: Natural Timber Frame Homes: Building With Wood, Stone, Clay and Straw.

I've known Jerod for a couple of years, and knew he and his wife Sage were building their own green home in Felt, Idaho, but I had no idea the depth of building expertise that Jerod brought to the task.

Natural Timber Frame Homes is a book about the future of houses — those inspired not by a technology-governed and energy-intensive world, but instead developed organically in response to the places in which we live. Through beautiful photography and informed text, Natural Timber Frame Homes explores the quiet splendor of traditional timber frame homes built with straw bales and plaster or clay-finished walls.

My wife is fascinated by home design, and I've been known to give her books like this for Christmas in the past. She was with me Monday evening, however, so I don't think giving her Natural Timber Frame Homes would be the big surprise I'm shopping for …

If you do buy Natural Timber Frame Homes, or any other book as a Christmas present, don't forget about Eco-Libris and their tree planting scheme to offset the impacts of paper production.

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