Revisiting The Tree House....

 

Revisions, Repairs and Rocks.....

I Will not bore you, Dear Readers, with every tiny alteration I have made to the Rocky foundation upon which The Tree House sits, but suffice it to say that progress has been very slow! This is partly due to the very hot weather we have been having this summer, which saps one's energy and causes the need to keep the windows and blinds closed making visibility a struggle inside even in the daytime, and mostly due to the indecision about exactly what shapes I am trying to create in these rocks. And even the local Geology has to be taken into consideration... because I need the landscape to look somewhat natural. And in this part of the World, we have some very interesting geology! I am not a geologist, but the simple explanation is that the Connecticut River Valley (in which I reside) is formed by the ancient collision of two tectonic plates on the Earth' surface... when North America collided with North Africa long Long LONG before anyone was calling them such. The North American plate went under the North African one, and then when the land masses decided to split up and move apart (what a divorce that must have been!) the North American Plate took a large chunk of North Africa with it! The evidence of this happening is in the rocks to this day... on the Western side of "the divide" ie The Connecticut River Valley, the rocks are largely Shale and the mountains are waaaay older than the ones on the Eastern side of the Valley, which are mostly Granite of a type that is only found in North Africa! The collision formed what is now the White Mountains, the tallest mountains on the Eastern half of North America, with Mount Washington standing at approximately 6000 feet tall and only about 100 miles inland from the coastline. And all this is the reason I will tell you that the Bedrock at The Folly Garden is made up of the shale type of rocks, a dark gray multilayered and flat type of stone. It is used often for making slate roofing shingles because it can be so easily split into smooth flat layers. In the above picture you can see my "extended" base is trying to look like this sort of bedrock. The "real" rock you can see next to it is attempting to help me match the colors right.

But that is only Half the story! The other half is all the boulders that were brought in to support the foundation of The Folly house which are made from the Granite which is so prevalent just across the Valley from here. Granite is a much harder rock less inclined to erode and is mostly a much lighter gray tone, but can be found in tan and pinkish colors too. The structure allows it to be quarried in large blocks or chunks. And those are the grayer boulder shaped rocks in this small setting.

So while the rocks get endlessly fiddled with and altered and primed and painted and varnished and re-varnished and painted all over again, Dear Readers, I am also beginning to find my way around The Tree House again. One of the dangers of leaving a half-finished project for so long is forgetting what you did.... to make the various parts.... where you put the materials.... and what you intended to do in the first place. And what all the "not quite right and need fixing" parts there were already started and you would get to fixing someday when you had the time. Well.... those are completely forgotten now!

So I am searching high and low for the same type of wood that I used to make the stairs.... so I can complete that half finished staircase to the top floor (dare I say it will be the last floor?) and surprise of surprises, I found the already cut sections of wood!!! I almost didn't recognize them!

I had been looking for strip wood in the right thickness... in this case 3/16ths of an inch, which is fairly thick for strip wood. It turns out I had made mine from sheets of basswood cut to the right width (1/2") and then divided into squares for the steps. Yes, this makes for very narrow little staircases running up through the walls, or in this case spiraling up through the side of the tree trunk. (Remember, this is a 1/48th scale project set into the garden of a 1/12th scale project.... just to be confusing.)

But meanwhile, one of the very first fiddle around and fix it steps I accomplished was adding a tiny strip of wood to the bottom of the Nursery outer opening door. Can you see it in the picture below? 

 

The repair is not perfect... 

but it makes the bottom of the door actually meet

 the floor of the Nursery  at one edge, 

and helps the door stay closed even without the magnet to hold it.

 (For how many years has it been annoying me

by swinging open and needing to be taped shut......?) 

And when I could stand on my new step ladder

 and actually see into the Nanny's Room from above, 

I noticed a big hole where the floor did not meet the support post accurately....

 

Can you see the tiny patch   I put in place....?

 Oh, Dear.... time for the flash again.....

 

There.... now you can see it on the left by the post... 

as I said, not perfect, but much better!

And another small thing I had noticed was that

 many of the outer opening doors I had built

 stood "outside" the edge of the floor of the room they were closing.... 

so those floors needed small "extensions"

 to make the structure more "finish-able" 

when I get to adding the outer tree bark!

 

 In particular the Tree House Toilet Cubicle

 needed the floor extended.... 

you can see here the "before" picture....

 

And the "after" picture with the increased floor structure.

 

And the little Bathroom Dressing Cubicle too.... 

which still is not all completed. 

It needs the window panes and the furniture at the least!

 These doors both need the magnet closures,

 even though they don't swing open on their own.

 

And yes, the little spiral stairs are continuing upward now...

 I had to straighten the support wire a little bit first... 

This is how far they had reached twelve years ago.....!

 

Now they reach just about to the level of the next (and I hope final) floor!

And while I am revisiting all these doors, Dear Readers,

 there is the Bedroom Door with the "promise" of

 a "Juliette Balcony" overlooking the brook below....

Do you remember me mentioning this "Someday" Balcony? 

 

Here I have added the first layer of the balcony "surround" 

to the floor that has been there since the beginning.

 

And the rest of the "surround" structure.... 

it is another place where a tree limb was cut off long ago

 and left a big scar..... and a hollow ...... 

it will eventually look much more "tree-like" 

when I get to adding all the outer bark to the Tree!

 

And this morning, I surprised Lady Arabella

 out on the Balcony for a moment of fresh air!

And did she look down at the Rocks 

and wonder if the brook would ever run past below....?

 

The bright morning light reveals so much about those rocks....

Can you see the "real" rocks up front for help with the painting....?

 

Oh, yes, and with the Final Rock... 

The "Balance Point" of the Brook.....?

 

And shall we have the Rhododendron in its place... 

showing how much it hides the Tree House from view....?

And can you spot all my "Pet Rocks" in the picture....?

 

And yes, you can rest assured... 

Mr. Gnome is keeping a watchful eye on all the "Rock Business"!

 The Balance Rock is not yet complete and will blend in better soon...

But I make no promises about the Brook for now....

Some things just will not be rushed! 

I am really Loving, Dear Readers,

 Revisiting the Tree House

 and Finding little things to

 Repair and Revise

And even if the Rocks take Ages to make.... 

They are finally becoming Rocks! 

Going With The Flow....

 

Getting Carried Away...

I Left you in my last Post, Dear Readers, with The Folly Garden Rocks pretty much the way they had been for more than a year while I worked on the Rhododendron Shrubs. But Every time I would walk past it, I would move a few rocks around, or add a few "new" sample rocks or just glare at it. Clearly, I had a long way to go and was not sure of the next steps. But as it came time to "launch" the Evergreen Rhododendron Shrub, I thought I could surely improve on the painting I had done on last year's new rocks. And the first step was to apply a few coats of polyurethane varnish to "seal" them and give them a more durable surface. Luckily there were a few nights with cool enough temperatures to open all the windows and let the breezes clear the air! (It has been hot so far this summer!)

 

 

This required clearing off all the "pet rocks" (aka Real rocks!)

 and applying varnish to the already "finished" rocks. 

And as soon as the varnish had cured, a second coat was added for durability. 

 

 

And because one of the things about the rocks that had been bothering me

 was that the acrylic paints were glossy when they dried...

 which made the rocks look wet all the time... 

So I bought flat paint samples in a bunch of "rock colors" 

and repainted all the rocks....

 

 

I am still just randomly adding layers of "stippled" colors,

 using a fairly dry brush to add speckled amounts of different colors in layers.

 This is not yet the finished product...

 but starts to build the tonal colors of the different rocks.

And I kept looking at that "other side of the brook"... 

and realized that I might as well construct those rocks now 

while I was painting the other rocks,

 or there might never be coherence in the end...

And did I mention how much foam board can be wasted, Dear Readers,

 as you try this rock here and that rock there

 and try to get a sense of how it all should go together

 and still look "natural" when finished?

 

 

 

Not to mention how many hours drift away as you carve one rock

 to maybe define a section of the brook edge 

(which needs to straddle the wooden landscape framework) 

or days float by as the rocks maybe fit 

but after all are not quite right when more are added.....

 

 

I started at the corner where the Tree House opens

 right above the brook... at the uphill side of the property.

 And I needed to be sure there was clearance for the opening doors!

 

 

At first I was just determined to get the outer wall covered... 

or converted to a rock border....

 but I soon realized it looked too artificial... 

too much like a canal and not enough like a wild brook.

 

 

 

And part of the plan has always been that there is a small dam in the brook, 

creating an "upper pool" in front of the Tree House and a "lower pool" at the other corner

 where the brook overflows into the meadow beyond the property.

 And just to complicate things, The Tree House itself is constructed on it's own base

 which lifts in and out of The Folly Landscape.

 If you look carefully in the above picture, you can see where the two bases separate.

 A small bit of the Tree House base needs to be a rock at the edge of the brook...

  but That will be added later. For now, the bottom of the "upper pool" 

needs to be elevated above the level of the "lower pool".....

 

 

Here you can see that section of the "upper pool" inserted,

carefully carved to curve along the edge of The Tree House Base

 so it can still be lifted out.

 

 

And because the "upper pool" will need to have a certain depth of water, 

there needed to be a larger "rock" in front of the Tree House opening door...

 a sort of doorstep if you will.

 

 

And then I needed to test the sort of "dam"

 that kept the Tree House "upper pool"

 separate from the more public "lower pool"..... 

and got a long way into a dead end idea....

 

 

Still adding rocks to the brook side....

 

 

But not happy with the overall feel of the brook.

 It looks more like a canal than a brook!

And the next morning, Dear Readers,

 I realized I had dreamed all night about the wild, tumbling rocks

 that overflow off the edge of the "landscape".....

 and decided there was nothing to do but

 extend The Folly landscape base!

 

 

Mind you, I was only adding a 5/8th inch "buttress" 

to support these wandering rocks

 that were so necessary to the dream! 

You can see it screwed and glued on in the above picture.

 

 

And while I was changing the structure,

 I remembered it was necessary to lower the wall in the "lower pool"

 where the brook needed to exit the landscape... 

 

 

Here you can see I have started to saw into the wall... 

it will need to be chiseled out.... 

and I am testing the "extra supporting landscape" beyond the wall....

 

 

And the following morning I had realized that the dam was all wrong... 

(I dreamed of the rocks again...)

 and knew that there needed to be a "big boulder"

 which over the years had been nudged partway into the brook

 by the huge roots of the Huge Old Willow Tree which houses The Tree House!

 (These roots have always been planned to be part of the landscape...)

 so I pulled out the offending dam and created a really large rock

 (by foam panel standards) and positioned it carefully to obstruct half of the brook.

 

 

You can sort of see the huge rock halfway into the brook....

 

 

 

And I had also realized that the rock on the other side of the brook

 would need to be larger and probably knocked aside

 by the weight of the Big Boulder.... 

 

 

together they would form the "dam"

 where the water gets held back in the upper pool.... 

and the tipped rock would need to be "stabilized"

 by the ground below it..... 

 

 

Which would require more "support" 

in the form of an "extension" to the extension already in place....

 which you can see above.

 I am always aware of how vulnerable

 the edges of the property are when being moved...

 people will grab "the base" and expect it to be solid and sturdy.... 

so I make sure it is!

 

 

This is the view of the Tree House "upper pool" looking down from above.... 

you can see the "tight spot" between the two boulders

 which creates the "dam".

 And the pool itself is a more natural curved shape....

 

 

 

But the new "extension" to the base is going to need integrating....

 and the rest of the brook needs its rocks.... 

and another day or three had drifted downstream... 

Which made me Dream that night of "bedrock"..... 

and of establishing the "solid ground"

 that supported all these jumbled rocks.... 

and to ponder the flow of water and ice

 and the very Geology of the region...!

 

 

 

And in the morning I added a huge slab of "solid ground" 

to cover most of the "extensions"....

 

 

And then I had to carefully "notch" the original corner boulder into it...

 

 

And then make the tipped boulder"settle" onto the "bedrock" 

in a way that might be natural.. or at least believable!

 

 

And then pile on more rocks to cover that base wall.... 

but I can already assure you, 

they are not right as they are 

and will need.... something done....!

 

So you can see, Dear Readers,

 I have been going with the flow 

and getting carried far far away....

But didn't someone say Life is but a Dream?

 

Glass House Progress

Fits and Starts.....


I warned you, Dear Readers, that the Glass House walls were not attached and would fall over at the drop of a pin! Well, here you can see the parts in the early morning light... all tumbled around! I resolved that the best way forward with this project was going to be to attach the walls together while still making the framework removable from the base for all the painting fitting and trim work. And I thought it would be best to add the first coat of primer to the interior before assembling the walls. Because the plywood is thin but not too thin, (one quarter inch thick to be precise) I decided that the strongest method of attaching these pieces would be to screw them together with small screws. And while I was drilling all those screw holes, I could also be attaching the door hinges! Of course, I forgot to take any pictures of so many boring steps fits and starts!

Here you can see the basic framework is screwed together 

wherever the walls touch each other.

And there are my favorite hinges!

(I know they are a tiny bit large for this scale, 

but they will be getting a lot of use so I want them to be sturdy!)

Here is a slightly closer shot!

And before I went any further, I needed to cut out the pieces for the roof sections, 

also relying on the plywood "wall with a window cut into it" method.

Here you can see the two sections have been cut and the hinges attached.

And from the rear, opening side... (sorry it is a dark shot!)

I had to carefully trim the side of the roof frame 

to be able to swing open past the roof eaves of The Folly.

(Lots of fits and starts!)

And there will need to be an awkward roof line 

on the corner next to The Folly wall 

where the roof passes the window frame.

Here the framework has been removed for painting.....

primer then first coats of dark blue for the exterior.

And testing the structure in place..... 

is it too dark?

(Or is it jut the night?)

The frames on the windows will be the light blue, 

and the interior will all be the light blue.... 

Here it is in the morning light... with the light blue interior....

Perhaps I just need to get used to it!

 

 

Paining the many window frame pieces......

Gluing window frames together.....

(Sorry it is so dark again!)

And Gluing the window frames to the openings!

(Even more fits and starts!)

I had hoped to get at least One of the windows completed 

with glass panes, Dear Readers, 

but the glass cutting was not a smooth operation!

I only had a few small pieces to work with,

 and all my attempts were crooked "breaks" 

so the pieces were unusable.

(Way too many Starts and Fits!)

I will have to start fresh with a large pane of glass 

and plenty of "practice" material!

Here I am testing it in place again.....

Just when I was getting used to the dark blue.... 

the light blue frames change the whole look!

Of course, the dividers for the windows are not in place,

 nor is the glass, and the roof section will be divided too....

so there are plenty of parts that will change the look 

of the whole before it is done.

I guess it is still much too soon to judge....

and I do want the colors to be basically the same

 as those used on the Main House.

Here you can sort of see the interior through the back roof view....

(sorry! another dark shot!)

I guess it's still too soon to tell how it will look, Dear Readers,

But at any rate, through lots of Fits and Starts, 

Some Progress has been made!