Finger Painting in Hickman

Well, I only finger paint a 1/3 of the time. Tis fun. (and helps blend the colors a bit better then brushes). Here is the picture the mural just before I started working on it.


...and after I worked about 14 hrs.





I am looking forward to getting to work on the next section. :D

Blacksmithing

Sunday i got to go the Choo Choo Forge in downtown chatt. with the blacksmith club. (perks of being a sponser). it was great. I highly recommend it.

here is their smaller forge. they have 2 inside and 2 outside. and lots of anvils. its amazing!

and a view of the wonderful shop. it is packed with tools. oooo. aahhh. :D and the walls that are not covered with tools, have lots of neat metal art on display. i will show pics of those in a different post.


tools everywhere. *huge grin* it was such a TREAT to get to play with so many tools. i had forgotten how refreshing it is to have access to a good workshop. very happy!


making the notches to start drawing out the lip of the tongs.


hammering the flat part for riveting and drawing out the lip of the tongs.


tongs before they are riveted together.


I even got to use the famous and super excited power hammer. *grin* i SO want to make one of the these. it really speeds up the work, the hammer on this is 25lbs. i am drawing out the reigns (handles) of my long set of tongs. and then i used a treadle hammer to hammer the square stock round. so many nice toys. yayness.


the top pair of tongs is the first set that i made. the bottom pair were made by someone else. the handles are short because the whole pair was made from a single, short piece of square stock.


my second pair of tongs. the extra long handles will let me get metal out of a campfire. i am hoping to teach simple blacksmithing over the campfire this year at summer camp. (i can use some granite for our anvil for an old fashioned and cheap approach to smithing. yayness for sharing the joys of metalwork with my kids.

Quote from the Potter's Shop

Sunday, i got to see an artists guild down in GA. it was very inspiring! the view from their studios was impressive.






There was a blacksmiths shop, fiber art (the lady raises sheep for wool for her art), silk artist (moved here from France), and a pottery shop (both her and the blacksmith lady teach are master artists and teach at an international trade school over in NC during the summer).





I found a cool quote on the wall in the potter's shop (double click pic to see full size)

Chatt Rail Yard

After Christy asked about names, I had to update this post ;) Names are as follows:

Oswald the first

Fredrick- well fed and even nostalgic

Reginald- an accountant at heart

The three sets of wheels are the base of the train. so they are named after binary:
0- base 10
1- base 10
Hexi- for base 16

Carl- a creative and constructive individual

From the Archives: Tree Fun

I was sorting through some old photos on my laptop from June of last year. And I came across pics from my tree top picnic/ almost camp out. (something about nearby lightning from a sudden storm)

Joe testing out my device: a mini-cross bow that I rigged with fishing line for setting up rope. Once we shoot the arrow and attached fishing line over a high branch, we pull up a thin rope. then we use that pull up a climbing rope. Then simply use ascenders and go on up to the top :D


I love very tall trees, especially in the dark. yay for rope and verticalness.


Sir Zack heading up to the kitchen/ camping area. Note the plastic bin above his head. that's the kitchen counter. Inside that you can see a white plastic thing, that serves as the kitchen sink, literally. I hauled up a container of water, like a big Camelback, so we have 'running water'. to the left you can see something under a blue tarp. That is the bathroom. (i was trying to design and test gear for future week-long stays in the trees without having to come back down) my goal is to one day set up a camp in the top of a giant tree in a rain forest. and then stay up there for a few weeks researching all the plants and wildlife in the canopy. hehe. talk about a fun trip!


Enjoying my food at the tree top. I used stuff sacks to stow our gear so we would have some 'closet space' for the extra rope, hammocks, and stuff like that.



Jes and Joe perched on a tree limb 60 feet up at my "tree top cafe" eating pasta and bread. Note, the safety line, we were anchored at all times because my motto is "All about safety" ;) hehe. Also, the lantern over her shoulder is hanging from a lightweight chain used to hang hot stuff including the stove.



Here is my stove design. (I forget to get a pic of it up in the tree). Basically, i use chain to hang it up to diffuse the heat, since rope would melt. The chain clips to the metal grate and creates a little area to hold the cooking pot, which is also wired on for good luck. Since most of the weight is on the grate, the stove simply hangs underneath in its little holster. the holes let in air for the flame. and you an easy adjust and light it while everything is set up.



Home sweet tree. You can see two hammocks on the left, and all the safety lines for ascending/ rappelling and hoisting gear. For future plans, i have been tinkering with ideas to get a dry cell battery that is lightweight. but that would be me enough power to run my laptop and some Christmas lights at nite. Theoretically, I can eventually get some solar panels to recharge that battery. Then I could be able to run my electronics in the tree top. and to extend my goal, get satellite internet so if i ever do get to take that dream trip to study wildlife in the canopy, i can keep up with my research and communication while i am perched out in the field. :D

Flying devices, big and small

Yay for jumbo flying device at the TN Aquarium. I love macaws, but i am glad Rabbit isn't this big! Hehe this is not the size bird to take on errand runs ;)



Small flying device:

Not quite flying devices: ...can you spot the turtle smushed under the two gators? it was cool to see the gators. reminded me of snorkeling with them back in FL.


In front of GreenLife I found a swarm of tiny flying devices- bees. yayness!

hopefully one day i will have a yard and can keep bees.
happyness in a bucket ;)

cloudland canyon