Visible From Outer Space: Part 1

 

OMG! So we have finally decided to erect a full scale replica of Stonehenge and invite our Druid friends to a festival celebrating the return of the autumnal equinox! NOT!!

We are actually constructing a round pen. This is in anticipation of the arrival of Nico/Neko (still don't have that spelling established...). My riding instructor/trainer Sabina has suggested- and been backed up by many, many equestrian experts- that a round pen is an excellent training tool that promotes bonding with your horse and emphasizes proper groundwork and improves their ability to physically improve and carry themselves correctly.

Of course, I turned to Bob and solemnly intoned, "Round pen..." to which he (correctly) responded, "Huh?" So we found a way to approximate a round pen for a fraction of the typical cost. Home Depot is an absolute boon to artists and artist/horse owners who want training facilities at reasonable price. A real metal gate constructed round pen averages about $1200-1600. It consists of 12 foot panels of pipe in a circle to create a pen of about 60 feet across and about 188 feet around (circumference). Ours cost way, way, WAY less!!

So  I found a site on the Internet that had instructions for casting concrete no-dig footings. And then Bob (smart man that he is) suggested that maybe pre-cast footings were available... which they were! So then I said I had pre-priced plastic PVC pipes that could be used as uprights and cross pieces around the top. The above picture is the 2" PVC pipes affixed to the cast concrete bases. They worked great; we did have to get 20 of them to go around the perimeter. And we did have to return 10 of them that turned out to be an inferior, crumbly cast. Hey! Loads of fun; they each weigh 50 pounds!!

So with new, better castings, we proceeded to erect the 10 foot cross members. And quickly found that 10 foot PVC does not like to flex to accommodate the bend of the ring. So we attempted to weight them, hoping to provoke a curve.

We carefully piled logs on boards and weighted them down in the sun, thinking that maybe the heat of the sun would help cajole them into a bend. Nope! Next morning, when we rolled all that weight off, they promptly shrugged off our attempts at bending them so back off to Hope Depot to return 9 of the 2" pipes and to get nine 1 1/4" pipes instead. (We alternated 2" pipes with 1 1/4" pipe... which worked! There was enough "give" in the smaller pipe to compensate for the bend.)

So here's Bob and the uprights for scale. Look at the middle left and there's Bob picking up rocks, because of course, wherever we put an upright, there were rocks!

Rocks: need I say more?

Anyway, once that had been accomplished, we sort of sailed along; measuring from the center point out 30 feet and establishing the outer edge. Today we finished erecting the top cross members. Essentially, that's the top picture. I have thanked the inestimable Bob and his dedication to a cause he will never share in: Bob will never "round pen" Nico/Neko the horse, or even ride her in it. But he's so game!! Willing to assist me in the above crazy project. I will post the pictures of the completed round pen in my next blog posting. It's been an interesting side line to all the other wacky things we do...

Now What Are They Making!?!??!!?

Well, true to my threats and promises, I started makin' mosaic on one of the dead trees. Here is an underpinning... sort of a cross between armor and lingerie. Tree looks sexy: all silvery and sinuous and shiny!

My hands and arms don't, though. Despite wearing gloves and a long sleeved sweat shirt, the metal lathing (that I had to apply in order to give a surface for the cement to stick to) is very sharp and scratched the hell out of me. It was fun anyway, learning to use a new material and solve problems along the way. First I tried wiring the pieces together but that didn't work. Then I discovered that fencing nails (the ones bent like "U" shapes) worked, as did the big-headed nails that Bob gave me. (Bob was busy repairing his studio roof line... there's always something to do around here!) I bashed my thumb and swore up a storm but it was exciting and challenging.
Several experts suggested that I reinforce the base of the tree with rebar* but I- maybe impetuous!- declined, thinking that the dead tree, once it's housed in a sheath of concrete, will stand longer than I will. Besides, if it falls over, we'll gave spectacular ruins and it will still be a romantic mess! O Ozymandias!!

My assembled tools; not sure if you can see the cache of band-aids in the corner of the wheel barrow!
It will be interesting to see how far I get with all the broken crockery I have assembled. When we did the walkway, I thought we'd have tons and tons of material but it got used up quickly and I had to go to a second hand store and purchase an entire snow-flake themed set of dinnerware. If the walkway was predominately blue and white (it borders the Blue Garden), I am feeling this trunk will be corseted in more reds and oranges. I have some right purty coppery/autumnal platters to smash!

As my riding lesson was cancelled today due to high winds and a chance of rain, I may be able to start the cement stage of the proceedings. I learned from our adventures on the walk way that planning a design a head of time- and preparing the pieces- makes the job easier.

*Hey! The experts who work in rebar were unavailable due to scheduling (and other) conflicts. this meant I either had to wait (until god knows when) or never begin this project. The clematis that I planted on this very same tree skeleton was growing fast!!

Stairway to Heaven

After that last posting, I was ready for a change of pace and attitude! So here's a project with a positive outcome: a brand new stone and mosaic step for my studio. And yes, those are my feet at the bottom of the picture.
Bob had said for quite a while that he had stones picked out with which to construct an official step for my studio. I have been making due with a simple wooden step that was functional but not especially pretty. And instead of one large stone that would have been hard to move up from the stream area and put into place, Bob suggested three large stones with cement and mosaic in between. A great idea!
Bob did his usual magic leveling and arranging the stones and then he helped mix up the cement. I had the fun part of selecting the plates from our vast collection of smashable crockery (cheerfully provided by my place of employment as many dishes come in already cracked, chipped or otherwise defective). I first toyed with the idea of using a slew of green plates, then red plates and finally circled around to choosing blue plates as it references the blue walkway we made through the Blue Garden. It was the right choice as the perfect plates volunteered themselves and I happily bashed away.
It was fun playing with mosaic again; we hadn't done that since the walkway project. I know that making the terrace behind the house was a big inspiration to making the step. And what an important step it is! It leads into (and out of) my studio. There is that inevitable metaphor of crossing a threshold from one reality to another.
Here's a slightly further back view:

Isn't that nice the way the stones and the tile integrate? Plus it's so much larger that Robin and I have a bigger landing pad when we depart on our morning walk. (I don't remember exactly why we always exit through my studio, but we do... ). Bob correctly decided that the shape and color of the mosaic looked like an eye. I showed him a preliminary sketch I did- of an eyeball! I had wanted that as a sort of subtle suggestion, nothing really literal or obvious. Just a suggestion of the internal seeing that goes on when in the studio...

Terrace Complete!

It's only fair that I insert a photo of Bob hard at work on our terrace so that you don't mistakenly think that I did all the work. So here's Bob, mixing up the final batch of mortar to finish off those decorative seams of quartz rocks. This is, after all, The House That Quartz Built.

This is a nice detail shot, showing how we cleverly united the cement areas to the mixed cement and stone areas. It's a perfect balance between playful and practical (much like us!) and it looks good to boot.  It was great to be able to say, "We're done!" and take down the construction zone fencing and open the door directly out onto the lovely new terrace...

We celebrated it's completion yesterday, despite a steady rain and less than cooperative weather in general. The last two months have been unrelentingly warm and sunny and conducive to outdoor living on a nice terrace but plan a celebration and you get rain... at least it's good for curing cement!
It's great to finally finish a project that has been on our minds for the last six years. We do spend a huge percentage of our time outside and having a new outdoor room is a treat. I have almost forgotten how awful that rotting deck was.
And if you look really carefully at the back right hand side of the terrace, you'll see the flat cement slab that was already there and to the right of that is a small pile of rocks. This was intentionally put there: it's a new toad house. We have had a toad- or a few toads that all look pretty similar- residing under our rotting deck. We provided a small heap of canted rocks on the dirt at the edge of the terrace- a perfect replacement house for our resident toads. We hope s/he enjoys it!

Terrace Processo

So the real work on the terrace commences! (To be distinguished from all the preliminaries like hauling gravel, concrete and wood...) Bob is so smart. He figured out a nifty framework to level the areas we constructing: we wanted a combination of cement pads (that would be easier to shovel in the winter) and stone and concrete sections... along with narrower channels which are a combination of mortar and white quartz in between that would unite the pattern. And it had to slope away (slightly) from the house so as to drain well. So many things to consider!
Here we are, considering:

And then the endless mixing and applying began:

(Do I look like I know what I'm doing? Hmmmm....)These bags of cement weigh a ton (well... 90 pounds) but don't go as far as you'd think. We got 8 bags initially (remember all that math about how much weight we'd lifted one afternoon?) but we had to make a second and third trip to Home Depot for the same amount again and again.

Here's a couple of days later. Notice we have a very interesting- and stylish- mix of cement and rock going on. There's a lovely ratio of flat cement pads, radiating out from the door with the surrounding areas (that receive less foot traffic) being a mix of stone and cement. It's dynamic yet restful.

Another angle to better describe what's shaping up. We're about half way there and it is getting more exciting by the day. I can't wait to be able to use it! Next spring?

Square and Level

It took Bob and I all day to arrive at the above accomplishment. Bob says, "It doesn't LOOK like we did a lot, but we did". The day began with working out the elaborate ritual of elevation and square.
First, you have to draw out lines from the completed first wall of block. You set a small line level on a string and make sure both directions are level. This takes a while as you cannot be off or the whole building project is messed up- or "fucked" in the patois. So then after leveling determined, you have to square the strings to make a good corner. (I think I'm really tired from all the work- both mental and physical- and my explanation is dull and confused!) Anyway, it worked or so we hope. Seeing as how I am always maintaining that the universe is crooked, maybe it doesn't matter...  (Only kidding!)
Anyway, after all that Pythagorean figuring, we secured more block and began the sexy and exhausting work of actually erecting the wall on which the sill will set. We established the corners. That took the afternoon. Bob and I were both plum tuckered out after mixing wheel barrow upon wheel barrow load of three parts gravel, two parts sand and one part Portland cement and water to make a stiff mix; that's the recipe. Then of course, you must level the blocks... very exacting stuff, this foundation piece!

Bob tucked the corners in for the evening with tarps so that the concrete will stay damp and set up slowly. I really have learned a lot and the results are nothing short of amazing. I seem to have studio corners and the beginning of a real defined space.