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TREE HOUSE |
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I haven't heard tell of any kids that at sometimes in their lives haven't dreamed of having a tree house. I have written in The Love Story about how Cheri and I decided that the world was too complicated, and that in defiance we would assume the roles of kids and their ability to just let go and have fun. Cheri decided to become the precocious 4 year old... and I decided to play the role of a rambunctious 8 year old. |
| So... for two kids the leap from reality to the acquisition of a real, live, genuine tree house was at best a short one. When I had my first vision of the Barn - Tree House complex as described in The Barn, the tangled grove of big trees down stream from the old barn seemed an ideal location for the perch in the tree tops. |
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By January 2000, the time had come to really get serious about our Tree House project. I plotted, schemed, and planned, and finally was able to establish boundaries for the first floor around the base of the large trees. I decided to make the Tree House two stories with a high deck on top, and Crows Nest accessible by ladder to another level nestled in the tree tops... a full four stories tall. |
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The shape of the second level could not be determined until the bottom floor was completed because of the angle and lean of the trees higher up. Needless to say, the rooms of the Tree House are full of many angles as they conform to the will of the trees architecture. |
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| By early Spring, the second level of the tree house was beginning to take shape. |
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A view from the Sycamore Deck of the Barn and Tree House from creek-side |
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| The bottom two floors of the Tree House are woven in among the trees but are not tied to the trees so that wind will not cause the trees to damage the structure. The Crows Nest, on the other hand, is tied directly to the tree tops, and a brisk wind storm is a thrilling experience, moving the enclosure as much as 12 inches from side to side. |
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At a 2002 Christmas party for the construction workers we had a bag pipe rendition of Amazing Grace played in the Crows Nest just before sunset... it caused goose bumps. |
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| Work Out Room |
| An exercise room fills the bottom floor of the Tree House. Time Tiles (old magazine adds mounted on chip board) have been applied to cabinet doors around the room which add a colorful touch to the surroundings. |
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| Music Room |
| We call the second floor of the Tree House the Music Room... but it's really a hang out for four year olds. Cheri has her computer set up here and loves to communicate with people via E-Mail. The decor is certainly vintage four year old, featuring stuffed animals, giant doll, and Indian displays. Several of her paintings are also displayed on the walls. |
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| Cheri and Paul take great delight in putting jigsaw puzzles together. Instead of tearing them apart when finished they have been transformed into puzzle tiles and assembled on a wall of the Tree House. |
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| Out House |
| It is not unusual to find that people who live in Barns and Tree Houses have need for an Out House. Yes... we have an Out House, but we fudged with tradition... ours is heated, cooled, has running water, a shower, and a modern potty. |
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| The Decks Around the Barn and Tree House |
| All of the decks around the Barn and Tree House overlook a most scenic Carr Creek, and its sounds permeate both day and night times. Next to the barn is a covered deck on the ground floor, and an open deck overhead. On the approach to the barn's upper deck, a see-through clear acrylic panel allows a peek at the top of the spinning water wheel, and a lighted quartz crystal display in the corner of the high deck provides a special lighting effect at night. Rope lights outline the sides of the decks producing a dazzling display as nature's light fades.. |
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A look toward the Tree House will reveal giant wind chimes... a grand charmer in a soft breeze. |
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It's a real mystery how the early inhabitants of the area were able to exist and prosper without a hot tub... it's no wonder they were called savages. Ours overlooks the creek, looks up at the stars, and listens to the heavenly symphony of sounds at night |
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| Swinging Bridge & Sycamore Deck |
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Jerry Vandercook, our contractor said, "You want what... a Swinging Bridge." "Yes," I reasoned, "If you can build a Tree House... surely you can swing a bridge"... and he did. Most Swinging Bridges simply go from one side of a creek to the other side. Well, ours goes from the deck to the most beautiful Sycamore tree that you can imagine. Growing into the creek bank, this huge tree was probably close to a century old when it fell across the creek. The present giant is a new growth from the original tree. |
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| Cheri's sister, Candy, and her husband Eddie found us a deep sea fishing rod and reel in Key West that purportedly was used by Earnest Hemingway. We mounted it on the "Sycamore Deck" to await a Tarpon run on Carr Creek. |
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| A Bridge to Winter |
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