A few visual updates on the "Tower Bridge"

From a couple days ago -

Big honkin handrails!!!!

It's beginning to look almost park-like! It is smoke - stuff burning in the creek bed - including the big tree that took down the test zip line.  It's gonna be burning for several days - but it's OK,  it's in the creek bed!

Last of three posts today -

CAT ON A (not so ) HOT (piece of) TIN (that used to be a) ROOF

Sunday was a squirrely day

Nothing special about that but these are all different squirrels and I took all the pictures at the same time - just stood at the kitchen window and fired away at them - with the camera!

It's been a while since the last one but . . .

there goes load number three!!

A couple signs of Spring!

The nest in the chapel now has a couple eggs

A sorta new resident on the road to the Nature Preserve!

Two Wildernest construction projects

This is the project we've been working on and we're almost to the point of adding the final bracing and hand rails. Then we'll need to redo the Zipline part of it.

This is the other construction project. It's being built on a candle holder in the chapel and the builder-artist has put many more hours into it than we have on our bridge-tower project. It's really very well done and there's a lot of beauty to it.

West Bridge Zipline Tower progress

This picture was taken from the BOD (overlook deck at the pond),  Look carefully at the area in the rectangle formed by the branches in the upper center of the picture.  Is that - stairs??  (You might want to double click the picture to make it bigger and then do it again to make it much bigger.)

This is the way it looks from the Orange Trail going toward the Treehouse!

This is looking even more impressive than our original concept!  We only worked on this in the afternoon.  Alex and Daniel are volunteering their time and talents to building a project at the Master Gardener Wildscape Garden and we worked there in the morning.  Goint to do the same thing again tomorrow.

FRUSTRATION!

My shopping for a Wildernest hiking stick medallion really began last November.  After the initial contact with the company that would make them I took a few weeks to get a design in mind.  Some mis-communication delayed it a bit more and then they tried several designs before sending me one for approval.  It was good but we made some changes and got new art work samples that are back there about two months ago in my blog posts.  Then we ordered them and the order was sent to China with about a six weeks lead time.  That turned into eight weeks - the last bit in-transit. They send the shipments in bulk to Washington (state) and the individual packages go out from there.  I've been watching the progress with my FedEx (Ground) tracking number and it was suppose to arrive today so I stayed at the house all day and about 4:30 the package was delivered!!  The design turned out really nice but - the paint color is LIME green - not the Hunter Green that was on the artwork (and there's too much paint on the letters.).  So I've sent my complaint email that they'll get Monday morning.  Then I guess it will be another 6-8 weeks.  As I said in the title - FRUSTRATION!!!

Here comes the West Bridge Zipline Tower!

The red rope goes from the top of the tall post laying on the ground way in front of you, up to a pulley at the top of the ladder, and then towards you to the pick-up truck not in the picture.  It lifted the pole into place easily!  Daniel's idea!!

 

The Zipline deck was ready for the planking when we called it a day! 

(Just so you know - I know that zip line is two words, as is tree house, but at Wildernest they are capitalized and they are Zipline and Treehouse.  Of course we'll now have West Bridge Zipline and Treehouse Zipline!)

Glynda's first iris blossom!

This turned out nice!  I'm posting it too big but what the heck??

The Orange Trail West Bridge is underway!

Yes - we've got a lot happening here right now! Alex and Daniel started the Orange Trail West Bridge today!

4:06 PM - First stringer of the new bridge going in.  Daniel is standing on the old one.

4:47 PM - Old bridge is gone and both sides of the new bridge are in.

5:41 PM - Daniel driving home the last pier of the new bridge

6:38 PM - The last board of the new bridge going on!

Two hours and thirty-two minutes of work today.  But this structure is not finished.  This is going to be impressive when it's finished!  The zip-line tower part of it goes up tomorrow. And, yes, this did happen the very same day as the removal of the old camper trailer. (See the next post.)

An unexpected project!!

We came home a few days ago and found Missy.  She'd been taking tin off of the part of the old barn roof that had fallen down.

Two days later this is what the barn looks like

This is where the barn was

T

This is the first load of junk leaving.  He got over $300 for it!

This is the camper leaving!  There are three more trailers to haul away.

There's still quite a bit of clean-up to do but it's good to be at this stage.

"Pre-Spring" is pretty much yellow here!

The native jonquils are everywhere!

Daffodils are usually first

Our Carolina Jasmine is blooming more than ever before!

Pansies are best when the weather begins to warm. (We do have other colors of these.)

Johnny Jump-ups (Violas) are there all winter but really shine when the weather warms. 

Even the Lime Mound Spirea, that will later be "lime" starts off very yellowish!

What's with this??

I was looking at this picture of Justin on Facebook the other day and noticed the resemblance to the little picture just to the right of Justin :)

The new Collin County DA calls me "dad"!

And here I am borrowing his chair for a few minutes before his swearing in ceremony yesterday.

We are very proud of him and his route to this new position and we're proud of the support he's earned from the people of Collin County.  It's humbling to know that your son is the man they have elected to keep them safe from crime and from the bad guys and it's gratifying to know that he will do that and do it in a way that maintains the integrity of the person and the office.  I know it because I'm bias but also because a lot of people have told me in person and in print that they believe in him and they say that he's the kind of man we all need in public office.