Nova bonsai garden

[markyscott]

Timber framed structures are truly special. My first home in MA was a Federal style center chimney colonial built in the mid 18th century. The hewn posts and beams were massive and you could actually walk beneath the 6 fireplace chimney which was built on a wooden structure with posts that rested on stone footings on the dirt basement floor. That was the only part of the house that had apparently settled the least, as the rest of the house sloped away from the chimney. Living in a house where everything was basically made by hand was thought provoking to say the least, and I miss it (though I don't miss the drafts or lack of closet space). I know you appreciate what you have there and look forward to see what it becomes in this new chapter.

I have to say that I’m very glad that this is a modern rebuild and I like the solid foundation with footers instead of timbers standing on a piece of rock and eyeball leveled, lol. It did stand like that for over 200 years, so I guess that I can’t really complain. But hopefully, 200 years hence, it will still be standing with fewer sags than the last 200 years.

 

[PerryB]

Hand-hewn timbers are really precious items: the skill and patience involved is unlike anything in regular construction practices today. To say nothing about mortise and tenon joinery! You are building a rare jewel out there in Delaplane.
Also, kudos for the standing seam metal roof. The first 10 years of my construction company history was entirely under metal roofing. When I finally built our dream house, we made sure to do a traditional standing seam metal roof (albeit on a very modern house).

 

[markyscott]

Trenching water lines today. In addition to putting in drinkers for the cattle, I’ll be installing a backup system for the bonsai cistern. Right now the cistern is filled with rainwater collected from the barn and high tunnel. It works pretty well as long as it rains. When it doesn’t, I’m hauling water. Once the well line is put in, it will work as an automatic backup - when I get down to a quarter tank, a float valve will allow water from the well to fill the tank. Once the tank is halfway full, it will shut off.

 

[markyscott]

Today I worked on restoring an old spring development. The previous owners had developed a spring on the mountain and plumbed it into a 6000 gallon cistern. We want to use it as a backup water supply for the farm, but that means digging up the old spring and rebuilding it. This is a good time to do it as it’s been a very dry summer and the spring is presently dry. So today I dug it out and replaced the plumbing. It had deteriorated badly and tree roots had grown into the works.

 

[markyscott]

Late summer meadow views - great time for wildflowers.


We are converting two of our smaller pastures into wildflower meadows.


Blue mist flower


Maryland golden aster


Gray goldenrod


Giant ironweed


Yellow crownbeard


Field thistle

 

[markyscott]

There has been a ton happening at the farm.

6000’ of water line, 4 drinkers and 8 hydrants across the property.



10’000’ of new fencing.


And two new barns.

 

[markyscott]

The only thing left to do on the old timber framed ban is to put in the doors and windows. The barn on the right is a post and beam barn, but has some timber framing in it as well. On the first floor, it has a workshop and an equipment room (that’s where the power is coming in to the building site and where we’re putting the pressure tank for the well and the water filtration system for the property. Upstairs it houses the farm office.

Here are the windows we’re putting in to the old barn.


There is a story about these. My brother-in-law is a developer in Knoxville TN. About 10 years ago we visited him and he took us on a tour of an old school he had bought that he was turning into condos. I turns out that the school had been used as a location for some scenes in a movie called “October Sky” and lot’s of pieces of the set were still there. Fast forward 10 years and my wife and I were looking through his warehouse of old building supplies, trying to find some windows for this barn. He had about a pallet of these - turns out they came out of the October Sky school. Now a new lease on life in an old barn in Virginia.

It was a ton of work to refinish and paint all of these, but they turned out beautifully.

- Scott

 

[gooeytek]

The dream!

 

[markyscott]

Lots of trees showing fall colors. I moved the ficus into the high tunnel ahead of some cold nights ahead and the potential for a freeze. Everything else is settling down for a good winters rest. Fall cleanup of pines and junipers underway and removing lots of wire from the broadleaf trees.

 

[markyscott]

Power is slowly coming closer to the studio. Running power to the house site today. Studio is next!

 

[markyscott]

Bull Run mountains looking beautiful this evening.

 

[Dabbler]

Oh man I'm in Hampton roads in VA, your place looks soo cool then city life where I am! Living the dream!

 

[markyscott]

Heavily into conifer wiring season - here’s a shohin JBP in early refinement that I just finished. Also - prepping for the cold front approaching next week.