Treasures from the Reuseum

I just brought home some new treasures from the Reuseum; so excited! brass weights; not a complete set, but that's OK :)

Old huge, heavy walkie-talkies: I swear these are from the Darma Initiative on the island.... The antenna's are like 5 feet tall :) And they work great!

A nifty looking level; says it's a farm level: now I need to find a little tripod for it--it came with the cutest little plumb-bob :)

And my fav. find of the day; an old lab scale; it's huge & heavy! I decided to put it in the dining room for now; I like the white against the red wall. Maybe I can use it to weigh apples or something...Oh; and the smaller letters on the wall came from the Reuseum too... I also scored a grey camouflage jacket, some wooden stir sticks, and some little Pyrex glass dishes :) The Reuseum is located in Garden City--stop in & check it out; its lots of fun.

Amber

Boise Flower & Garden Show

I spent a few hours on Sunday wandering through the Flower & Garden Show with Mom & Grammy; we had a nice time checking out all the displays & talking to lots of the business owners :) It's always fun to see entire landscapes brought inside for the event. Franze Witte had the best display by far: (In my humble opinion) they created a Mad Hatter Tea Party setting complete with a table planted with herbs & water running down the center.

And pink flamingos everywhere, of course; ya can't help but smile :)I would love to have this setup in my sculpture-garden-that-does-not-exist-yet. Minus the flamingos, with more steel & industrial accents of course.... someday....So much fun :)

We chatted with the guys from PooPeas for a bit; they are a new local company out of Parma that makes organic compost pellets that can go into any yard spreader. Made from cow manure, its a great recycling concept & non toxic/non chemical fertilizer for your lawn & garden :)

Mom & Grammy testing out a compost cooker :)

And, I was happy to see North End Organic Nursery there with a nice display; I have not been able to make it in yet to see the new place, but have been wanting to--check out their Facebook page.

And, baby chickens in the Zamzows display; so cute!

All in all, it was a great show; although not as many over the top displays as last year, I thought. We had a great time & got lots of ideas for spring projects: we left with our free Zamzows bag filled with all sorts of goodies :) It's definitely inspiring: I cant wait to get back to making more sculpture & projects for outside :)

Amber

The Twilight (Tractor) Zone....

Husband & I recently entered the Twilight Zone.....it was nothing but tractors: tractors as far as the eye can see! There was no escape... Everywhere we turned, just more tractors!
Actually, this is a tractor salvage place out near Middleton; we decided to stop in & have a look see, just for fun :)

This is my fav. pic of the day. Almost no after-editing; it just came out nice, I think :) Love the old rusty paint colors & the tires...

We managed to find our way back out, after an hour of wandering about. Will have to come back & really look through stuff sometime--we arrived just at closing time: lots of cool pieces & parts....oh the possibilities!

Amber

Me in a Black Hawk Helicopter???

I got my first ride in a helicopter yesterday; a Black Hawk H-60... OMG, it was cool! I am doing some work for the ESGR, based at Gowen Feild here in Boise. The Employer Support of the Guard & Reserve (ESGR) works with the local businesses that employ guardsmen or may employ them in the future: they got in contact with me about doing some award trophies, as well as a Top Secret project, that I cannot discuss at this time :)Anyway, a couple times a year, the ESGR invites business owners out to the base for a tour & some fun; they were kind enough to sneak me in at the last minute: thought I needed the inspiration for the upcoming projects. We got to play in the simulators: shoot guns, drive a hummer in a convoy, got a tour around the base with the historian & learned all about the history of Gowen Field, and got treated to a gourmet lunch of MREs. The highlight of the day was the ride in the Black Hawk.... After a quick briefing, they herded us all out to the flight line where 3 Black Hawks were ready & waiting; they carry 11 passengers each. After much struggling to get the seatbelt/harnesses hooked up right & get our headsets on, the rotors started turning, & we were off!

Unfortunately, the weather was bad; as you can see; it was pouring rain & low visibility, so they had to keep us just around the airport instead of the planned tour of the valley & Lucky Peak. But, all the same, it was really cool! We took off & landed out behind the airstrip as a super secret heli-pad (at least I never knew it was there..) and then took off again & did some really tight turns & maneuvers; wow, they go fast! We got a good look at Boise & the airport at all different angles :) It was an amazing experience, & I feel really luck to have been a part of it. Working with the ESGR has been really fun; and I 'm looking forward to making some really cool things for them; the super Top Secret project is going to be a big one, & I'm really excited about it.

Thanks Dick, Terry, & Eddie for sneaking me in; I had a blast!

Amber

Avery Hill stables block - demolition

Friends of Avery Hill Park have contacted us as a matter of urgency because of their concern that Greenwich University are demolishing some of our agricultural architectural heritage.

The University have started to clear a Victorian wooden stable block ready for demolition. This demolition is scheduled to be completed by the end of next week. The Avery Hill Stud Stables are not registered on the Greenwich Borough listed buildings; neither are they on the English Heritage listed buildings register. The Greenwich Council officer concerned has already given the University permission to demolish this building. There are no other Victorian wooden agricultural buildings in our borough. Greenwich University have neglected to maintain this building gifted to them by the council.
Surely the Avery Hill Stud Stables should be listed?

Advice & help urgently needed.

The Friends are also concerned that demolition is underway with apparently no check that there are no hibernating bats present. Pippistrelle, Serotine & Noctule bats are known to be in the park but at present their hibernating and roosting places are not fully established. Emails to the university officer in charge of the project; requesting confirmation that a bat inspection has been carried, out have been non productive. Are they too late to save any hibernating group that may be present?

Silo Moving Day

Last night was moving day for the smaller silo. When husband got home from work, we loaded up the ladders & tools & headed out near Kuna for the job....

Around 5 pm....


6:00-ish:

6:30 :

After 7: no more silo....
And, a pretty sunset to wrap up the evening :)

Not bad, for a few hours work. The silo will get a new home at either my Mom's house, Grammy's house, or we might take it up to the cabin; have not decided yet. The taller, open silo will come down next week... I can't wait to give them both a new life :)

Amber

Hobble Creek Park-update

Wahoo; the proposal passed the 1st approval round :) This is one I was the most worried about... The project still has to be approved by a bunch of other committees; I wont get final approval until sometime in April, but its looking good :)

I'm really excited about seeing this one in real life; its a giant weather vane that will be over 25 feet tall. It will move with the wind & also have a wind speed indicator on the top that will spin any time there is a breeze.

Steel, copper, & stainless steel, with a few gears, cables, & lots of nuts & bolts; it's going to be very whimsical, but made out of industrial materials.... For now, it's a waiting game until we have final approval--I'll be scouring the scrap yards for big pieces of steel plate, stainless, & copper sheet: these are hard to find in big pieces, but I'm hoping to be able to use all scrap material on this one: even if I have to use small pieces & join them together...

In other news, we met with Parametrix this week to talk about the new Julius Kliener Park; it's going to be at the corner of Fairview & Eagle Rd: 61 acres of beautifully designed park: with a library, walking paths, water features, and much more. I was selected to design the 3 landmark pieces that will help guide visitors through the park: each element to be at least 30 feet tall! This project is just getting under way; so I'm really looking forward to being involved in the whole process of constructing a park like this; it should be really interesting to learn about the process & work with the other contractors involved. Will upload concept pics as soon as I have them :)

For now, it's a beatiful spring day; I'm going to be cleaning out the workspace & working on the garden. Later tonight, we are going to go meet with ISE Crane Services to talk about both of these projects; then off to take down the grain silo I scored last week....busy, busy, but its all good :)

Amber

Hobble Creek Park, part 2

Sneak peek--this is the design I came up with for Hobble Creek Park--a giant weather vane :) I still have to finish up the last details of my proposal today, then turn it in for approval; the whole process will probably take about a month, then we can hopefully start fabrication---if it gets approval.... We shall see; would love to build this one; it will be made of steel, with accents of polished stainless, copper, & brass. It will turn in the wind, & also has a small wind speed thing on top that will spin....

Will upload the complete proposal later; for now: I'm off to Parametrix to talk about the Obelisks for Julius Kliener Park: this is the first meet & greet: should be fun :)
Later....

Guess What I Just Bought...

Even better than a pair of new jeans, :) I'm so excited to be the proud new owner of an old, rusty, grain silo! And...a corn dryer silo too! Whilst driving home from Kuna the other night (we were out visiting our Engineer friend) Kevin spotted this old farm with a bunch of old trucks: as usual, he slammed on the brakes, did a u-turn, & pulled into the driveway (all to my protests that some crazy old guy with a big gun was going to greet him at the door one of these days). Actually, we were greeted by a sweet grand-motherly lady with a cute dog--she laughed & said she knew nothing about the trucks, so call her husband: who was up in Idaho City at the moment....

Since we were there, one couldn't help but notice the old silos sitting out front.... So, Kevin called up Darrell later on, & set a time to come to come out & visit, talk trucks, & look around. He also inquired about the silos: knowing full well that I have wanted one for a garden shed, like forever...

Last night, we showed up & got a tour of the old farm; Darrell & his wife used to run a dairy: most of the farm land was sold years ago, but they kept one acre with the old house, shop, & some outbuildings. Turns out that none of the trucks had the parts Kevin was looking for, but we did make a deal on the grain silos! The smaller enclosed silo will be converted into a garden shed: so cute...And the corn silo: I have a few ideas floating around for a temporary public art project: the city of Boise is going to be sponsoring some eco-art projects later this spring, & I think this silo could be the basis for my proposal :) Later on, it will make a lovely garden structure; perfect for growing vines on.... So, tonight we will go back to the farm & make a plan for moving the two buildings: they both come apart easily into lightweight pieces, & should be fairly easy to move (we'll see). Another fun project for spring--cant wait!

Amber

Sunday Sunset...

On Robinson Road; just outside of Nampa; the perfect end to a lovely sping Sunday....