Thursday, January 22, 2009

Jesus Christ

This last Sunday Melanie was supposed to take Ashley to see a play. It was my Valentine gift to Melanie as she just had to see it. Well, she came down with a bug and was unable to go. So I had to go in her place. Jesus Christ...Superstar.. Yes that is the play I went to with Ashley. A musical... Now this is not my first musical. I went to see Phantom of the Opera and it was great but Jesus Christ? Ted Neely who played in the original musical like back in the 1800's was still playing Jesus Christ! Amazing!! I was surprised. The singing and acting were first rate. I enjoyed the play. Our seats were in Orchestra and we had a great view. My only complaint was the lady that I was sitting next to reeked of smoke and her breath was horrible! So much for culture.

Tree Top






Thank you for pointing out that I did not post a picture of the house in the tree. There is no activity just yet.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Are you afraid of heights?







Well, here is the finished project. I used a rope to haul the Owl Pad up to the top of the large oak in the back yard. As you can see from the pictures, my ladder only went part of the way up the tree. It is a 20 foot extension ladder, and the pad is about 6 or seven feet higher. I had Ashley hold the end of the rope until I could tie the Owl Pad in place. "Dad, are you scared?" she yells up. No I yell back." I would be" she yells. I was hanging on for dear life. After about 2 hours of messing around with the lag bolts, I was able to get a good secure anchor into the tree limb. I left a handle on top and secured the Owl Pad with a rope just to have a back up incase the lag bolts give way. When all was done, I took Melanie out to have a look at the new addition. When it was pointed out to her she just about had a heart attack. After she recovered from the shock of just how high up the box is off the ground, I thought she was going to put me in the ground. Now thaat this project is over, no more on it until I have something move in. Owls, I hope.












The Owl Pad

The Owl Pad is finished. I applied two coats of a lighter brown paint and then streaked it with a darker brown paint. I left the perck natural and the inside is bare wood. The next step is to put it up in the tree. Twenty feet up in the tree! I will have to use some sort of rope and hook to help drag the pad up the tree and hold it in place while I attack the pad to the tree using three three inch lag bolts with washers. I will attempt this later today or tomorrow. If there are no more posts you will know that I fell out of the tree and broke my neck. I will post pictures of the finished project.

Friday, January 2, 2009

Home Sweet Owl Home


The Owl House is complete. I usued 3/4 inch plywood for all sides except the top, I ran out of scrap wood. I used a branch off the tree that fell in the back yard for the perch. The opening is 6 inches and the box is 24 inches tall and approximately 12 inches square. I ran out of time today to put it up in the tree so that will have to be done this weekend. I have several small holes in the bottom to drain any water that will get inside. I need to put some material in the bottom so any eggs that are laid will not roll around. I will post more pictures when the box is in the tree.