Minister's Tree House

I spent the 4th of July at this tree house with Michael and Abigail. It was unbelievable. Many of my friends have been here before and I have seen so many pictures but it is worth the drive to experience it for yourself.

Some Tree House Facts:

-The tree house is in right outside of Cookeville, Tennessee.

-It was built by Horace Burgess, a part-time landscaper/part-time tree-house builder.

-He has spent almost 20 years on this project, after being inspired to begin in 1993.

-As the story goes, "I was praying to God and he said, 'If you build me a tree house, I will get you all the supplies." 

-20 years worth of passion, he has actually only put $14,000 into this project. 

-It is 10 stories tall (100 feet) and about 10,000 square feet inside.

-The tree house has structural support on the ground but it also uses the support of 7 trees. One of the trees is an 85 foot massive oak tree. 

-He has put over 258,000 nails into the house. 

-It has over 80 rooms. 

-No blueprints involved, just inspired by God.

-There is actually an architectural class working on making blue prints of this structure now. 

-Admission is totally free. He makes close to no money on this landmark. I bet if he started charging there would be some liability issues. That is probably why there are 'private property' and 'no trespassing' signs everywhere!

-Horace believes that this tree house represents that we are the church and no structure can define it. 

-The tree house is going into the Guinness Book of World Records this year for the Biggest Tree House in the World. 

We heard some hammering coming from the top tower. I knew that Horace Burgess, the designer/builder, is still adding on to the house and I had a feeling it was him. Horace is pictured above putting flags up for the holiday. I snagged the picture of him below off the internet. We ran into him as we were climbing up one of the staircases. He was really friendly and walked up to me and said, "Hi, I am Horace, I built this house." He went on to tell us that he has poured 20 years into this project. It took 11 years to put the roof on. He emphasized that it was a labor of love. It has been a lot of labor but he loves it. He is still adding on to the tree house today and hopes to build a gift shop to make his project self-sustaining. He is currently taking a year off of landscaping so he can put his efforts on the gift shop. After sharing his story he made sure to say that it warms his heart and he is so blessed that people like us show up. And then he walked off telling us to enjoy our visit. 

There was graffiti and signatures everywhere!

From the tallest tower you can see the gardens. He made this as a gift for his wife, so when she is in the tallest tower she can see Jesus in the garden. 

There were so many nooks and crannies. We found one with a tiny swing in it. 

This is the balcony of the chapel.

Below, there was huge chapel in the center of the tree house. 

After taking an hour to explore the tree house, we played hide n'seek. Definitely recommend it! 

A lovely Wednesday visit. 

Paint Chip Art

I love using paint chips for art. Every time I go into Home Depot, Lowes, or Walmart, I grab as many color swatches as I can without looking too suspicious. The best kinds are the ones that are only one color per sheet. You can do so much more with them. 

I love geometric shapes and these colors!

I incorporated pen and ink with this piece of art that I put in my office. 

Here are some other ideas from Pinterest:

You can use any type of punch for these ones, they have used hearts and butterflies. Here are some instructions. 

Bookmarks! Where I found it

Some really cool, geometric art..no instructions found.

Another great idea,make a mobile! 

Make a calendar!

Really cool stationary! I found it from an Etsy site, but they no longer sell this stationary.

I love this necklace too!

Enjoy!

Our Backyard Update

Well the garden is taking off. I still have no clue what I am doing. And it is so dry and hot here. I was anti-pesticide when I started the garden but now I am trying to decide if there are organic ways I can protect the cabbage, tomatoes and peppers. Bugs are attacking! 

I have also learned that leafy veggies, like cabbage, arugula, lettuce and spinach are not really worth the work, or at least not worth it without pesticide. Plants growing in the ground and veggies like corn, beans, and tomatoes, are easier because even if the bugs devour the plant, you don't eat the leaves. I also didn't realize that arugula is a fall veggie. The leaves were so bitter. 

I have learned a lot the past few months and now I know what will and won't work in my garden next year. 

Here is our first harvest! Some green beans, lettuce, basil and arugula. The fresh herbs we get daily has paid for all the expenses that went into the garden, easily. 

Now time for the coop!

Michael and I built a coop from scratch. We used a lot of scrap wood but had to buy the chicken wire and tin roof.

 We built a little hatch on the back so we could pull the eggs out once they start laying.

The inside of the coop has two perching ladders and nesting boxes for them to lay eggs.

Coop before I painted it. 

Michael putting together the chicken run. Not pictured, but we added a gate to the side of the run so I can replace the water and food. 

Ya... I went a little overboard with color. We had a lot of extra house paint laying around from our tenants and our painting projects. I added a faux window too. I might make a flower box, we will see :)

The chickens are outside! I am so happy to not have chickens inside my house anymore. They are not very loud but they are stinky! 

                                                                       Jean is so cute. 

Doris learning how to use the ramp. 

I love these cute chickens. 

If you want to know how to start raising chickens from chicks, read my previous blog!

So much work, but so rewarding. I love waking up and feeding the chickens and watering the garden. And when I get home I weed the garden and watch the chickens run around and fight over the top ledge of the coop. They make me laugh, such great pets. And this is before they are even laying eggs!