Homestead Build Update August 23, 2021

Greetings! We hope you are healthy and happy! We are. It’s been a little while since I’ve posted. We’ve been busy, as usual. Trying to get ready for autumn and then winter.

The Deck
Our deck should be completed in the next week or two. We will be able to enjoy that for September and even a lot in October and November. Very excited to have that coming!

Our deck in progress. It’s 12’ x 10’ perfect size for us!

Jeanne and I stained and sealed all of the wood for the railing, stairs, and deck. It’s gorgeous stuff and will survive the strong UV and weather up here.

The Studio and Darkroom Building
My studio building is coming along, too. We emptied our 40’ shipping container, so all of my darkroom and studio equipment and supplies are in it now. We have to use it for storage right now as we sort out our household goods and unpack everything. My bladesmith equipment and material is in the shop area of our house (our garage) and will be setting all of that back up in the coming weeks.

Studio-Darkroom Building and our greenhouse.

My forge equipment; anvils, hammers, welder, saws, oxy-acetylene rig, grinders, tools and supplies. Ready to setup!

The Greenhouse
I’ve posted before about our “experimental” grow this year. We started late and really didn’t know what would grow here, or not. We’ve been really surprised. Next year, we’ll have raised beds and an enormous harvest.

Beef Steak Tomatoes… must be 20 or 30 on this one plant.

Cucumbers…

Cherokee Purple Tomato. These are gorgeous!

Green Peppers starting to show.

Green Pepper plant.

Broccoli

El Fuego, starting to flower ;-)

10 days into flowering and you can already see the trichome production!

Every morning between 6 AM and 8 AM, we have several mule-tail deer visit our property. There are both does and bucks.

Studio and Darkroom Building Completed!

The building is up and it looks really good!

In some ways, the work really begins now. We have to finish the concrete floor (epoxy) and build out the darkroom and studio area. The direction and light couldn’t be better! Super excited to expose some plates!

We tried to match the house colors. It looks good with the house that’s up the hill.

I’m having a roll up (10’x 10’) door put on for the studio “window”. Great north light for Wet Collodion photography!

The view from the forge/shop area - looking southeast.

Looking out of the studio area toward the forge/shop and house.

It’s big - very tall and plenty of room to do what I need to do in it.

Just cleaned up and waiting for the floor to dry.

The view from the back - looking northeast.

Studio and Darkroom Update

It’s been over two months since we started this project. More like six months if you count the excavation work. We planned it well and now we’re almost crossing the finish line.

Even when the building is up, we still have a lot of work to do inside. We’re sealing the concrete floor first and then we have to build out the darkroom. We need to insulate the building as well. We would like to build some storage areas above the darkroom too. The building is so tall it would be a lot of wasted space if we don’t. Still a lot of work, but we’re really excited to complete it.

I’ll be making prints and images in here sooner than later. A real dream come true for me. This is the final (the last) studio and darkroom I’ll ever build. I’ve built-out a lot of places over the past 20 years (darkrooms and studio spaces), but this is the last one - it will take me to the end.

We had some rain last night. The building should be close to complete today (Friday, July 23, 2021).

It feels much bigger than I expected. I’m super happy about that.

To the left, you can see my 10’ x 10’ (3 x 3 meter) north-facing opening. The UV up here is so strong, I can’t wait to see how Collodion responds to it!

Can you see the Mule Deer? She was just walking by when I was snapping the photos. She saw me and paused for a second and then just went about her business. I love this land!!

There she is!

POST SCRIPT: Our ClimaPod Greenhouse is amazing! Our fruits and veg are growing like crazy. I’m really surprised at this elevation how these are performing. We’ll be eating tomatoes, zucchini, and squash soon. We’re looking forward to it. We have a local butcher that we’ll buy meat from and stock up on the essentials. I think by next year we’ll be feeding ourselves quite well.

Introduction to My New Project: Culturally Modified Trees (CMTs)

Greetings! I know some of you follow and read my blog entries for the wet collodion process stuff. This entry should be of interest to you.

I want to do an introduction to my new body of work I hope to complete in the next couple of years - or however long it takes.

The work doesn’t have a name right now, I’ve been calling it “Sacred Red Earth”. That will more than likely change, but for now, that’s what I call it. So what is it?

We moved last year from the Denver metro area to the mountains of Teller County, Colorado. We have 12 acres here on top of a mountain mesa. It’s a gorgeous place. It’s full of wildlife and all kinds of flora. The diversity here is incredible.

This was home to the Ute Indians for a very long time. They have all kinds of sacred places and objects still on the landscape today. That’s what my project will be about; sacred landscapes and objects.

Specifically the sacred rock formations (think Garden of the Gods) and something most have never heard of sacred trees. These are called “Culturally Modified Trees” (CMTs). There are prayer trees, medicine trees, navigational trees, etc. All of them were modified by the Ute people. They served different purposes, but they were all sacred or special to the indigenous people. These culturally scarred trees are of several different types: (1) the Peeled Bark, or Medicine Trees, (2) the Bent or Prayer Trees, (3) arborglyphs or Message Trees, and (4) burial markers or Burial Trees. In deference to the Ute Nation, I will use the terminology that my Ute consultants use. Their lexicon generally refers to the different trees by functionality. (Marilyn A. Martorano)

I’ve recently talked to John Anderson. I would consider him to be the leading expert (other than the Ute Elders) on these CMTs here in Colorado. Or at least one of them. I told him my interest in including these trees in my work. I still have a lot of research to do but I feel good about the direction. He invited me to go on a hike in September to look at some of these trees in the area. I’m mostly interested in the trees in my local region (Teller County) where I live.

A big thanks to John Anderson for answering my questions and turning me onto great resources for my project. You should check out his books on Amazon and watch his Ted talk here:

Images from Colorado Open Space Alliance Conference

Mount Pisgah Reservoir

This is about 4 miles (6 kilometers) from our place. Next year, we’ll be out paddling around in a boat and fishing here.

Mount Pisgah Reservoir Teller County, Colorado (aka Wrights Res) - I shot this photo this morning - July 15, 2021.

The Studio, Darkroom and Land Layout

I’ve never shown this view of the layout. This is looking north-northeast. The studio and darkroom foundation in the foreground, the greenhouse (shaded from the sun - south-facing) and our home (garage facing south-southwest).

The crew is here Thursday to start the building and will be finished Saturday! I hope I can show it off on the Studio Q Show LIVE! on Saturday.

Studio foundation - almost completely cured!

Greenhouse Update

This year was going to be our “experimental” grow year. Since we’ve had so many projects going, and the greenhouse was just completed, we didn’t know how well we would do. In reality, we were just testing various vegetables/fruits to see what would do well at this elevation. A “test run” if you will for next year.

It’s really surprising us! The plants have only had 3 weeks in the greenhouse and we are starting to show “fruits”. The tomatoes, four varieties, (Mr. Stripey, Cherokee Purple, Beef Steak, Red Cherry Large) will take 90 - 100 days to produce fruit (September harvest). Some of the others will take less time. The squash, zucchini, broccoli, cucumbers, and green bell peppers should produce fruit sometime in August. It’s all an experiment. And it’s a lot of fun.

I open the greenhouse every morning around 8 AM. It’s cool and sunny every morning. I also water (if they need it). We got a “shader” for the south side of the greenhouse - the sun is so intense up here, the plants do much better with it up. In the Fall and beginning of winter, we can take it off.

Just waking up… We grow in Air Pots. This allows the roots to “self-prune” and not get root-bound. This is all organic, no chemicals, only Organic Living Soil (OLS). We make that ourselves - amended soil that allows the cleanest, most healthy plants possible. After all, we are going to eat all of this!!

Our potted Squash is doing really well.

Here comes the Yellow Squash!

We're Almost There... Crossing the Finish Line!

In the words of The Grateful Dead, “what a long strange trip it’s been” - I guess I would change the phrase to, “what a long, expensive, exhausting, and enlightening journey it’s been”. Every ounce of energy, ever penny spent, and every headache suffered, it’s all been worth it. Would I do it again? Probably not. Would I be better at making it happen? Absolutely. This is one of those things that you only want, and need, to do once in life. As long as it doesn’t ruin you emotionally or financially, it’s a BIG WIN! No regrets. At all.

We now have the foundation for the studio/darkroom building completed. It was a long day yesterday making that happen. And did I say how expensive it was? Trying to get contractors and materials up here can be 20% to 50% more expensive than in the suburbs. I would warn anyone building in a remote area to be aware of this - don’t think that if it costs $100 in town, it will be $100 where you’re at. It will be more like $120 or $150 - and times that by the number of projects you want to do. Also, inflation has taken a bite out of the budget as well and it compounds all of it. Okay, enough about the money. You get it.

As of today, we have only three (outside contractors) projects to complete: erection of the 20x30 building, the deck on the house, and the free-standing wood burning stove. We’ve started all three and hope to have them complete by the end of August. The building should go up in the next two weeks, and the deck should be completed in that time-frame as well. Jeanne and I will frame and finish the darkroom/studio area ourselves and complete that this month sometime. And then we’ll get ready for winter.

It’s been a 5 year journey. We hope 2022 will be our “settling” year. No more building, no more contractors, and no more spending money like a drunk soldier on leave. We’re really looking forward to enjoying the fruits of our labor.

Quinn acting as a three-point buck on pouring day! Photo by Jeanne

Pouring the concrete slab for the building - July 6, 2021

16 yards of 4000 PSI concrete -

We were lucky and had great weather for the pour and finish.

Almost cleaned up - forms being removed.

Ready to cure for a week and then the building goes up!

There it is! We start putting the building up on July 15, 2021. It should be completed on July 17, 2021. Then, I will build out the inside (darkroom and studio), get the doors and windows in, and start making images!!!

Reflecting On Our Journey... Waxing Philosophical

It’s the little things in life that make it worth living. Little things that add up to the big things.

Finding meaning in life is very important. Ernest Becker calls it self-esteem. When a person doesn’t find meaning in their life, they become depressed and anxious. Feeling safely immersed in a meaningful conception of reality (i.e., the cultural worldview) ultimately functions to protect people from anxiety due to the uniquely human capacity to be cognizant of their eventual death.

Looking back, Jeanne and I feel accomplished and have found meaning beyond words doing what we’ve done. We’re in our late 50s (still young), and feel like we’ve accomplished more in the last 30 years than we could in a hundred lifetimes.

We’re not wealthy, in the financial sense. As Jeanne always points out, we’re millionaires in other ways, many other ways. However, we have been able to be disciplined, and have saved over the 30 years we’ve been together. We’ve worked hard. Very hard. And we’ve sacrificed. For example, (the little things that add up over time) we haven’t been “out to eat” (restaurants, food trucks, whatever) for almost five years. Every meal has been made at home. We haven’t been to a theater, movie-house, concert, etc. for even longer. Not that we wouldn’t have wanted to do those things, it’s because we had bigger dreams (land and a homestead) and wanted to stay debt-free. So we stayed home, saved the money, and kept our dream alive. Jeanne’s worked hard taking care of the home and doing administrative work for Studio Q. I’ve had two jobs most of my life. A regular “9 to 5” job working as a photographer and working Studio Q - teaching, writing, and making personal work.

We’re happy and content. We like solitude. Maybe it’s our age. Maybe our life travels have satisfied the need to do all of that “stuff”. We’ve traveled the world, met some amazing people, and had some of the most amazing experiences. I’m not sure. We’re happy here, and we’re at peace. According to Aristotle, happiness consists in achieving, through the course of a whole lifetime, all the goods — health, wealth, knowledge, friends, etc. — that lead to the perfection of human nature and to the enrichment of human life. This requires us to make choices, some of which may be very difficult.

I feel my ego receding. I no longer have the desire to “compete” or to “be the best” at what I do. I just feel content doing what I do, regardless of what the world thinks. I no longer care what people think. I really don’t. The wonderful thing about growing older is that you leave that baggage behind. You gain insight, maybe maturity, and realize what’s really important in life. And I can tell you, it’s none of those things or what people think about you. And you might be surprised how little, if any, people actually think about you (ego).

As we spend our time on this mountain, reflecting and trying to make the rest of our lives the best we can, we want to make sure that our family and friends know we love them, we miss them, and we want only the best in life for them. Socrates said, "Be slow to fall into friendship; but when thou art in, continue firm and constant."

Jeanne and I eat a lot of eggs. We don’t like the store eggs and try to find locals with eggs. Next Spring, we’ll get our own fresh supply every day - this is three-hen coop and will fit our needs perfectly - four - six eggs a day.

The Greenhouse Has Life!

We are happy to report our greenhouse is up and functioning. We still have some minor detail work, but we have plants growing and thriving inside!

The weather here is cool and wet. We love it. However, it’s delaying our concrete pour for the studio building. We need sry weather for at least three days to do it. Right now, we have a week of rain and cool temps 50s - 60s F (10C - 15C).