Stew's Garden Scale Downtown Marketplace

Adding The Downtown Marketplace Feature To Our Barkyard Railroad Empire

We're still having fun with this...

Our latest garden scale additions have been to our new old house - a two bedroom, one bath bungalow in Mount Dora. It was built circa 1925, at least, we're pretty sure it was. The records say it was built in 1925, but there was this fire, a fire that destroyed all of the records previous to 1925. But I digress...

If you've been following along, you know we've been busy adding a pond and working on other features to dress up our pike. A station to go with that siding that leads to it and the patio. The station has been a permanent fixture on our Barkyard Railroad for quite some time now. The pond was just installed not even a month ago. Now we have to do something about yet again levelling the ground inside the lower loop, having already addressed the the constant pounding the track was being subjected to by the dogs. The dirt is once again getting mounded up around the track, the original cause of the stringers rotting and needing replaced. I've already raised them off the ground and ballasted with gravel to keep the stringers from coming in contact with the dirt. Dirt that once again covers the track. And now a large depression has formed just on the other side of the track, where the dogs land after jumping over the track. We need some way to keep this from happening again and again...

(Saturday, 4 May 2019 - May the fourth be with you)

So after much discussion, Ann and I decide to add some buildings inside the lower loop. Buildings like the company house we stayed in when we visited Cass, WV. Buildings like the three and four story downtown businesses, like the ones we grew up with in Alliance, OH. Sears, J.C. Penney, Schwartz, etc. So I figure I'll start by just laying out some concrete blocks to get an idea of the scale, and how many will fit, and where. But first I have to once again level the inside of the lower loop. I grab my gloves and head out to the shed to grab the metal rake. Soon after pulling some of the high spots into the low spots, I realize I'm going to need to rake up those leaves and all the lighter debris before trying to move the heavier sand and dirt.

Ann was on a pine bark kick a while back, and what's left of all of that is coming with the leaves. Before I know it, I have the yard trash barrel nearly full of what I thought was light debris, but it weighs a ton! Well, probably not a ton, but it's heavy! I hope the trash guys don't end up breaking the handle the rest of the way off the barrel... Along the way, I get the weeds out too, using the rake like a hoe to get them out by the roots. The natural dividing line is the bundle of feed cables running over to the far side of the layout from the garage. I push it as close to the track as possible to cover the most ground.

Then I toss them over the freshly graded dirt and use the shovel to create a shallow trench to bury them in, after raking up the rest of the leaves and removing the weeds and levelling the grade. I bury the bundle of cables all the way over to the pile of gravel bags. I'll have to move them out of the way before I can finish grading the lower loop and burying the rest of the cables. I take a short break then find a knife to cut open the gravel bags. The first one goes right on the entry leg of the lower loop, where it gets the most traffic and needs the most replenishment.

It takes more gravel than I think, but I dress the ballast, then I work on cleaning out the trackage that heads around the back of the shed behind the garage. That takes another two bags of gravel! I soon have that dressed and throw the fourth and last bag of gravel closer to the shed and out of the way of finishing the lower loop. I grab the shovel and bury the rest of the cable bundle then finish grading and levelling the ground. I had just thrown the chunks of artificial turf on the ground in front of the shed until I had completed the preparation. I laid them out on the ground only to find there isn't as much as I thought there was, and it only covers about half the lower loop. I experiment with a couple different arrangements, but soon leave well enough alone.

With the turf no longer hiding the obvious, that leaves the area in front of the shed to smooth out, which is mainly just moving the dirt back from under the tracks back to where it belongs. Over time, I've tried to keep up with "Digger Dan's" shennanigans, but eventually gave up since every time I'd fix it, Ann would sit and watch him dig it out again. WTF? Really? Maybe if she had to fix it every time she sat and watched him dig, she wouldn't let him dig. Or maybe she would... As long as she fixed it and I didn't have to, I wouldn't care if he dug or not. But it's something I think we should both agree on and work on with him. Maybe that's asking too much?

In any case, I'm soon satisfied with the grade, but now the other cable bundle needs buried. Not sure if you'd call two cables a bundle, but they need buried. I dig the trench and back fill it once the cables are in place, which leaves some extra length I need to deal with where the cables pass under the tracks toward the patio and eventual site of the control tower. I still need to finish the control tower, let alone build the village tavern and the car barn, before I can even think about making company houses and a town center. I have some of the ¼" backer board leftover from the bathroom rennovation that could become makeshift streets...

For now, concrete blocks fill in as company houses, and the yard cart acts as a deterrent to Digger Dan, the reason why it needed levelled in the first place. I put the tools away and head inside to cool off and get cleaned up. Now to figure out a good layout for the town that will work with the turf I have. Big town center building with a spire or low key small village look?

(Sunday, 26 May 2019)

Reworking the lower loop yet again. After I moved the dilapitated car barn behind the garage and took out the picket fence guarding the track yesterday, Ann started to blow the leaves and such away from the track and over toward the fence earlier than I could get out there this morning. She and Nick are off to the grocery store and my plan was to cut the 4x4s and layout the different tiers of the terrace. I say was because when I see where she left off with the leaves, I figure I can take it the rest of the way. Looking to get something in place, I opt for a middle of the road approach between big city and small village, The Downtown Marketplace.

I can only put so many blocks in place, before I have to do some research to see how many is to many, like how big is a city block? I arrive at an arrangement that uses all of them, with the "company houses" toward the back. But that leaves them hidden from view when sitting on the patio... Change of plans! Time to get that edging installed and the artifical turf cut to fit. It takes some doing, but I'm just cleaning out the rest of the debris and making it look nice, not perfect. While I'm at it, I clean out the felt like stuff that we tried out in place of the turf... But it was nowhere near as good as the turf, either aesthetically or functionally. I may use it for a city park or something where the "grass" needs to be closer to scale than the artificial turf. We'll see...

I'm shaking years worth of dirt out of it, piece by piece. The fine silt like dirt lands on the tracks, the patio, my feet, everywhere. I don't notice it at first, but when I look down at the patio after moving my foot, I see the "shadow" it created in the nearly black powdery silt. Great. That's going to cause problems later... Sure enough, the fine dirt on the track stalls the train when I run it later. For now though, getting the rest of the leaves and sticks and stuff out from around the track and ballast stones is the goal. The ultimate goal is installing the edging along the outside of the track, to help contain the stones and delineate the turf from the rails. I grew tired of having to constantly move the edging out of the way and decided I would use it to edge along the lower loop. It's been laying there, loosely in place, for a couple weeks now.

I rake out most of the leaves and decide to use the blower to get the rest of them "moving". I have to go in search of a battery, and my only "mistake" it letting the pup come out with me... As soon as I start the blower, he's going nuts jumping at it and biting and chewing on it, nearly ripping it out of my hands! Wow. He really doesn't like that thing. Time to go back in the house buddy... That's better. Now I can finish in peace. I still end up having to remove some of the more stubborn debris by hand, but I'm able to start tacking the edging in place. I pull up the patched strips of turf that used to fit right up against the old picket fence, too long now that the fence is gone. I shake the dirt out of them and place them next to the edging to size up the cuts I'll need to make. I'm able to cut off the extra length and put it together with other pieces Ann had cut from over by the pond. Looking good...

(Monday, 27 May 2019 - Memorial Day)

Looking at getting some dirt to fill the first tier. Need to go calculate how many yards it will take. There's roughly 77 square feet, so half a foot deep gives roughly 39 cubic feet... Divide by 27, about a yard and a half of dirt. Translated, that's at least three trips with our "piddly" half ton pickup truck. And that's for just the first tier! I'm still not happy with the terrace layout though. Thinking about it as I'm staring at it in between cutting up the backer board for the streets and sidewalks and downtown marketplace fascia, it dawns on me that I can just lower the height of the upper loop to better accommodate having fewer tiers more gently sloped and relaxed spacing.

I let Ann know that's an option, but I can tell from her response she's still trying to get a better picture in her head of what it will eventually look like. All in good time. Right now I'm concentrating on the streets for the town center. I have a 3' x 5' piece of ½" backer board that I'm cutting into 1' x 3' sections, to serve as paved streets. I already had one left over from the bathroom remodel, and I just added five more, for a grand total of 18' of streets, a scale 432'. Sounds like a lot, but it's not. I lay out the pieces in a sort of city block like fashion, that goes around the corner and along the tracks. Starting to take shape. Next I'll need sidewalks, and I have another 3' x 5' piece of ¼" backer board I'll slice up into strips as well as those marketplace storefronts I've been talking about.

I had forgotten the chunk of ¼" backer board was the one I brought back with me from the other house, and that it had sat out in the elements long enough to give it a ragged edge. Until I went to get it out of the shed that is... Wow. It's still stained from the moss that had been growing on it. At least I think it was moss. Dunno. I decide to use the more complete parts to cut multiple 2" wide pieces, as near to 3' long as the condition of the board will allow. I started with one an inch wide, but quickly decided it would be too narrow for a downtown sidewalk. I was walking each strip over to the lower loop, from my temporary work table on the other end of the upper loop until I realized I was wasting time by not just waiting until I had a handful cut.

We're heading over to Nick's this afternoon to swim and for BBQ, so I need to keep better track of my time. I decide to cut front and back fascades to test on a concrete block. Turns out they're just a tad larger than a block? It will be good enough for now. I turn back to cutting more sidewalks until I get to where I have just enough material left to cut a 5" wide strip to serve as a bottom floor "showroom", then slice the remaining into three more fascades. In the middle of that, Ann pops out to let me know it's time to go. I tell her let me finish these last few cuts and I'll be ready to head over. I lean them against three more blocks and head inside. I'll clean up the rest of the mess later.

(Wednesday, 29 May 2019)

Created the downtown marketplace drawing to get a start on what to expect from the concrete block town center... Yeah. About that. Forgot to measure the block so I had to guess the dimensions, but close enough to do some "what if-ing".

(Saturday, 1 June 2019)

Getting an early start, at least, an earlier start than I expected to ths morning. Nick is already asking Ann if I'm going over to the other house and I'm wondering why. Then Ann says if I'm not going over there, she and Nick are going to get a load of stones for the driveway, mainly to fix the gaps leading into her garage tent thingy. I tell Ann I have to look at the radar and see what the weather is looking like. She grabs her tablet and brings up the forecast... 30% starting at 1:00 PM, up to 40% by 2:00 PM, then back down to 30% by 3:00 PM. Giving it some thought, I decide that's not going to give me enough time to get over there, get set up and get something done, then tear back down and pack it up, let alone get home by 1:00 PM... Stones for the driveway it is.

On the phone with Nick, Ann's asking him if he wants to go with her to the yard stop. If not, it can be just me and her. I chime in with if he goes with her, I can be getting the prep work done while they're gone. He agrees to go with her to get the stones while I prep the driveway, moving the dirt to the terrace. Nick is over with the truck shortly after that, asking if we should look at getting one of those crank liners that let you put the load on the liner then crank the handle to slowly roll the load forward and off the tailgate. Sure. Why not? That will give me enough time to finish the prep while they're off to get that... Or so I thought. I get two barrows full of dirt loaded and emptied, and as I'm filling the third, it starts to rain? It's not supposed to rain today! I move the barrow under the cover of Ann's garage tent thingy and continue to fill it as I'm standing in the rain.

Then it really starts to pour as the load is just aobut full. I continue to load it until it's full, but I'm hearing thunder getting close, so it's time to head indoors. My poor pup is waiting frantically for me at the back door, also ready to go inside. I change out of my wet things and put on some dry clothes and sit down to relax. I've gotten most of the preparation work done. There's still some left to do, but it's just cleaning up the places I'd missed, hurriedly trying to get it done in the rain. Shortly after, Ann and Nick are back home with the new load roller thingy, but it's still raining, so we have to wait it out. That occupies the rest of the morning, but Ann decides to stop short of refreshing the rest of the driveway when it means a third load of stones.

I put my still damp fourth shirt back on and go back outside to work on cutting out the windows and such on the downtown marketplace fascades. I collect up the four fascade fronts and the 5" tall strip for the lower floor showrooms. The four fascades stack together and match up fairly closely. I decide to measure and mark the worst looking one to stack on top of the others and cut through it first. Thankfuly I had put all the extra blades and tools for the dremel saw together in one of my kit bags for when I went over to Nick's to repair the spongy floor in the kitchen by the back door. I'd been back and forth with whether to put it back away in the garage cupboard or not. Now I'm glad I didn't and may just dedicate that kit bag for this tool and maybe some other dremel stuff or related tools.

Anyway, having everything together in one place makes it much easier to swap out the wood and plastic blade with the masonry blade. Even the hex wrench I need is right there inside one of the pockets. I stack the four fascades together and clamp them in place. The dremel saw is slicing right through the concrete backer board. It's somewhat awkward, making it difficult to keep the cuts straight. The worst problem was having to move the clamps at some point when they interfered with the tool. I realize the problem I'm having keeping the cuts straight is when I can't see the pencil line of the cut, so I orient myself with the work to keep it on the side of the blade I can see while cutting. That seems to help, although the long deep cuts I'm able to take along the lower floor showroom area still tend to wander...

I decide to proceed with this as though it's experimental, realizing that it's not going to be perfect, but rather a learning experience to find what works and what doesn't. What to expect. What is possible. I place the finished fascade on a block to see how it looks and see I'll need to cut out a part of the concrete block as well. Let's see how well this blade does... It cuts through it as easily as it did the backer board! Nice. Now I need a hammer to knock out part of that center rib in the block and the 3⁄8" wide cuts the height of the showroom windows. Another test fit and it looks like I'll need to take a little more off the left side and I realize the I should cut a piece of the 5" material to better frame the windows.

There. That's as good as it's going to get for now. I lay the completed fascade on top of the next one and trace around the window openings with the pencil so I don't have to measure them out a second time. Guessing that using a machinist's rule is a bit more precision than I'll need. Again it's that measure with a ruler, mark with chalk, cut with an axe thing. The last thing I do is get some pictures and head inside to get cleaned up for dinner. Nick gets here just as I'm getting out of the shower, as usual, so I wrap in my towel and sneak into the bedroom to get dressed. Pretty much as soon as I'm ready to leave, we're leaving for MoJo's.

(Sunday, 2 June 2019)

We get an early start again this morning, but with nothing in particular that has to be done. Ann jokingly tells me to get out there and start working on our town, knowing it's way too early to be running the dremel saw, or any power tool for that matter. She says all she really needs to do is get to the grocery store. I get the other unfinished cabinet installed while she's there. It had been standing on its side since I brought it here from the other house, so it was time to get it out of the bedroom and out of the way and into the office. I grabbed a couple of 1x6s from the garage to prop up the cabinet already sitting there off its base to remove it and install the "new" long base that will support both cabinets. It takes some doing, but I get the base in place.

Ann's home as I'm moving the boxes and stuff back where it came from. I'm telling Ann how I got the cabinet in, but it probably will need to change sooner than later, because of 2x4 framing from the false wall we still need to remove. I tell her the top is a bit longer than it needs to be and the dog crate is still in the way too. She reminds me I can put the dog crate out in the shed. I tell her I'll have to take a look, but with all the extra plywood and backer board I've pulled out of there and used recently, there should be plenty of room for it to fit now. We take a stroll out back and I have look at the shed. I clean it the rest of the way out and eventually get the dog crate from the back porch moved into it. First I want to do something with the tangled mess of hoses and those damned tarps with the bungee cord in them that Ann keeps just throwing in there on top of everything.

Ann is outside and cleaning up the branches Nick had cut off the oak tree that were just left where they fell. I had to go work on something else instead of the marketplace fascades since my workbench was pretty much in the way of Ann cleaning up the brush. That's why I'm starting with the shed. She asks me to grab her the snips since I'm in here making room for things. I grab the snips and the pruning saw, just in case. She is snipping and stuffing the yard trash "barrel" while I'm working on the steps up and over the tracks from the patio to the shed. I'm setting them in the ground, like she wanted, not still on top of the old pavers, so wobbly and unsafe. I have to take out some of the pavers that have already been there pretty much since we put in the patio to make room for the plain jane concrete blocks and caps. At first I was going to make the top step larger, but soon realize that two caps are not as thick as the one 2x8x16 blocks I'm using.

Ann asks what I'm doing there and I tell her to have a look. She doesn't like the idea of the slight difference in height any more than I. At first, I'm thinking I'll have to raise all the caps up. I change my mind and decide making those blocks sit down in the ground further will be easier. I start to try to settle one of the block a bit deeper, but it dawns on me that I should just leave well enough alone. After all, it's already going to take 9 of the 12 caps I have, not leaving me with enough to work on downtown. I revise my plan yet again. It will now be the remaining pavers for the first large step, 6 of the caps for the second large step, and the blocks for the third, smaller step. When I was making room in the shed for the dog crate, the three step sized mats fell over from standing against the back wall. They had been standing against that back wall ever since I rescued them from the front steps when Ann was going to throw them out. At first I as complaining about having to pick them back up of course, only been standing there since I...

Wait a minute! Those may just work to disguise the fact that the steps aren't the same size or even made of the same materials. I plop them down, one, two, three. Nice! The only problem is they are wider than the top step... Unless you count the space between the block and the tracks as well. It will jut fit then. All I need to do is pour some gravel in between to support it evenly. I decide to wait on that and shift my attention do getting more done on downtown. It's really just more experimentation with placement and layout and such. I wanted to have the street run along the tracks by the patio to have a reason why we can see the store fronts without anything blocking our view of them. I get that somewhat laid out. I finally get to use that bag of sand that's had moss growing in it behind the shed for years now. I needed to have more clean fill to raise the ½" backer board "street" up to about curb level against the concrete block caps I'm using to simulate the sidewalks. Those caps will also act as a base for the concrete block merchant buildings.

I keep doing just one more thing, saying to myself I should get some water, one more thing, water. The last thing I do is cut open one of the bags of all purpose gravel and fill in the gap in the steps and between the border and the track just beyond the steps and part way around the lower loop. The rest can wait, I'm starting to get a bit light headed and dizzy as I'm moving concrete blocks from here to there, and decide it's time to go get that water I know I need. Ann asks what I've been doing while I down a tumbler of ice water. I tell her I've been working on the street along the tracks and the downtown merchant building placement and we should go take a look at it. She asks for a delay and I tell her that's fine, that will give me time to cool off some and get more water. We eventually head outside and she comments how she likes the step mats there like that. She also has a better idea what I'm talking about now that she can see it. We only stay outside a short time and I never do manage to get back to cutting out the other three fascades. That's because we're heading over to Nick's for another swim and steak for dinner.

(Saturday, 15 June 2019)

Got outside early this morning, not that it matters now that Summer's almost here. Hot and muggy already and the mosquitoes are ready to carry me away with them. I start by drilling a hole in one of the 4x4s so we can put Ann's latest wind catcher twirly spinner german shepherd thingy in the garden. Right away it starts to spin. Yay! But getting there I have to carefully navigate an obstacle course of 4x4s and I'm reminded I want to rearrange it all to better fit what we have now, not what I want it to eventually be... I slowly move those closest to the hibiscus and the longest ones out of the way.

Helped Nick install a new front door at his place... All. Afternoon. Not quite what I expected to be doing, but then again, I didn't expect to be doing anything. But at least now it's done and functional.

(Sunday, 16 June 2019)

Really beat from yesterday's door installation. Taking my time getting moving, but Ann's already asked to discuss our plans for the Barkyard. More like understand what my plans are and what direction I think I'm going in. I tell her that's fine... We walk out and sit on the patio at first. I start by saying it would probably work better if she asked questions about what she wanted to know rather than me telling her what I'm thinking. She says she's going to walk over to the 4x4s but is worried I won't be able to see what she's talking about, so I tell her I'll come over there with her. She asks and I explain and mostly she confirms what she thinks I mean. At one point, I'm not hearing what she's saying, or at least not understanding what she's saying, and she's a bit perturbed by it. I tell her I'm not understanding the question about moving 4x4s that she's asking. Once I'm able to understand what she's saying, we're in agreement, again reiterating that this is a first step.

We are both in agreement that what we're starting with here is not the final version, but rather the first iteration. Most likely the first of many that will get us to the final version, if there is such a thing with model railroads... What it boils down to is I need to move the dirt closer to the waterfall fountain we already have so we can start planting things around it. My idea of having a cascading water feature with multiple waterfalls is a future enhancement, but for now we can start by elevating the planter where it may eventually live. I am quickly learning that this is going to take much longer than I thought at first. Not sure what I was thinking way back when we first moved in, other than how long it was going to take to get all the things that needed done on the house finished first. Like rebuilding the side porch falling off the house. Or the ancient, dangeous, and not to code electrical system. Not to mention the throne room...

Here we are, going on five years later, and every little bit we do adds to the charm of the Barkyard. I spent yesterday morning putting the finishing touches on what I started with the edging and our new "downtown marketplace". While I'm still unhappy that my idea of using the thin backerboard as a facade over the concrete blocks isn't going to pan out, I do stumble across a site that has master patterns for concrete casting for creating sturdy, weatherproof structures that are meant to withstand the rigors of being outdoors, using vinyl concrete patch. So now my focus changes to perhaps using that technique. I'm quickly coming to the realization that detailing these garden models is the fly in the ointment. As much time and effort as I've put into trying to come up with shortcuts to avoid having to do a lot of detailing and make things quick and simple, I could have already had a few structures completed using styrene and techniques learned on my smaller HO scale layouts.

I'm coming to find that the outdoors is a much more unforgiving environment than an indoor layout, where dust was the only thing I constantly worried about. I think the key to success outdoors is just making it good enough to survive, then add the details. I've already come to the conclusion that any kind of wooden structure isn't going to last very long without constant maintenance to keep it from just rotting away... Like the ¼" plywood roof on the station. Even though it said it was treated for outdoor use, it's totally rotting away. Even after I gave it a generous coat of linseed oil! I'm scratching my head on that one. I think perhaps the heat of the midday sun had something to do with it as well, baking any of the plastics or fillers in the adhesives used to join the plies together out. I really don't know why it didn't hold up to just a few months of exposure before the plies began to separate and then rot, but that's why I had Nick bid on that copper clad. Now I just need to figure out how to assemble and attach it.

Ann walked over to Nick's since she's ready to get things done and she needs his help. Plus she wants to see how the door looks now that it's installed. That's giving me some time to update this account, but I still want to get some other things figured out. Like do I buy some of those casting masters to get started or just make my own patterns that contain all the details and make a rubber casting mold of it?

(Thursday, 20 June 2019)

Ann and Nick setup the new hot tub this evening. Can't wait to float in it tomorrow night...

(Sunday, 21 July 2019)

While I got a lot of little things done for work yesterday, I didn't get even a little done of what I wanted to in the barkyard. About the time I was heading out there, it started to rain. I did manage to get some measurements I need to update my Downtown Marketplace drawing for casting the concrete patch, but I didn't get anywhere near close enough to cast anything. About all that happened along those lines was cutting the insulation Ann and Nick got me in half. I stopped there because it's just that stupid white styrofoam shit, not the dense blue stuff I need if I'm going to follow the directions from the website. I could probably make it work, and will probably try it once I get to that point, but it just seems way too flexible and fragile to hold up to repeated use over time. First I'll need those drawing for how I'm setting up the molds to begin with though... And that will take time. Time I'd rather save for if and when it's raining today. Time will tell.

(Wednesday, 28 August 2019)

I've been chatting with Nick back and forth from work and he's trying to get us prepared for this hurricane Dorian that's heading our way. First it's a generator. Then a power inverter. I ask about how full the propane tank is. Unknown is the answer. And now we have beer, coke, and water.

(Friday, 30 August 2019)

Since I'm stuck inside because of the weather, I decide to continue capturing the dimensions and drawing the meters until I'm satisfied that I've captured everything. At first I thought all of them were of different sizes. I have two 0-30V voltmeters, two 0-3A ammeters, and two 0-20A ammeters. Upon closer inspection, it appears they are all of identicial dimensions! Cool! Now I can be done, with the exception of actually adding in the dimensions so I can make a print out when needed. Next I get out the plastic contour sheets for casting the concrete patch to see whether the brick patterns will work from the reverse side. Of all the sheets, the reverse sides of the brick patterns are the worst. They may still work, but it doesn't look like there's as much detail as there is on the front side. Maybe I can make a reverse mold of the good side and use that to capture more detail, but I need to try casting the reverse side first.

I also notice that the pattern runs horizontally, not vertically, so I need to figure out how to get the pattern to be at least fifteen inches tall. The sheets are roughly 7½" x 12" in size. I'll probably have to buy more brick sheets and cut them and fit them together. While butting the two sheets together horizontally would give me the fifteen inches I'm looking for, the obvious seam halfway up the building would look out of place. A more natural looking seam would be one between every floor, about every five inches in this case. I could have a dedicated course of brick or even a solid band to delineate them. Again, maybe I can make a reverse mold of the good side and cast using that. More research. More delays. Maybe I'll see if they have the cement block pattern in stock and get a couple of those too. I'll need to layout the dimensions for the windows and other openings and details too. A lot to think about. Maybe it's best to just cast the flat parts and the openings, adding details after the fact? I have a lot of trial and error in my future on this one as well it would seem...

(Saturday, 31 August 2019)

I'm hoping I can worry about more pressing matters, like installing the generator feed in the garage. Looks like hurricane Dorian is moving off the east coast more and more, so hopefully it won't be as pressing as it was for the last few days. Ann still has to go in to the office today to secure the medications they collected from all the offices and get them on refrigeration backed by generator, although at this point, it seems like a lot of work for just a little reward. But it looks good and at least she is appreciated.

With Ann and Nick off to her office, and me sitting here updating this account, I'm not getting much accomplished on the Barkyard. Time to get back to work on it! And work on it I did! I started by unwrapping the new small rectangular brick trowel I bought for doing the casting with and excavating a depression the entire length of the new fourteen foot diameter stringer. I put the dirt I removed in the hollow that Brigel has formed where he lands after he jumps over the track into the lower loop. Then I placed a small piece of the turf over it to help protect it until I can get more done on the company houses that will eventually populate that part of the loop. If I had the proper high density foam I could cast the roofs and at least get started on something that looked like company houses. I need to plan out the clapboard sides and window openings, but could simply paint them and tack on some convincing window and door frames for now. Something to pass the five foot rule at least and look like more than a bunch of concrete blocks strewn about.

Nick asks if I still want to go to Lowe's. I wanted to get some more PT 2x4s and a chunk of high density insulation foam for casting with. I ask him if it can wait until after supper, but he says he can't do it after supper, so it's now or never. I'm wondering why he can't go later, and at first I think it can wait with the hurricane coming and all. But then I decide with all the extra time off I'll have, I may as well get what I need before I can't get what I need because of the weather. We also picked up a few more things we'll need for the generator connect. I empty out the bed of the truck once home and we head inside. Shortly after that, Nick is off to his house before the weather hits. He tells me later it was just starting to sprinkle as he was leaving...