After a leisurely water taxi ride and mosey up to the property, we showed them some photos of structure concepts and camp layouts we liked, and while they huddled to come up with a plan, Tammy and I took turns going out on to the road with the kids to rescue stray caterpillars.
An hour or so later, we all regrouped, and while the kids horked all the M&Ms out of the trail mix, Jake and Aaron outlined their plan for developing the homestead. It was pretty clear to me and Tammy that, based on what the guys described to us, we were ready to move ahead and get them drawing up some plans.The idea is to contruct an outdoor -- but lockable -- kitchen on a large, possibly covered platform that crosses a little ravine to connect with a pair of bunkies. The concept is simple, keeps the focus on being outside, and gets us comfortably on the land without spending a fortune. Also, the phrase "superstructure" came up a lot, which Tammy really liked.
To be honest, I was a little concerned about the possibility of being forced to spend the morning making awkward conversation with strangers, but as it turns out, Aaron and Jake are really nice guys, and we all seem to be on the same wavelength.
We learned a little bit about their backgrounds prior to starting SmallWorks. Jake is a director-turned-carpenter, who specialized in finishing carpentry work on well-heeled extravagent projects, with an interest in smaller, green projects. Aaron was an industrial designer fresh out of Emily Carr looking for an interesting gig in designing sustainable and unique structures.
All of this made it clear that we could spend years looking for a better design/build team for this project, and probably not find anyone else better suited to it.
One concern though... I hope our dog stops eating the tall grass. I just did what seems like the magician's handkerchief trick pulling it out of his bum. Sorry for that... but that's life in the bush, I guess.
Can't wait to get back to the land in the next few weeks to clear some slash.
