Chapter 9: Living in the HemLoft
In August 2011, the dream was almost complete… the only part left, was to live it. Initially, I had hoped we could live in the HemLoft for most of the summer, but by the time we had finished building Sven’s house, relocated all our belongings, and visited with family, we only had a week before our scheduled departure for Nova Scotia. It wasn’t the long term living experience I had in mind, however, that week turned out to be so delightful, that it couldn’t possibly endure, except as a memory.
When Heidi and I arrived there, it was a surreal feeling to be walking through the woods with a suitcase, instead of an armful of planks. Since starting work on the HemLoft, it was an uninhabitable construction zone and I had only slept there a handful of times. Now we were actually going to live in it! After a day or two of settling in, we felt like we were in the lap of luxury. We had a bounty of showering options in nearby waterfalls and lakes, and, if the need arose, there were plenty of unused hottubs in the neighborhood. In the mornings, we’d say hi to Mr. Bear, from the comfort of the loft, as he poked around the area on his daily route. Then we’d pick the twigs out of our hair and head into town for an espresso resuscitation, and some worldly news. After that, we’d round up some fresh food from the market and head back to enjoy al-fresco meals on the deck. Life was grand.
Besides tying up some loose ends, such as landscaping and building furniture, there was only one other thing I wanted to do while we were there: photo-document the final thing. Heidi and I had bought a Nikon SLR about a month previous, and we had been having fun playing around with it and getting used to the settings. That week, the weather was wonderfully sunny and we were able to capture some of the magic that we had been graced with.
The photos turned out well, and once we had pared them down to a set we both liked, we’d take almost any opportunity to show them to our friends. It was gratifying to show people what I had done. There was something about secretly building a treehouse on land that wasn’t mine, with money I didn’t have, that had made me question my own sanity… so seeing the impression it made on others was pleasantly validating.
Chapter 10: The Fate of the HemLoft
11 Comments
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Ingenious!
Congratulations from conceiving the idea, to sticking through the build…to living a dream.
When I saw the HemLoft the first thought I had was what happens when the tree grows in girth? The distance between he ribs should increase. How do you compensate for that, or is it not an issue.
Were there any unforeseen flaws in your design?
Wow! What a remarkable story. Congrats! What I’m interested in knowing is where you two sleep. There appears no room inside. Do you sleep in sleeping bags on the floor? Do you miss the comfort of a soft bed!? Thanks!
Yes, please. Hammocks? How you sleep in relative comfort has been a big question as the photos show no sign of it that I could see.
Yes, please. Hammocks? How you sleep in relative comfort has been a big question as the photos show no sign of it that I could see. I’m super impressed with the whole endeavor and it concerns me that you should be well rested when there after all that work.
The world needs more Heidi’s…”it was gratifying to show people what ‘we’ had done”…:)
I really admire what you’ve done, you’re a woodworking genius. I hope your Hemloft can stay and you have a very happy life with adventures to come.
I really admire you for staying focused. What a beautiful spot. It would be a shame to have to tear it down. What a wonderful little spot; enjoy.
I think he said the little pod has a loft for sleeping, up a mini-spiral staircase.
My curiosity –
Any water leaking inside through the top of the pod, where it circles the tree?
And – anything you’ve learned from how the structure responds when the treetops hit storms & strong winds?
A work of art an beauty, or course. But in the end no different than deChristo covering a canyon in plastic film. The very fact that you only lived in it for one week says it all. Now it is time to take it down and put it in a museum somewhere.
That is the most amazing thing I saw. I wish we can all live like that, and not disturb nature.;)