hey, pass me that hoo-gee

Treehouse of hors d’oeuvre II

That duck in the back of our truck is good for mojo.

A little vocabulary ‘ere we move on to framing out the treehouse deck:

HOO-GEE (soft G)  is a term used to denote an inanimate object, often one which is just out of reach. It’s associated with tools or construction, as in, hey, pass me up that hoogee I’m on a stepladder and in the middle of pruning Jerusalem Artichokes and need it STAT!  It proves very helpful when one is in the middle of a task and simply cannot be bothered with a more precise name. Canadians, especially those from Cape Breton, are particularly fond of its usage, and will sprinkle it liberally into a variety of contexts: B’y, send along the hoogee; that’ll becalm the wolf-cod’s migraine. Everybody knows that. Gway wit ya.*

So Pret climbed a bit to hang the block so we could raise up the two biggest framing pieces:

This may well be the last time these Norway maples are climbed in the traditional manner.

The knot holes in the 80 yr-old re-used telephone post cedar made a handy dandy thruway for our line:

Did the telephone poles dream one day of becoming a kid’s treehouse?

The hardware is of a tree-friendly design called a “garnier limb“. It minimizes damage to the tree while maximizing the hardware’s strength and versatility.

So, the first cedar is leveled up, attached to the hardware and ready for it’s partner.

Joists in place, we put up some rough sawn white pine as a temporary deck to work from.

Taking no chances while chamfering with a chainsaw:

I seen him carve a roasted dodo with this saw once & open a can o’ cranberry sauce too.

Shuffling up the deck…

Next, it’s on to an organically-grown, free-range ladder.

I’ll be needing that hoogee down there by the stump, if you please…

*Hank Roach, you the man.