Real estate in my area is so ridiculously priced, that it’s on par with a small chateau. Hyperbole, you say? Nope, I’ve made the comparisons while perusing real estate online.
In case you don’t already randomly peruse dream real estate that you can’t afford, allow me to provide you with a hobby/procrastination outlet that you don’t need: http://www.frenchestateagents.com. Sometimes there’s even an “affordable” chateau. Crumbly and in need of some TLC? Yes. But it’s fun to dream sometimes.
I sent one of these listings to my husband, because, you know, what’s even better than dreaming about moving to France and restoring a chateau? Having someone share in your delusion of course!
Hubs: I can dig having a chateau. Can we have trebuchets?
Me: Plural? Like, a fleet of trebuchets?
Hubs: Battery, I believe, is the proper collective noun for artillery. And yes.
Me: Well, the more you know! Sure, if we get a castle, I’ll build you a battery of trebuchets. Yes. That seem like a fair comprimise.
In case you also aren’t well-versed in medieval siege vehicles, a trebuchet is technically a type of catapult. It’s far superior, however, to to the typical pull back and let-er-rip version most people are familiar with.
There are a lot of great videos on the Internet of people with homemade trebuchets, but I grabbed this one because it’s a PBS NOVA production. It makes me feel like I’m learning something as opposed to just watching people chuck crap across a field. Which, they are. However, I’m pretty sure at least one person is an engineer or medieval expert of some sort, so it seems pretty legit:
Coincidentally, I have, in fact, built a trebuchet. In 10th grade my dad and I spent a few days engineering a model of a trebuchet for a school project. It was almost as tall as me. I was kind of an over-achiever with the creative projects.
The thing is – I really liked to throw myself into a concept. I still do. Sometimes it’s an asset, and other times, you end up with my honors biology project. The project was simply to build a fun representation of DNA structure. So I’m at the fabric store, and I see this faux fur fabric and think – “YES! These are my nucleobases! Cheetah for guanine, cow for adenine….”
And that’s how I ended up with a furry 8-ft DNA monstrosity I called Chewbacca. In the end, it didn’t even fit through the front doors. So we brought Chewbacca in through the back.
So anyway, I usually think it’s good to think big. But I might hold off on the battery of trebuchets until I check the local ordinances. And learn French.
Details.
