I was glancing through EBAY and there was someone actually selling tree bark.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=11648&item=5985604677&rd=1
This seems to be a good idea. It might be a bit of a problem getting it to stay in place though.
Wow! Great idea, I wonder which trees in our yard my wife will let me cut down![:D]
What is this world coming to[banghead] Tree bark…give me a break. I can get all I need, if so desired when the city trims my parkway trees. I suppose if ground up it would make decent ground cover and i’ve used landscape bark in the past for molds. But, I ain’t going to get into a bidding war for it.[2c]
Dave
Thats a good Idea but i cannot believe someone is selling it…it is free from your yard!
Wow they actually look like real cliffs! Maybe I’ll try that!
Not as bad as the guy from Long Island who was selling dead squirrels. He was claiming they were the best squirrels in the world.
They were for taxidermy practice.
Harold
One caution-insects often bore into the bark to lay eggs and they may hatch for several years.
About 20 years ago, I tried some bark (pine mulch pieces) to make a cliff side on my layout. I never did finish it though. It could look great but I would only use it if your train room is temperature and (more importantly) humidity controlled as expansion due to water absorption could be a major problem. Painting or staining it to look like rock, could take some time and practice but could yield good results. If someone tries it, post back and let us know how it worked out for you and how you used it.
Listen to jsoderq, folks. Bark harbours insects that hatch in three-seven year cycles. Several types of crickets, moths, wood borer beetles, and so on. Nice idea, but you’d have to fumigate once per summer season.
The insect thing is not mere theory. I have not taken tree bark to the layout but one winter I thought I would save myself some cold trips to the woodpile by bringing a supply of firewood inside the house. Big mistake. I never did learn what those large black bugs were but they were ALL over the house – in spite of the cat’s best efforts to catch and eat the things – and I learned my lesson.
Dave Nelson.
Yes, the insect thing could definately be a problem! If you decide to try it, either use commercial bark (Mulch) that has been steam treated, or heat the bark in the oven to kill insects , larvae, and eggs. Better look up somewhere how to sterilize the bark using the oven or other process before use. I know it can be done as I have seen it in print, but don’t remember the details. Try not to burn your house down in the process. LOL [:D]
I took posession of a house that has a wood furnace in the basement. This was mid-July, last year. My wife and I noticed soon that the basement was a haven for creepy crawlies, and the noise of the crickets became unbearable. Turns out the previous owner stored a cord of firewood in his basement year-round so that it would be dry enough to burn come winter.
In desperation, I set off two insecticidal smoke bombs one afternoon, closed the basement door behind me as they began to smoke, and returned late that evening. No more crickets, spiders, centipedes. To this day. The only insect that seems to have maintained a footprint is the ubiquitous sowbug, but She controls them by sprinkling baking soda around the base of the walls, where the bricks meet the concrete floor. They can’t get much past that stuff before they invert and expire.
I’ll know that they have finally won when I see a spider leaning out the cab of my Hudson as it goes past the station! [:D]
Selling stuff that’s free in the backyard is a recurring idea. A lady in Dodge City, Kansas gathered tumbleweeds of all sizes several years back, boxed them up and sold them on the internet as “unusual Christmas gifts”. I guess if you’ve always lived back east or something they would be an “unusual” gift. If you’ve lived on the high plains they’re just another part of the landscape.