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Post by LauraD on Mar 10, 2016 23:51:15 GMT
I know I haven't posted an update to my Which property should we choose? thread for some time. Long story short, we put in offers on three different properties but didn't get a contract on any of them for various reasons. In our case I guess it was "fourth time's a charm," because we finally closed on a property yesterday! It's 15.3 acres of unimproved land in Cedar County, southwest Missouri. It's not too far from a paved road, but remote enough that there isn't electricity at the road. We'll be off-grid from the get-go! It has a creek in the back, and I also suspect that the property has at least one spring. It is fenced, though the north fence doesn't follow the boundary line (we'll be fixing that). Yeah!!!
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Post by Mr DAVID In Wisconsin on Mar 10, 2016 23:56:37 GMT
Wow, good for you! Be sure to keep us posted on all of the coming improvements.
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Post by countrymom22 on Mar 11, 2016 0:20:29 GMT
Awesome! What an adventure you are about to undertake. I can't wait to follow your progress. Please take the time to keep us in the loop. We can learn so much from each other's journey!
Good Luck. When do you plan to start building/improving the property?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2016 0:31:22 GMT
Nice property, wish you all the best!
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Post by manygoatsnmore on Mar 11, 2016 5:40:34 GMT
LauraD, congratulations! Oh, what an adventure you are undertaking. Please share it with us along the way?
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Post by terrilynn on Mar 11, 2016 12:59:37 GMT
Congratulations!! What an exciting new chapter to start in your life! Please do keep us updated on your experiences I would love to hear about your progress. Best of luck to you!
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Post by motdaugrnds on Mar 11, 2016 13:12:55 GMT
LauraD, So glad you got to close on the property you wanted. Fifteen acres is such a nice size for homesteading. Ummmm what is that blue line I see running zigzag through that acreage on your pic? Do keep us updated (with pictures). It would be such fun watching you develop that homestead.
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Post by bluemingidiot on Mar 11, 2016 13:48:22 GMT
Wow, good for you! Be sure to keep us posted on all of the coming improvements. How can we improve what Mother Nature has done? I know what you mean but it is sooooo sad how many meadows and woods have been replaced with concrete, asphalt, and structures to hold our toys. Then again I am just a melancholy old 'old pheart'.
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Post by shellymay on Mar 11, 2016 14:13:41 GMT
LauraD, So happy for you
Yes, do please keep us posted on your this new chapter in your life, congrads to you and your DH!
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Post by Ken on Mar 11, 2016 15:31:30 GMT
It's 15.3 acres of unimproved land in Cedar County, southwest Missouri. It's not too far from a paved road, but remote enough that there isn't electricity at the road. We'll be off-grid from the get-go! It has a creek in the back, and I also suspect that the property has at least one spring. It is fenced, though the north fence doesn't follow the boundary line (we'll be fixing that). Congrats! We are also looking in Cedar County. I didn't see that property, so it must be out of my price range We are currently looking at a 6 acre parcel with all utilities already. Not sure I could get my family to jump from city life to off-grid country, good job!!
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Post by Rustaholic on Mar 11, 2016 15:59:20 GMT
LauraD , So glad you got to close on the property you wanted. Fifteen acres is such a nice size for homesteading. Ummmm what is that blue line I see running zigzag through that acreage on your pic? Do keep us updated (with pictures). It would be such fun watching you develop that homestead.
Since she said there was a creek at the back my best guess is that the blue line is where the creek is.
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Post by Rustaholic on Mar 11, 2016 16:01:25 GMT
LauraD, I would really like to have an address for that property or at least one close to it so we can google map it.
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Post by Melissa on Mar 11, 2016 17:23:31 GMT
Awesome! Enjoy~
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Post by LauraD on Mar 12, 2016 19:31:07 GMT
Everyone: I have every intention of keeping y'all updated! That's half the fun! motdaugrnds, the blue line is the creek. Ken, Hubby & I had been seriously discussing being off-grid, so the lack of electric just made our decision for us. Why bother to pay the electric company thousands of dollars and then be stuck with a bill every month? Let me know if you end up in the county (or nearby). Nothing like good neighbors! countrymom22, first order of business is to build a "temporary" temporary shelter--namely on a temporary foundation and designed to be taken apart again later on. As we think there may be a spring or two, we need to get that all figured out before we can plan where we want each building to go. Rustaholic, my husband would accuse me of being paranoid, but I'm not comfortable giving out the exact location of the property. Sorry.
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Post by ohiodreamer on Mar 24, 2016 16:41:56 GMT
Rustaholic , my husband would accuse me of being paranoid, but I'm not comfortable giving out the exact location of the property. Sorry. Agreed, I'm the same kind of paranoid
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Post by mzgarden on Mar 24, 2016 18:30:21 GMT
LauraD, congrats -- but now you have to come back more often and let us know how things progress!
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Post by LauraD on Mar 31, 2016 23:37:53 GMT
We went down to the property last weekend. I think we found the source of a spring; we'll see if it's any good. We definitely have coyotes in the area. They sounded off several times in the middle of the night. We got our composting setup all done. We're calling it "the pit." It's a 55-gallon drum buried to about 8" of its top. The lid has clear plastic on the top (designed for greenhouse roofs) to allow plenty of sun to reach it while keeping out the rain. Should decompose pretty quickly, even in winter. Rebar helps hold it in place, and the lid is secured with a padlock to keep the curious--both 2- and 4-legged--out. The only thing we didn't do was to put a fence around it. I suppose we better do that, so some hapless deer doesn't break the plastic - and a leg. Next up will be building a platform for the shed. We hope to get that done this weekend. I can hardly wait to get the shed done - I really want more than a tent wall between our dog and the 'yotes!
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Post by LauraD on Apr 5, 2016 1:34:15 GMT
Was on the property again this past weekend. Put a fence around the Pit. Nothing big, just some 3-ft tall green plastic stuff, held by garden stakes. It won't hold up to much of anything, but should at least alert bigger animals that something is there. We'll eventually have to put something animal-proof around it. We got the foundation of our temporary shelter built. We're calling it "the deck" at present. It has pressure-treated plywood for the flooring, and we used all screws - no nails - for the fasteners. I'm hoping to get the shed (12x16) completed this summer so we have a good place to stay for deer hunting in the fall. We'll build it as 4-ft wall sections that are screwed together, with a solid top plate. Once we build a permanent structure to live in and choose the location for the garden, we'll take the shed apart and move it to its permanent location as future garden shed. Our camera battery died before we were done, but my hubby got this shot of me with the work in progress. He said he wanted to call it, "Now where did those car keys go?"
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Post by kawaiitimes on Apr 6, 2016 3:09:46 GMT
So exciting. You're living my dream!
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Post by LauraD on Apr 28, 2016 22:37:57 GMT
It's one of those days. The hubby went down today to "mow the yard" - the area around the deck that was brushhogged last fall. Unfortunately it's now mid-calf high, so our little push mower wouldn't be able to do it. On the way to the property, he drove by someone doing work by the road. The guy kicked up some stones or something, and broke the side vent window in the truck AND the side window in the truck cap. He didn't speak English either, but somehow my hubby was able to make him understand what happened and learn that his daughter (who apparently speaks English) would be back later in the day. So now I'm waiting to hear what they were able to work out. I've already ordered a new window for the truck on E-Bay, and hopefully the truck cap window won't cost too much. An entire day wasted for my hubby, including a full tank of gas, two broken windows, and the grass still isn't mowed. Augh!
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Post by Rustaholic on Apr 28, 2016 23:10:56 GMT
It's one of those days. The hubby went down today to "mow the yard" - the area around the deck that was brushhogged last fall. Unfortunately it's now mid-calf high, so our little push mower wouldn't be able to do it. On the way to the property, he drove by someone doing work by the road. The guy kicked up some stones or something, and broke the side vent window in the truck AND the side window in the truck cap. He didn't speak English either, but somehow my hubby was able to make him understand what happened and learn that his daughter (who apparently speaks English) would be back later in the day. So now I'm waiting to hear what they were able to work out. I've already ordered a new window for the truck on E-Bay, and hopefully the truck cap window won't cost too much. An entire day wasted for my hubby, including a full tank of gas, two broken windows, and the grass still isn't mowed. Augh!
Yes tonight when you are going to bed both of you do a good hard foot wiping to shake off the dust of today. Why are you buying new windows? The owner of that property is responsible to report this to his insurance.
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Post by LauraD on May 1, 2016 21:11:38 GMT
Rustaholic, we plan to settle with them amiably if at all possible: they pay for the windows, we install them ourselves. Unfortunately the daughter didn't show up when she was supposed to. My hubby gave the guy our contact info, but they haven't called yet. Looks like we'll be needing to stop by on our next visit - and maybe filing a police report with the county sheriff. Not the way I want to go, especially since they only live a few miles away. Not a good way to introduce yourselves to your new neighbors...
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2016 2:16:01 GMT
Congrats on your new property and everything you've got done so far. I hope everything goes well with your new neighbors. Neighbors can be interesting LOL
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Post by LauraD on Jun 1, 2016 23:35:42 GMT
Just a quick update. We're working on framing the walls for the shed, which are being stored in a self-storage unit near the property. We've got the two short walls done and all the wood cut to length for the two remaining walls. We've run into a problem with the Pit. I made sure it was covered and the dirt packed so water wouldn't run into the hole. What I didn't plan for was water that soaked into the ground draining into the hole. The barrel was a good foot higher than it should have been when we got there this weekend, and had actually lifted one end of the cover 4-6 inches off the ground! Lesson learned: if you dig down into impermeable ground, you must add some sort of drain out of it. Grrrr.... My hubby's been trying to find the right location for the game camera to see what's on our land. Apparently he found the right place on his latest attempt:
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Post by Rustaholic on Jun 2, 2016 1:47:55 GMT
Them deers are great on the table.
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Post by Ken on Jun 2, 2016 17:38:38 GMT
Thanks for the update and the great wildlife shots!
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Post by LauraD on Jun 2, 2016 22:06:16 GMT
Rustaholic, I know. I'm looking forward to harvesting a couple of them this fall!
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Post by farmchix on Jun 4, 2016 10:28:50 GMT
I know I'm late to the party, but congrats!
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Post by LauraD on Jun 10, 2016 23:54:52 GMT
Hubby went out to the property to mow yesterday. What a mess. The mower deck belt broke on him - took him two trips to get the right one. Then he put it on wrong and it broke. On top of that, he hit a log or something and bent one of the blades really badly. So this weekend we get to get new blades and another new belt. I'm sure itching for a tractor and a good brushhog at this point; at this rate the property is going to destroy our little riding lawnmower.
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Post by LauraD on Jul 29, 2016 21:24:23 GMT
Just a quick update. We have the wall framing about 3/4 done and are building the roof trusses at home. They're almost done, and hubby is using a stain/sealer on them as I type. I figure since we need to put brush to wood to protect them, why not make them pretty at the same time? Hopefully we'll be able to actually put the walls and roof up over labor day weekend & get the place dried in. We'll see...
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