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Post by merks on Feb 28, 2019 11:26:47 GMT
It must feel really good to have the insulation done and it all cleaned up. I am so over the snow and we are also getting more this weekend. Because of that we have herds of deer in town. It's not unusual to see a few around town, but this year there are so many of them. I love seeing them, but trying to avoid hitting 20 or more in a half mile drive to work is just nuts!
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Post by LauraD on Feb 28, 2019 13:46:38 GMT
merks, it feels great!! It feels so clean and fresh. Our snow comes, then it melts. Then it comes, then it melts. And this weekend is supposed to be more of the same. My poor bulbs have been coming up since January, and they keep getting frozen.
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Post by LauraD on Apr 1, 2019 22:28:48 GMT
Did a day trip to the property yesterday. I had a list of miscellaneous stuff we'd found on the place that needed to be collected ad disposed of, including a pile of old fencing that got missed when the place was cleaned up last spring. Got everything done except the tire in the creek and some blue foam stuff in a swampy area - I'll get those once it dries out. I also picked up any stray litter I spotted. It was nice that I didn't find a lot, even though I was looking. Arms & back are a little sore today, but it's nice to know that those things are taken care of.
Got a lot of deer pictures on the game cameras; here are a couple of them.
This deer was a little camera-shy.
I like the coloring of this one, but the next three photos had the same coloring - including the one of me trying to get the thing open. I hope the camera isn't going out...
Bald eagle???
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Post by LauraD on May 6, 2019 0:34:25 GMT
Back at the property last weekend. Did a little more clean-up, found some more trash to take out later, and had a good tie in general. Found two ticks on me, one on the hubby, and one on the dog. Yup, tick season has officially begun. The best pictures this time around were of cattle, not wildlife.
What is that???
Aww, it flew away...
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Post by merks on May 15, 2019 14:41:34 GMT
LOL LauraD, cute pics! It sure has greened up there.
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Post by ceresone on May 15, 2019 21:29:12 GMT
Deleted
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Post by LauraD on May 20, 2019 12:59:16 GMT
merks, Yes, we've been getting a lot of rain. So much so that I'm leaving the vehicle at the gate instead of driving it on the place and risking it getting stuck!
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Post by countrymom22 on May 21, 2019 0:57:38 GMT
The place looks great! You should be proud of everything you've accomplished so far, particularly since you can't be there all the time.
Thanks so much for sharing the pics. It really makes following the journey extra special to be able to see the progress.
With spring finally here, what's next on your to do list?
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Post by LauraD on May 21, 2019 18:42:31 GMT
countrymom22 : Not much planned at this point. I still have a few things to clean up on the place (barb wire, etc.), but my hubby had shoulder surgery last week, so he's out of commission for the summer. Basically we'll have the cows continue to "mow the yard" for us and I plan to get the last few trash items taken care of once the place dries out. We have finally made a decision on the general location of the house & barn, so we can begin to look for a reputable well digger in the area. You can see more about that in my new thread (“ Where should we put the house?”). It will help SO much once we finally decide where to put them.
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Post by LauraD on Sept 13, 2019 23:54:21 GMT
I can't believe I haven't posted anything since May; this summer has gone so quickly. Here's a (relatively) quick recap of what's been going on.
The cows continued to graze the property, complete with calves. They can be so cute!
This guy, on the other hand, is NOT so cute. He belongs to my other neighbor, and he decided to take part of the fence down and visit the resident cows. Once alerted, my neighbor proved himself to be just that. He & his dad came and not only fixed the fence, but strung hot wire on their side. We haven't had any problems with Big Red (or is it Red Bull?) since. (Thank goodness! I sure wouldn't want to come down for the weekend and discover this guy on the other side of my gate!!!)
There was a lot of flooding in the area this year. The lake was so high that the dam spillway almost had to be opened - which would not have been good for everyone downstream. Fortunately the water stayed below 100% capacity - but not by much! You can see the high-water mark just under "swim at your" on the sign. Of note, this sign is up near the parking lot - well above the usual water level.
We finally got the door fixed on the shed in July. We hadn't installed a sill pan under it, and water had been leaking into the shed for years now. We took the old frame out, which was beginning to rot, added a sill pan, and replaced both the wooden frame (jambs) and brick molding with PVC. The door stopped leaking (yeah!!!), so we installed a storm door last week. Now we can get some more air circulation on warm nights without worrying about any critters getting in. What's bad is that we got done around 8:30 pm and, instead of spending the night there as planned, we packed up really fast and high-tailed it for home and our own bed. Just how sad is that?!?!
The hubby is almost completely recovered from his shoulder surgery. He's all done with physical therapy and has been released to go back to work. He's still doing some exercises at home to continue to build his strength, but he's back to normal activity. I'm so glad that I don't have to mow the yard anymore!
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Post by stickinthemud on Sept 14, 2019 1:22:16 GMT
It's great to see your progress! Thanks for the photos.
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Post by LauraD on Oct 16, 2019 22:25:56 GMT
More progress on the homestead! We got the bottom half of the siding done this past weekend. We plan to put vinyl siding (yellow) on the top half. Pictures:
And a couple pictures from the game cameras... ...cutie pie... ...fast food... ...and the eagle has landed.
This is the second picture I've gotten of something that could be a bald eagle.
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Post by LauraD on Nov 26, 2019 13:18:38 GMT
Just a couple of pics from the game camera...
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Post by dustawaits on Nov 26, 2019 15:31:03 GMT
Love the color of the siding! But I would not use vinyl. In the experience I had on my well house, over time the vinyl started slipping from cracking where the nails were. Vinyl eventually starts deteriorating....just my experience.
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Post by LauraD on Nov 27, 2019 13:11:20 GMT
dustawaits, thanks for the input; we'll keep it in mind when we make our final decision.
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Post by LauraD on Apr 29, 2021 15:07:11 GMT
Quick update: Hubby got a really good job last fall; I lost mine at the same time. His job gave us the flexibility to live anywhere, so we sold the house and moved to a rented RV 20 minutes from the property. All that work on the shed, and hubbs won't live in it. But it will still serve its long-term intended purpose as a garden/tool shed, and the lessons learned while building it will be invaluable over the coming years. We are very close to a final floor plan, and have already selected our builder. One thing I have learned over the past few years is that there are some things we simply can't do anymore. So the builder will do those, and we'll do the rest. We'll use the proceeds from selling our house to pay for the new one, so no more debt for us--ever (God willing)!! The house will be one story on a slab, and will have a walk-in tornado shelter. We've decided to build north of the cedar trees (we'll have a great view), even though the trees on the place would dictate building in the shed field. We'll probably put the barn in that field instead; as it won't be heated or cooled, the critters will benefit from the placement (deciduous trees to the south and cedars to the north & northwest). Once the house is done enough to live in--walls, roof, insulation, a well, some form of heat, and a/c if it's still summer--we'll move in. There's just the two of us, so interior walls and other niceties can come later. No building codes, so no hassle with occupancy permits and the like. I figure it will probably take a decade to finish the inside, but it will be paid for as we go and there won't be any labor costs. We even plan to build our own cabinets and lay our own tile. So that's where we're at. I'll post occasionally with updates on the construction.
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Post by Melissa on Apr 29, 2021 23:33:38 GMT
LauraD, Thanks for the update! Look forward to construction pictures.
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Post by merks on May 23, 2021 21:04:20 GMT
Congrats on the move! Can't wait to see pictures of the build.
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Post by LauraD on May 27, 2021 22:01:46 GMT
merks And I can hardly wait to get the build underway!
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Post by LauraD on Oct 15, 2021 16:42:48 GMT
The house build is not progressing as hoped, but we are slowly making progress. Hopefully the well will be drilled in the next couple of weeks. We're still working on a final floor plan. At this point I expect to be in the RV for another year, as I don't expect actual construction to begin until next spring. We do have a level dirt pad for the house now (rock will go on top, of course), and got a small pond (maybe 30' x 30') in the process. It's fun to go up to the pond and hear the "plop plop plop" as all the frogs see me and jump into the water. We stocked the pond with over a dozen grass carp, so we haven't seen any mosquito increase at all.
A button buck has been hanging around the place. He's come within 30 feet of me twice, and isn't scared of me like he should be. I'm thinking I'm going to have to remedy that if I don't want him to be easy pickings for hunters. The picture below says it all.
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Post by Melissa on Oct 15, 2021 17:00:46 GMT
It looks really nice. I hope RV living works out. I am sure it is a little rough especially as the weather turns colder. Hang in there!
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Post by countrymom22 on Oct 15, 2021 18:49:28 GMT
Thanks for the update. I'm sorry that things aren't working out as quickly as you had hoped. But I still love the shed! Consider the RV living as an adventure that you will look back on fondly, someday! Just remember, it's all about the journey!
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