We went out to the land today to put our used pop-up trailer in the garage, and to measure for a fence so that we can take our dogs out with us. A bonus, the rain barrel was almost half-way full, and the blueberry bush had buds on it!

End of The Year

Michael and I went to the land today. Instead of only working, we also wanted to remind ourselves how lucky we are to have found a patch of dirt that we love and want to build the next chapter(s) in both of our lives. It's very easy to become so busy that you miss some of the beauty that is right in front of you. After checking on the new trees, and doing a little work, we walked some of the property, and took some pictures of some of the beauty that was right in front of us...

The end of the year makes us reflect on how far we have come, and what the next year may have in store for us. We are looking forward to 2009!

Tree Planting

Directly below is the two Granny Smith apple trees that we planted today. The one in the middle is a close up of one of the trees (I named that one "Helen, the other is Lucille both after our Grannies, corny but fun). The last picture is the blueberry bush being planted in the interior.

Happy Thanksgiving

It's good to remind ourselves, and those who follow our blog how far we have come in a little over a year. Below is a picture that we took on one of the first outings to the land.

Below are pictures taken today, as we surveyed new clearing and a level spot for a storage/garage that Mr. Austin did. Directly below is a picture of some dirt he borrowed from our future "home site" to help make the garage spot level.

Here is a video that spans the newly cleared out area. The video was taken standing on the garage spot.

More Committed Than Ever

We finally got back out to the land briefly today. Here are a few pictures I took, one of Michael bush-hogging the interior and one of a really cool lizard I saw.

While watching all of the news lately, and seeing this nation's financial situation unfold, we have become even more committed to our vision of this farm, the earth sheltered house, this new way of life we are working so hard to create. We are going to be taking things slower because of this, as we want to make sure that we are not rushing into things, or biting off more than we can chew financially. We will get there, it will just take a little longer than Michael or I would prefer, but we WILL get there, and are looking forward to it that much more now than ever.

We are trying to decide what comes next. We are contemplating another day of clearing from Mr. Austin's bulldozer, to make sure we have the right spot for the house, as well as looking at storage/garage structures so that we can start collecting recycled materials that we will use in our house. After that, well and septic are on the list, which means a soil sample for Mr. Williams (home designer). That is another thing on the list, getting in touch with Mr. Williams about the house plans at some point (we aren't too rushed on that, considering the slow down in our time table).

Other exciting news is that we have purchased two granny smith apple trees for our drive, and a blueberry bush. Those will be arriving in November, and I am sure I will have pictures of the tree planting.

Driveway Ride

We went out to the land today, and got the silt fence up to keep anymore gravel from washing away at the curve. Here is a video we made of riding up the driveway toward the street.

Next Steps

Since the driveway, things at the land are slowing down for right now. We did put up two posts and chain link going across the drive to make it more visible that it is private property. The next trip down there will be "bush-hogging" the remaining grass on the side of the driveway, putting up a silt fence to keep water from washing away gravel when there is extremely heavy rain down at the curve, and leveling the pop-up camper.

The Driveway Graveled and Leveled

This picture was taken from the street looking down toward the tree line. We are envisioning down the left side of the drive (where the white stakes marking our property are now) a wooden fence, and down the right side peach and/or apple trees lining the driveway.This picture is taken down from the right side of the driveway looking into the clearing where the home is going to be built. This curve is where he had to level the ground so that it wasn't so steep.
This is taken from the clearing looking out at Michael checking out the curve and the drain pipe that Mr. Austin put in.

This also is taken from the clearing looking out.

The Driveway in Progress

The entrance to the driveway

From the street looking toward our tree line (and our pecan tree

at the entrance) Looking from the tree line toward the street

This is the curve at the tree line going into the opening that
has been cleared. They are leveling this part so that the curve
doesn't slope so steeply.



These are the pipes that are going to be used to divert the water
from the underground spring going through the middle of
our drive. The pipes will help keep the gravel from being washed
away


On my trip out there today, I also met with Scott K., our representative
from Superior Walls (see Links for more information).
We looked at the potentialhome site, he also looked to make sure his semis
could get around the curve at the tree line. We discussed possible exterior finishes
for the front of the house (as both Michael and myself are partial to minimalist clean
design, I am leaning toward the plain concrete finish, but will make a
more definitive decision when we are closer to building). Below is a picture I took of him.

Scott was kind enough to take a picture of me after looking through
the book that he brought of different houses and buildings
that Superior Walls has built.


We may hopefully go back out there on Sunday to look at the finished driveway
with the gravel and the curve leveled...

A Trip Out There

Here are a few pictures from our trip out to the land. Michael mowed the "future driveway", while I got to pick blackberries that were already on our property. Tomorrow we will be taking the camper out to the land, so Michael also flattened a spot with the front-loader part of the tractor in preparation.

In talking, we have decided that after the driveway, which is coming up soon, that we will fence in the drive part with trees that we have cut down, and look for some young fruit trees to plant along the drive. I am thinking granny smith apples and peaches, but will have to do more research, I have found out that (I think) we are either in a climate zone 7 or 8.