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Portable sawmill = WIN!

How exciting!! I can't wait to see what you get done with it!

I made a trip north to meet Kathy, Terry and Brian over the weekend. Wonderful things!

First of all, my problem with the backhoe was one of having spring fever, I guess. I forgot about the kill switch that is hidden away to keep someone from being able to steal it. Now we know that it works well, eh? Brian enjoyed having an excuse to take his motorcycle out on the highway for the round trip, so it wasn't a total waste.

Kathy and Terry were down for a day trip, without the dogs. They made a contribution to the infrastructure that I wasn't expecting just yet. The lights have been against the trees for a couple of years now, and are hooked up to a battery kept in the outhouse. Of course the battery was usually dead at the most inappropriate times. K&T were given this set of solar panels as a Christmas gift and thought it would be more useful at the farm than lighting a nightlight in their living room. No, we haven't set up a "system" yet. The hope is that as a camper battery starts to get a little low it can be swapped out for the fully charged one in the outhouse. Once the polebarn becomes reality, it will be time for a serious battery storage set-up, using both solar and wind.

Doh! That's too funny about the kill switch, Lolly. You'd think as many times as I've done that I would learn but I still do the same thing all the time. Can't call them learning experiences when we don't learn. Good thing it was nothing serious though, I guess, be thankful for that.

Looks like you're on the way to having a great summer out there.

My sister is a SLAVE DRIVER!! But we sure do get a lot accomplished when she sets her mind to it.

This was the weekend for us to get routine spring maintenance out of the way. Unfortunately, there is a minor problem with a mower, so some of the grooming didn't take place as Kathy would have hoped. Terry was using the backhoe to push the winter deadfall into piles with the pine still waiting to be turned into mulch for the area around the outhouse when the mower died for the very last time of the weekend. The ground cover is still high close in, but we now have some nice spaces for tent camping that hadn't existed last week. It will be interesting to see what will be sprouting in these brown areas when I get back north in a couple of days. Old pictures of this area are obscured by a series of those "junk trees" (the official name, according to one farmer that used to own this land) that were sacrificed to "hugel beds in progress".

Last year I bought some grafted "5 in 1" fruit trees and set them up in a temporary location. After a lot of consideration (and seeing how many/few survived the winter) we came to a decision on placement. The camp used to have 3 "junk" trees between the firepit and the north drive into the site. That view has been replaced with four dwarf trees; two apple, one pear and one 'fruit cocktail' since it is expected to have plums, nectarines and peaches on separate limbs. This photo is just the bare bones of what we are planning for the area. In another visit (or two) we hope to use tree trunks to define raised beds that will run from tree to tree for the three in the foreground. One bed will be planted with strawberries and the other with cantaloupe (and whatever else I can sneak in ... don't tell!!) The space between the last two trees (where everyone is standing) will be left open for walk space, since it is the direct path from their camper to the firepit.

The area that is hidden behind Kathy and Terry (and Red Dog) used to be an eyesore of "possibles" stacked on top of a trailer I had bought long ago. The trailer was moved, the area raked and mowed as needed, a tarp spread out on the ground and everything sorted out to see what we have to work with. The trailer was stripped down to the metal frame (with slightly bent tongue from that moving incident) and ... It is a dump trailer!! If I had known that, it was forgotten over the several years that it simply served to keep the metal poles out of the grass. The wheelbarrow in the picture is full of marigolds and lemon grass, in hopes of scaring mosquitoes away from the campsite. The galvanized tub has a single tomato plant (at the moment). This was taken before all the sorted stuff was put under wraps.

I hope you are all able to some progress in the journey to your goals! It sure makes a difference when the plan starts coming together.

PS. I see that I neglected to mention Lady, the backhoe riding, champion hole digging, squirrel stalking Lab. Now that is taken care of too.

That is great progress Lolly. The place is looking wonderful. Don't you just love it when a plan comes together.

What a lovely update Lolly. The place looks great!

Seems that I haven't updated this in a long, long time! Add to that the fact that the computer with all the pictures is in the shop, so any thing I would say about the past year, at the moment, would be without visuals. So, at his time, just let me say that I am still slogging along, making a little bit of progress in spite of obstacles. The court date for the guardianship case involving my grandcildren is scheduled for June 25. Hopefully I will have good news to report at that time.

Good luck in court, Lolly. I know how trying it is.
Keep us posted.

It has been an unfortunately long time since I've visited here.

I was at the property over the weekend, dealing with another set of "it won't run" problems and got a gut punch over how much I've missed it here. My computer problems are mostly under control, but ... the computer that will download pictures from my camera *isn't* on-line at the moment. The one that *is* on-line was recently cleaned of over 18k of garbage stuff due to (in part) the ad friendly policy of my former anti-virus blocker. Of course, when they cleaned the registry, all of my passwords went at the same time. Thanks to who/whatever was responsible for the rapid response to my new password request.

Long story short, The past two years have been a lot of wheel spinning in heavy mud. The up-side is that my grandchildren now live with their maternal grandfather, who is officially their guardian!! I have rented an apartment nearby in order to be in their lives more frequently. The downside is that the new apartment is taking resources that I would rather spend at the farm, and that all of the bouncing between zip codes required means that I'm not very effective in any of the several places I keep toothbrushes and nightwear.

I have also come to the realization that my dream of an earth sheltered home with dome must remain a dream for an indefinite period of time. In the first place, I've never heard back from the architect since he let me know of his wife's serious medical condition. Secondly, events of the last two years have required a lot of resources that *should* have gone toward creating a permanent structure. To answer the first, I've decided that a big pole barn (2 story) would answer the need to protect equipment and provide some space for living quarters. The second? Value of the property has increased quite a bit in the past decade, so I have some equity that I can take out for capital improvement.

Now ... off to read about what you all have been up to!

It sounds like things have been kind of frustrating for you, Lolly. Don't let it get you down. Sometimes the things we "think" need to be done aren't really as important as just staying sane, happy, and tending the truly important things. I'm glad to hear the grandchildren are in a good place, and your presence in their lives can be one of the most impactful things you can do right now. Stick with it! Let life guide you where it does.