Hunting

I met Ronnie and his son Dustin on the land tonight. I was going to get the wheelbarrow and I saw them walking down the driveway, with their orange hats and shotguns over their shoulders. Ronnie asked if he was trespassing. I responded "yeah, but I'm not going to give you a hard time." Ronnie said his dad lives in the mobile home park and that he has been hunting the land for years. I really struggle with what to do about the hunting. I figure I should let folks know I'm there, but not stop them from doing it until I am actually using that part of the land. Hopefully that will help me earn some points with the neighbors. I don't want to be seen as the slick young lawyer who moves in and tries to keep the trailer trash out. Plus, my friends at Turtle Island have taught me that the tradition of hunting is important, even if I don't agree with it.

sawmill

Tim, from Mike's Custom Sawmill, brought the portable mill to the land yesterday and started working on the stack of logs. We made a pretty good dent, but there is at least a day and a half of more sawing to come. The mill was amazing! It had a hydraulic lift to get the logs up, an arm that could grab the log and turn it, and another gadget for holding the log in place, which Tim could also use for turning the log in addition to the aforementioned arm. The last gadget reminded me of R2D2's radar that pops out of his head every now and then. It also had rollers that popped up for repositioning the log. I loved watching everything it could do. All of the tools made perfect sense, but it but I had no idea there was so much technology there.

Since it was a Friday, I couldn't find anyone to come help, so Tim brought Johnny along. Johnny was a mess and didn't mind talking about it. He is an alcoholic who cannot quit drinking even though he already has cirrhosis; he has a hernia, but has to keep working in a job requiring him to carry and stack heavy lumber; he has a DWI so he can't drive; he's struggling to stop smoking cigars; and he lives in a "pack house" that, according to Johnny, has so many holes in the roof that "when it rains outside, it pours inside." It was a reminder of how crippling the disease of alcoholism can be. I was imagining the struggles that my paternal grandmother must have gone through.

On a more positive note, pictures of the sawmill will be coming soon. (have to keep my reading public wanting more!)

Bright lights, big city??

About a week ago, I noticed the first artificial light coming through the trees as I was out chopping wood by the full moon. (I have been told by a few people how hard sweetgum is, and how you have to chop it up as soon as you cut the tree. I was obsessively chopping two of them I took down to make room for the well.) Tonight, I saw a few lights coming from the trailer park. My illusion of being way out in the woods is getting a bit harder to maintain now that the leaves are falling.

Water!

Man, has it rained a lot since beginning the foundation. I keep trying to cover the area with tarps to prevent the footers from becoming a moat. I was sure I had a good system last night, but the wind was so strong it ripped the grommets out of the tarp. Not that it would have mattered anyway, since I discovered 3 places where water is seeping in pretty rapidly. I'm hoping it is just from the rain, but I'm afraid I might have tapped into some ground water. After scooping bucket after bucket out of the trench, I sadly watched as the water level slowly started rising again. Not real sure what to do. I left the land tonight feeling pretty beaten down. I wanted to badly to be building by the Thanksgiving holiday, but it looks like that will be almost impossible now. Hopefully I can figure out how to keep the water out long enough for the termite guy to treat the soil under the slab.

Michele learns to use a chainsaw

The trees were quaking with fear! Despite her small frame, she was an animal with the saw. It only took a few tries before she learned to get out of the way of the tree once it started falling.

Isn't she cute in her helmet, chaps, and clashing yellow vest!

This picture shows why I want to do the work myself

Here are Dan and Fiona just before moving to England when they are thinking about just how bad a job their contractor did on their house in Carboro. They are out of time, have already spend a bundle on the renovations, and the contractor knows he can get away with all kinds of shoddy work. The picture doesn't quite capture the sentiment. No reason to worry, though. They are now happily living in England, far away from any renovation headaches. The certificate of occupancy finally came through and there is now a tenant in the house. Everything worked out. I still don't want to hire contractors, though. Which brings me to my foundation fiasco. I don't have the energy to go into that right now. Maybe tomorrow.

barn plans

This isn't the final version, but it is the version I have electronically. It is close enough -- the only real change is the shed roofs on the sides will be longer.

Cute little wood stove

Here is the cute little wood stove that is going to heat the barn apartment. A great Craigslist find. It's a Jotul (pronounced "yotle") 602. The picture doesn't do a great job of showing just how tiny it is. Firewood can be 16 inches max, which I learned a few days after buying the stove means a LOT more chainsawing and splitting. It is cute, though.

This is also a great time to brag about my friends Dan and Fiona, who were kind enough to give me this old Toyota pickup when they moved to England. 203,000 miles and still going strong. It almost makes up for the fact that Dan left right when I needed him to help me build my house. Almost!

Watson checking out the new place

Actually, he's probably looking to see where I put the chainsaw. Turns out, he's not a big fan. Add chainsaws to the list of items he is afraid of, including brooms and vacuum cleaners.

Fall colors!

Catching up on what's already happened

Here are some pictures to get us up to date:

Pre-purchase photos -- after I have decided that I definitely want the land, but before actually buying it.



More pre-purchase photos


Laying out the driveway (see the blue flags marking the route? I struggled for days about which route would result in the fewest cut trees, esp dogwoods and cherries):




Kai helping to role a log off of the driveway (nice socks, Kai!)



More driveway pics

Intro

Depending on how you look at it, this chronicle is starting at least a few chapters into the story, as I have already bought the land and done a fair amount of work. I suppose it probably started long before purchasing the land, though – with my time learning about building and the value of living in the woods from my mentors at Turtle Island, and with the four tiny cabins I have built in the past, picking up little lessons on building along the way.