Well we've had two full weekends of hard work since becoming official land owners...but there was no doubt about that going in and there will be plenty more where that came from.
The first thing was to get the field where we want to build bush-hogged. Lance has a tractor coming (early inheritence), but we don't have any accessories for it yet. And the field was so overgrown, we were worried about the beating it would give to an old tractor. So we were put in touch with a neighbor who bush-hogs for hire and he did a fantastic job for a very reasonable price. We've even had a few rains since then and the field has already greened up beautifully. After that, the first big project to be tackled was putting up a new gate at the entrance. The land had been unoccupied for quite a few years prior to now and there were many local residents that had become quite accustomed to using it for four-wheeling, hunting, etc. Even before our transaction was official we had gotten permission from the (now previous) owner to put up a temporary gate to begin letting people know that change was coming. Unfortunately there was more than once that the temporary gate was pushed down. So, project number one was new posts and a newly hung gate (fortunately for our budget the gate was found on property). Our other big project has been...and will continue to some degree or another...clearing overgrowth & trimming back hangover limbs from drive areas and removing a few ill-placed and/or dead trees . Needless to say, the indefinitely borrowed chainsaw has already seen a lot of action and made Lance's life a whole lot easier.
Of course, every one on the street has been curious about the new kids on the block. We've gotten a lot of slow drive bys checking things out and some waves or nods. This weekend we spend almost as much time talking to people as we did acutally working. The first, was a nephew of the lady who owns the 37 acres right behind us... he is in the process of buying that land which has a access easment on our land. The easement has a two-decade-old family feud story behind it, but this guy didn't have anything to do with that and just wanted to know the legal description of it. In fact, it will really work out great because we plan to redo the easement for the benefit of both of us. The other encounter was the brother-in-law of the women we bought from. He and his wife (seller's sister) own the 90 acres across the road. He was cordial, but you could tell perhaps a little disappointed about the land leaving the family. In any case, he "just stopped by to see about an old trailer" that he wondered about reclaiming. And then a true neighbor stopped by (the next house up on the opposite side of the road) just to introduce himself and his three boys... the friendly offer of ice or water or help and friendly welcome. We look forward to getting to know him and his family better in the coming months.
And we had the joy of having Lance's Dad and Brother up today to give them an updated tour of the grounds. The last time they saw it, the growth was chest to head high and we didn't know much about all the other "finds" on the grounds. This time we got to leisurely hike around and really explore with them.
Its been a great two weekends so far. We've enjoyed being outside and working to accomplish something together. We've been pretty spoiled with good weather so far and are thankful for that.
Well, that's about it for two-weekends worth. Here are some pics of the work and the place:
The first thing was to get the field where we want to build bush-hogged. Lance has a tractor coming (early inheritence), but we don't have any accessories for it yet. And the field was so overgrown, we were worried about the beating it would give to an old tractor. So we were put in touch with a neighbor who bush-hogs for hire and he did a fantastic job for a very reasonable price. We've even had a few rains since then and the field has already greened up beautifully. After that, the first big project to be tackled was putting up a new gate at the entrance. The land had been unoccupied for quite a few years prior to now and there were many local residents that had become quite accustomed to using it for four-wheeling, hunting, etc. Even before our transaction was official we had gotten permission from the (now previous) owner to put up a temporary gate to begin letting people know that change was coming. Unfortunately there was more than once that the temporary gate was pushed down. So, project number one was new posts and a newly hung gate (fortunately for our budget the gate was found on property). Our other big project has been...and will continue to some degree or another...clearing overgrowth & trimming back hangover limbs from drive areas and removing a few ill-placed and/or dead trees . Needless to say, the indefinitely borrowed chainsaw has already seen a lot of action and made Lance's life a whole lot easier.
Of course, every one on the street has been curious about the new kids on the block. We've gotten a lot of slow drive bys checking things out and some waves or nods. This weekend we spend almost as much time talking to people as we did acutally working. The first, was a nephew of the lady who owns the 37 acres right behind us... he is in the process of buying that land which has a access easment on our land. The easement has a two-decade-old family feud story behind it, but this guy didn't have anything to do with that and just wanted to know the legal description of it. In fact, it will really work out great because we plan to redo the easement for the benefit of both of us. The other encounter was the brother-in-law of the women we bought from. He and his wife (seller's sister) own the 90 acres across the road. He was cordial, but you could tell perhaps a little disappointed about the land leaving the family. In any case, he "just stopped by to see about an old trailer" that he wondered about reclaiming. And then a true neighbor stopped by (the next house up on the opposite side of the road) just to introduce himself and his three boys... the friendly offer of ice or water or help and friendly welcome. We look forward to getting to know him and his family better in the coming months.
And we had the joy of having Lance's Dad and Brother up today to give them an updated tour of the grounds. The last time they saw it, the growth was chest to head high and we didn't know much about all the other "finds" on the grounds. This time we got to leisurely hike around and really explore with them.
Its been a great two weekends so far. We've enjoyed being outside and working to accomplish something together. We've been pretty spoiled with good weather so far and are thankful for that.
Well, that's about it for two-weekends worth. Here are some pics of the work and the place:
Newly bush hogged field & us after Easter:
Part of an old whiskey still:
Working on hanging a gate:
The new posts and old gate:
Load of brush:
Old house (to be torn down):
Old well behind old house:
Lance, his Dad (Scott), & Brother (Luke)
treasure hunting in old chicken house:
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