Background

August 2009 -

• Chris and I (Julie) have had some discussions about building an environmentally friendly and self sustaining home.
• We began to look for a nice 10 acre property in Northern VA.
• We found a very charming 30 acre property with a lot of junk on it.
• We were perplexed by the concrete cylinders all over the property. We think more than 20 thousand of them.
• The existing house is framed and roofed, but no siding of any type. The house is so full of junk we can not even get into it.

September 2009-

• We put in an offer.
• Our great realtor got an estimate to haul away the junk and unfinished house/ $75,000 Yikes.
• Our offer was rejected.
• We decided one day we want chickens.
• We consulted both of our parents for advice. One set said 'no way' the other said 'go for it or you'll regret it' So I guess we have to make the final decision.

October 2009-

• After several re-offers, we finally agreed on a price.
• We had perc testing done and have at least 3 sites where homes could be built.
• We found a headstone from the 1800's laying among the junk.  ??
• Our fab realtor had a construction guy verify that the house foundation was sound and only needs a bit of tuck pointing.
• We walked the property with our friend who is a professional forester and got some great ideas for the property. We saw loads of dear evidence.
• After finding 30 shower doors, Chris thinks it would be a good idea to build a greenhouse out of shower doors. hmmmmm
• We are both finding it hard to sleep and the first things we discuss in the morning are always about the property. Where to put the chickens, the garden, the guest cabin. How to lay out the house.

November 2009-

• We removed all contingencies on the contract and settled on Nov 23 as our closing date.
• We purchased a used Ford 6410 tractor with a bucket, bush hog, auger and blade. Neither of us has ever driven a tractor before.
• Nov. 23 we closed. The seller (age 87) did not like the idea of the wire transfer and wanted to see the money.
• After closing we felt a little daunted and overwhelmed at the magnitude of the project we are taking on.

We agreed on the name Watermark Woods for our property. We all love the water and the stream on the property was a big selling point for us. A watermark on paper is a faint impression which is how we hope our carbon footprint appears on this earth.

Our first weekend in the woods

After closing on the property less than a week ago we spent our first weekend working in the woods.

Friday- Our friends Jim and Irene gave us a tour of their farm. We got some great ideas for raising chickens and turkeys. We decided that sheep were a little out of our league. Then we took them to our property. Mostly they laughed at all of our junk, but we got some great ideas about where to put the green house and kitchen garden as well as a larger garden.  Today for the first time, we were able to climb on the porch and look in the window of the house.  As suspected it is full of junk, but we did see a huge fireplace in center of the house.

Saturday - Our first task was to move the new tractor away from the road and back by the house. Chris got stuck in the mud and the ignition key fell out. After we hunted and found the key in the grass, Chris was able to free the tractor. We also tried to hook up a generator to get the existing well pump working, but no luck. We will have to call a well person to come out and get it working which means we will also need to get power out there. While we were busy, Jackson and Cooper collected old ceramic tiles to shoot at. By the end of the morning they had a whole bucket full! We decided we really need a dumpster to get into the cleaning out phase so we decided to take a hike instead. The four of us hiked for a couple of hours then as dusk came we headed home.

Sunday -we purchased a new 5x10 trailer to haul junk with as well as a new gate for the entrance. Our first task was to set up a little shooting range for the boys to use their 22s. Our good friends Chris and Cheryl came out to help us use the auger on the tractor and dig post holes for the new gate. We located two good telephone poles and cleared away the brush to get them out. As Chris and I were rolling an old hot water heater out of the way, a mouse jumped out and was so dizzy, he ran around in circles for a couple of minutes before he was able to hide. By the time we got the big poles to the front of the property, it was dusk and we never did get those post holes dug.  Jackson and Jackson had a blast shooting the ceramic tiles.  Pieces flew everywhere!  Cooper found a complete deer skull,  antlers, teeth and all.  He brought it home and wants to clean it up and put it in his room.