Weekend warriors



The barn as seen from the driveway.  It is 32 x 60.



Chris finishing the corner sofit.

This past weekend we completed the soffits and facia on the barn. It has not been easy.  It rains 3/4 days so even on the days without rain,  it is still really muddy.  Chris started to build the cupola and when that is complete we can order the roofer to put shingles on. I am really happy that I don't have to go way up on the high ladder any more. Those gable end were tricky.

We have started the process for our construction loan, so hopefully construction will begin befor the year ends.

In other news I have passed my test to be a Virginia Certified Land Disturber.   You need to hire one before the county will issue you a building permit.  So we decided It would be cheaper for me to take the test.  Just one less contractor we will have to pay. I am sure plenty of you will get a good laugh out of that one.  I even have an official certificate!  What I really want is a big digger I can drive to make it official.

Earthquake, Hurricane and life goes on

After surviving the Earthquake and Hurricane in the same week, we are back to business.  Work on the barn is slow going.  We have had lots of rain lately and lots more rain in the forecast.  We did get the trim boards and soffits delivered last week and got one side of soffits installed, 1/2 of the skirt board up for the siding, garage doors trimmed and half of the windows trimmed.

This week the health inspector will make his first trip out to look at the well and septic for clearance to release the building permit. We should also be getting the garage doors installed. Chris is back at work full time now so things will have to be completed on weekends only.

Pear shaped puffball mushrooms from our yard.  They are supposed to be delicious, but I am not sure I am ready to test that.

Artichoke Flowers in the garden. 

Just a cool little mushroom.  I have got to find out what it is.

Skunked

We are all happy to be done with traveling for the summer and spending the last days at home.

Yoda continues to be the best puppy ever. No accidents for 8 days now and he is so sweet. The boys are really good about taking him out for walks, although Cooper is the only willing pooper scooper, Jackson flat out refuses!

We continue to try and trap animals to make the place safer for when we get chickens. The raccoons continue to steal the bait. We did manage to trap a skunk with pepperoni and peanut butter. I wish I had a good photo, but I was not willing to get that close to a live skunk. Once dead I tried to roll him over to get a snapshot, but that caused the stink to leak out. Needless to say Chris and the boys were not happy with me.

Last week we got or final house plans from the architect so we are chomping at the bit to get our permits and begin lineing up contractors.

School starts in two weeks and the boys are not thrilled. Chris has some job prospects that he is really excited about. Things are really coming together here in Watermark Woods.

The Dog Days of Summer

We have been pretty lazy lately.  Chris hurt his ankle about 3 weeks ago and he is just now walking with a shoe on.

We are getting lots of tomatos, peppers, artichokes and eggplants from the garden.  I am anxiously awaiting my parsnips.

We adopted a dog last week and he has kept us all busy.  Yoda is a yorkie-poo and has proven to be a very good breed for us.  He is not a barker and is starting to get the hang of potty training.  He already knows sit and the boys can't wait for him to learn some more advanced tricks.

No Water

We have all returned from yet another vacation.  Chris and Jackson spent a week in the mountains with scouts and Julie and Cooper went to Sara's.

We came home to find the pool emptied of water.  That was such a let down as we had bought sand to level the spot and we were careful to put the cover on.  So it looks like we will have to call Danny the water guy once again.

The garden is a jungle.  I picked 20+ pounds of food and delivered to the food pantry. We had zucchini, peppers, jalapenos, cukes and eggplant.  I had 6 artichokes...SO cool! I am just not sure how to cook them.  The pumpkins and gourds are have fruit on the vines.  The squash bugs are sure giving me a run for my money.  I am constantly picking off the eggs.  The beds were badly in need of weeding.  Unfortunately both the push mower and the weed whipper are broken so mowing between the beds will have to wait another few days.

The barn raising is in full swing.  The concrete pad was poured this week and 2.5 of the wall are up.  It won't be long and we can get our stuff out of storage and into the new storage. 

The bees are looking very active.  This week they have been bearding which is what bees do when they are hot.  It looks really cool and hopefully I can add in a photo soon.  All the bees gather at the entrance and there can bee a lot of bees!

We also had a racoon get int my worms.  He knocked over the condo and broke off the spigot.  I lost alot of castings and plenty of tea,  but I still have a good population of worms and I am confidant that they will recover.

Varmint Hunters

Chris has been under the weather with some dental problems so it has been quiet the past couple of weeks.

We did get the little pool set up, but it has been quite a process.  Apparently 3000 gallons was too much for our well and we started to get mud in the lines and the well went dry.  It has since recovered, but it left the pool very appealing to pigs and not appealing to children.  That problem was quickly solved one evening when we about to leave for dinner.  The four of us stood speechless as the pool side collapsed and all the water rushed off into the woods.  It was quite a site to see.  With the muddy waters gone, we moved the pool to higher ground and called in Danny the water guy(That is a separate story.  He was quite a character.).  We now have a pool that is level(mostly) and full of clean water.  Cooper played in it the whole time we were filling it, then declared it too small and got out.  Uugh!!

Yesterday Jackson went into the old house to fetch his model airplane and thought there was a fake snake on the ground so he stepped on it.  Much to his surprise it was real.  We all got a good laugh out of that.

I am also happy to report we have trapped and killed 2 ground hogs and 1 raccoon.  I am a bit disturbed at how satisfying it is to come out in the morning and find my trap full.  I guess I am really embracing the country life.

Grow, Build, Swim.

We just arrived home after a 2 week vacation.  We had a great time visiting family, zip lining, swimming and riding the Dell's ducks.  It was so nice to come back to our RV home,  we were surprised how much we missed the little place.

The garden produced an enormous amount while I was gone.  I picked everything and donated 79 pounds of food to interfaith relief.  They were SO happy to get the fresh veggies.

Everything is growing so fast and I was pleased that it was not completely taken over with weeds.  I did find a huge success ..... 3 artichoke blooms!!!  Last year they grew all season and I was hesitant to try again, but I think the new watering system has really paid off.

We came home to find the footers, walls and plumbing roughed in for the barn.  The trusses also showed up while we were gone. The slab should be poured early next week and the framing will begin shortly after that.

After spending so much time in other people's lovely spacious homes, parent guilt kicked in and we bought one of those above ground pools.  I just can't wait to get in ... heeeheee