Property Updates

Until December, the main thing happening with regards to the property (which I am considering calling Armadillo Acres because that was the first critter I saw here) was an automatic weekly transfer of money from my bank account to a specially ear-marked savings account. 

As far as real progress, we had the electric on for a few months. This let us see that the well pump was kinda sorta working, but with a leak somewhere that wouldn't let the tank hold pressure. To save funds, we then shut the electric back off. I also mowed three or four times, mostly in an attempt to knock back the poison ivy. That did seem successful in the main area around the mobile home. And DH took advantage of enough land of our own and did some hunting during deer season. There is truly nothing better than fresh venison. It was a BUSY week of processing meat from several deer. But now the freezer is stocked with meat from an animal that NEEDS population control since we eliminated almost all natural predators rather than something factory farmed using up lots of fossil fuels and water to produce. 

My general order of operations: 

- Remove mobile home and trusses, somehow

- Contract someone to clear the pasture areas and future house area as well as grade towards the pond (sounds like $$$$)

- Seed pastures

- Get water + electric

- Put up fencing

- Order carport for storage and for our temporary living quarters to be under

- Move down (fifth wheel? tiny home?)

- Build house

I had posted the trusses that are laying on the property FREE online. And oooohhhhh boy. I've had great interactions selling various horse things, including saddles, on Facebook marketplace. But you post FREE on something and all kinds of folks come out of the weeds. Mostly, in this case, folks with eyes bigger than their stomachs. The trusses were dropped here by crane or some sort of heavy equipment. And the longest is 60', meaning you need a 50'+ flat bed to load them on. Everyone wanted to claim they would BE THERE FIR SHUR TOMORRIW MORNIN and then never showed. Or reappeared two weeks later wanting to DEFINITELY PICK THEM UP TODAY WHY HAD I NOT HELD THEM, THEY SAID THEY WERE COMING!?!?!?!. Someone did come get the smaller stack in August, but then vanished. We eventually identified a kind gentleman who wanted scrap lumber and took several trailer loads of that after chain sawing some of the trusses. We also identified someone who I wished didn't have the address after DH met him there one Saturday morning and he declared he "didn't have all day to wait around, he had beer to drink and women to chase". Fortunately it looked like 99% of women would be able to run faster than him, so his chase wouldn't be too effective. 

Anyways. I also got quotes to demolish the mobile home. And we were looking at minimum $5K. Ouch. So DH set to work.

Where we started

Midway - power pole on the right hand side, which is why we shut the power back off before starting the demo

Getting there. We're probably going to just burn the trusses that the other guy doesn't want for scrap. Then we'll rent a dumpster, shovel in everything that is left, and be done with that phase.  There will be a lot of pick up of debris for a while after in this area, fun. 

In the mean time, I've been sketching again. The latest plans. Going with "layout 2" as our general plan for the location of the pastures on the south parcel and the house + carport on the north. The spot for the house + carport have shifted slightly though. 

Property is oriented with north to the top, as it is IRL. Road runs on west and north side of the property. The drawing below is just the northern of the two parcels. The idea with the layout is it puts the permanent structures on the northeast corner of the property, the driest area. The property to the east of us is higher still, vacant, and the same sort of wooded as ours. I have vague dreams of buying it. But in case it does get built, the carport acts as a buffer between us and a cleared lot with a house. 

Carport: 

What I can't sort out is how parking cars would work in the carport and in regards to the house. I *think*that the hay storage side of the carport should be closes to the driveway loop, so the inner part of that loop could be cleared of trees and the hay storage could be accessed easily. But then the truck/trailer parking side would need to be approachable as well and in a way that doesn't angle the trailer into the side of the carport as I pull in. If the car parking was at the north end then to get out of the carport you could back into the western part of the loop and more "driveway" areas wouldn't be created. But clearing the inside of the loop of the driveway of trees also means you can see directly from the house to the carport, not exactly picturesque. 

The exact curvature of the driveway is also somewhat of a mystery to me. I can find a large, vacant area and have DH mark the turning radius of the current truck and trailer on the pavement, but... what if the truck/trailer change? I don't think I'll ever have 3+ horses, but stranger things have happened, so what if the trailer is larger? What if the truck is larger? I don't want to clear more than I need to because I am starting to really love the little woods we have there, nevermind the money it costs LOL. But at the same time, we need a reasonable treeless buffer around the house and do need enough space to get a good limerock driveway down.