July 16, 2018

Beautiful night last night.  The stars are so clear and so close here, as there is very little artificial lighting in the valley, and everything is so quiet.  Sat out and watched the moon set, and listened to the coyotes serenading us - blissful!

Contractors are working today on excavating for the shop foundation.  Also brought up sand for the bottom of the pit for the propane tank, which will be buried.  Waiting to hear on inspections for septic test holes and electrical pedestal installation, and then we can move forward with septic system and power installation.  Got the diagram from the water people for the hole for water cistern (will be installing a 1900 gallon tank for water pumped from the well), and will have them dig that as well.  Water is then run from the cistern through a treatment system for hard water and removal of minerals, etc, and then on to the house.

Making a trip to the "big city" (Spokane - approximately 90 miles away) to pick up some of the appliances, meet with the house builder, and look for lighting fixtures, glass shower doors, and other misc. items for the house.  We opted to not take the appliances that come with the house, as they are at the bottom range, and not what we wanted.  Same with lighting fixtures, etc.

As I type this, I'm watching the Momma and Poppa quail peck for food in the grass.  No babies with them, so their first brood must have fledged already, or they lost them all.  They should have another brood soon.

Mike is down filling the stock tank so the cows have water.  We are NOT raising beef - we are leasing our pasture to local people who raise beef.  We are exploring the capacity for a dug well that is on part of the property, so see how long it will produce water over the summer.  Water is a precious commodity here, and used carefully.  The dug well is ground water, our house water comes from a 400' drilled well.  We also have a seasonal creek on the other side of the ridge that has quaking aspens in it.  The contractor is confident we can find ground water there to use for irrigation around the house, as there is a large grove of aspens and they like to have their feet damp.  He will dig another well for us to see what kind of water we find there.  It should be more than adequate to use for irrigation of any gardening/landscaping we want to do.  Landscaping will be minimal, due to water and also fire.  Don't want vegetation close to the house in case of grass fires.  Also don't want a lot of garden to maintain.  Most of the property is pasture and natural vegetation, and we will keep it that way.  Will probably sell hay off the lower portion (where the stock well is) and then lease it for grazing next year.  Will also lease the ridge and small valley on the back side for grazing.  There is a natural spring near the seasonal creek that provides stock water on that side during the summer, so that works out well. Will fence off an acre around the house and shop to keep the cows out of that area.

Glennis

Great excitement:  Just saw the dump truck come in, which I think means they are putting down rock for the shop!  Hooray!  Once it is up we can move the motorhome up on the property!