October10, 2018

Lots to catch up on.  Sorry for the long void in posting, but not much progress was being made until recently.

Once the holes for the shop posts were augered, we had to hand-dig the rest of the way, due to lots of rocks in the soil.  Baxter liked the giant dirt piles, but we sure didn't, as the dirt all had to be moved by hand!

Fortunately, we had Gallanger's tractor to do the heavy hauling, but we had to do the shoveling - 24 tractor buckets of dirt in all.  

Baxter provided pointers and inspected our work.

You can tell fall is just around the corner.  The leaves are changing color daily. We were treated to this beautiful double rainbow....

We took a trip to Daniel's Nursery, along Lake Roosevelt south of Kettle Falls, and bought trees to line the lower part of the driveway.  They are Green Ash trees, and turn a brilliant yellow in the fall.  We will move them when we get back from Greece.

More work got done on the driveway.  It is a slow process as they are "making" the rock as they work.  It is screened shale, which packs in and makes a really nice road surface.

The contractor is using a belly dump, which will cut down on the number of trips and help reduce road costs.  The pit is only about 5 miles away, which also really helps.

We took a break and nade a quick trip to the "wet side" for Mike's 50th class reunion.  Had a great time and he enjoyed reconnecting with people.  We stayed with Diana and Aliyah, which was fun!  Also had good visits with Jane and Jerry Madtson, Ken and Gayle Powell, the Fosters, and Shaun Straka and his herd.  Good to see everyone!

Can you find Mike?  Just look for the gray hair!

Leaves are changing fast now.  The quaking aspen are so pretty.

The wild crabapples are brilliant red!

Mike walked the utility ditch for water lines and power at the well site to measure for electrical wire.  It is a 4 foot deep ditch, to avoid having the water line freeze (frost line is at 30 inches).  Doesnt look that deep from the lower field - can you find Mike in the ditch?

Baxter was the safety officer and offered his advice.

We find some unusual rock formations - any guess what kind of rock this is?  Hint - it is NOT a mineral!

The leaves keep getting more beautiful!

I planted 300 daffodil bulbs along the top of the berm on the east side of the house site.  The whole area is bare dirt and won't be landscaped until next spring, and I wanted something pretty to look at when the snow melts!

The quaking aspen are turning golden!

We moved the pile of dirt and sod by the entrance gate in the lower field, which was a definite improvement.  The 3 Amigos offered some equipment adjustments.

Then they decided a consultation was in order!

What an improvement to have the big piles gone!

We started the process of trimming up the lower limbs on the big pine trees.  This is a must for fire-proofing and prevents grass fires from getting up into the trees.  Mike found this old trap grown into one of the trees - a fun find.  We wondered what the story is on this trap - a fun mystery. 


We spent some time walking some of the game and cow trails and finding good walking paths and viewpoints.  Develping some paths will be a fun project for next spring.

We also finished spraying the snow berry - a big job, and glad it is done.  We will let the herbicide do its job this winter, and then cut all the dead brush next spring. 

The aspen in the upper meadow just get better and better!

We had a nice surprise visit from Rory and Connie Barreith last Friday.  What a nice surprise and a real spirit lifter.  They gave relocated to Cour d'Alene, so we will get to enjoy visiting back and forth.

At last!  The last piece if the driveway was rocked yesterday.  No more horrendous dust storms every time we drive up the hill!

The hole was dug for the septic tank today, and it will be delivered tomorrow afternoon.  I am making a supply run in the morning for drain pipe and we should get the drain field finished tomorrow as well.  The contractor will start putting up the remainder of the posts for the shop on Friday, and it will hopefully be done when we get back from Greece!

Measuring depth for the septic tank.

The aspens are in their full glory, and today was a beautiful sunny day.

Mike got to play with the laser level today while measuring for the septic tank.  Oh boy, a new toy!

Bedding the septic tank hole with sand as a cushion for the cement tank.  Our contractor is pretty amazing with the excavator.  Good thing Mike trusts him!

Moving sand into the hole.

Another day is done - sunset over Bonanza Ridge.

That's all for now.  Will try to post during our cruise in Greece!

We have progress!

Shop materials were delivered and are all ready to go.  The holes for the posts will be drilled later this week, and then the contractor can set the posts.  That cement has to dry for a few days and then they can start putting up the shop.  Contractor says it will go fast - a week to 10 days.

Baxter had to inspect the materials to make sure they met with his approval.

We have been spraying brush, and spraying brush and spraying brush.  Mike is in "forester heaven" with his magic spray gun, and Baxter rides shotgun while I drive the Kioti.  We have the vast majority of  what we want to spray done for this season, mostly in the upper meadow.  There is good orchard grass hay there, but the brush has started to take over in a few spots, so we are getting that under control.  Hope to be able to get it disked and harrowed either later this fall or early in the spring, overseed, and see what kind of crop we can get from it. There is a good demand for orchard grass hay for horses in this area.  We want to get the lower pasture area prepped as well, take one cutting of hay, and then put cows back on it again next summer.  Local farmers will come and cut and bale it for 2/3 of the hay, and then we sell the other 1/3.

We have encountered some interesting insects as we work.  This guy was on a branch I reached out and grabbed while driving though the 

brush!

And this guy landed on Mike while we were working on the trenching for a power line under the driveway...

The contractor started rocking the road yesterday, which is very exciting.  No more huge clouds of dust when we drive up the hill! 

They are doing a great job of laying a good solid base so the road will hold up to the cold winters.  We are laying in about 2300 feet of driveway!

Baxter is in charge of quality control, and supervises from his perch in the shade under the water truck.

Mike is having fun scalping sod at the driveway entrance.  He is starting to get the hang of using the bucket.

We took the opportunity after the recent rain to do some chainsaw trimming on a few of the pine trees, to get them limbed up away from the ground.  We are working towards reducing fire hazards wherever we can.

We also got the ditch dug for the phone line.  The phone company will only bring the phone line to our property line, and we have to install it the rest of the way.  We will have to bury about 900 feet of line to get it to the house.  He got very proficient with the "Ditch Witch" by the time he was done!

The contractor got the holes dug for the shop poles today, so another big step forward.  Mike gave them his seal of approval.

We are truly enjoying our little piece of heaven.  We have been blessed with some beautiful sunsets, and were treated today to an impressive thunder and lightening storm.  We were able to finish up before it got close and we had to call it a day.  Fall is definitely in the air.

We are getting excited for the house to come.  Due date is early November.  It is so satisfying to be able to do a lot of the work ourselves - truly a "hands on" project.  We will keep you posted on our progress.

Mike and Glennis

Making progress....

August 20, 2018

Wow, has it really been that long since my last post?   We have been busy and have lots more accomplished.

Power went in on August 10th.  Boy were we impressed by the crews from Avista.  They arrived at 0715 and had the power line dug in and the pedestal wired by 1115.  They were all very professional and worked very efficiently.  The installation involved re-outfitting a pole at the bottom of the hill with a new transformer,

trenching almost 1,000 feet across the face of the hill for the buried cable Look close at the picture  to see the Cat with the shoe digging the trench),

installing a new pad-mounted transformer near the power pedestal where the house will be,

laying in the cable,

wiring up the new transformers,

 and connecting the power to the pedestal that will serve the  house and shop.

  Lots got done in a very short period of time, and we now have power to our house site!

We also moved a ton (literally) of rocks out of the hay field.  They rolled down the hill when the road was being cut in, and had to be moved so we can mow hay next summer.  We will use the rocks for landscaping and other projects.   Of course, the 3 Amigos had to oversee the project!

We have also worked in some canning - apricots and peaches, which will be really delicious this winter.  Looking forward to doing green beans next.

In addition to the work on the property, we also made two trips back to the west side.   One was for the annual Queets/Clearwater Pioneer Reunion and also a Beck family reunion at the Rainforest Resort.  We had a great time at both events, and got to catch up with lots of friends and family.

The next weekend we journeyed to Everett for a 70th birthday celebration for one of Mike's college room mates - Bill Bond.  We had a terrific time, got to meet lots of his family, and also spend some time just driving and seeing our beautiful state.  Took the long way home, via North Cascades Highway, and ended up having to take some back roads to get around the fire that broke out on the North side of the Columbia just outside of Kettle Falls.  We knew about a road closure, but also knew a back way around that got us safely home. 

We have been experiencing HEAVY smoke from the fires in our area and in Canada for the past few days.  We have been staying inside to avoid breathing it as much as possible, but it has started to clear up a little today. 

We have also had some amazing sunsets!

We turned in our septic permit application this morning, and hope to have that approved by the end of this week.  We also paid for the materials for our shop, and hope to have them this week as well.  Once they come in, we can start construction on the shop.  Things are moving along, but sometimes not as fast as hoped for.  But many of the local contractors (including the one who will rock our driveway) are off fighting the fires.  So we have to be patient with the delays.

Better get this sent off and turn in.  Another busy day tomorrow.  Love to all of you!

Mike and Glennis