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

July 26, 2018

Our propane tank arrived yesterday and is snug in it's big hole! 

We will change out all of the heating system in the house to propane once it arrives - propane furnace, demand propane hot water, propane cook top and propane fireplace.  Will also have a heat pump installed for summer air conditioning.  Will drop a line to the shop to heat the "warm room" where the water treatment facility will be located, to keep it from freezing.  We will make it about 10x12 or so, and put the extra fridge and the chest freezer in there as well.  Can easily heat it with a small heater.   They can also drop a connection for the motor home so we can attach to it and have propane for heat in it during the winter, as we use it during that time and therefore don't winterize.    Will be nice once we get it in.  Mike can also add space heaters powered by propane in his shop as we get that area developed - will probably be the kind that hang from the rafters like you see in commercial buildings.

Contractor finished ditching out the water line this morning, so that is all ready for water system to be finished up. We can run water and power in the same ditch, and will run an extra power line down to where we want to put the flag pole and probably Christmas lights.  Got the final bid from the pump contractor for our piping our water up from the well today.  Had to take a few Valium and have a few stiff drinks after looking that one over!  But when we are all done, we will have a solid, dependable water system, for which we are thankful.

Heard from Avista (the power company) and they will schedule us in after August 7th to put in our power - easements all signed so that is ready to go.  Once the power is in, we will activate the water system.

Still waiting on the contractor for the shop - hope to start that soon - maybe next week?

As you can see from the pictures, things are starting to brown up now, but everyone here says it is still surprisingly green for late July.  Lower fields and upper meadow are still pretty green, but hillsides are starting to go brown now.  Temps have been in high 90's, Tuesday was cooler, but highs up to 100 predicted later this week.  Humidity is low (less than 20%) which really helps, as does the nice northeast wind that was blowing yesterday.  We have learned wind from the north/northeast is usually cooler, and southerly winds (called "fire winds") are hot and dry.

Got to run for now....

Glennis

July 25, 2018

Still making progress.  Power line easements are all done, so waiting to find out an install date.  Hopefully by early next week.

The contractor cut in our road access this morning and got driveway all compacted.  They are screening rock now for the underlayment, so almost done with the "dust bowl".  Hooray!  We look like West Virginia coal miners every time we drive up the road in the Kioti.  He also finished digging the trench for the water and power lines to go up the hill.  Water cistern hole is dug, so just waiting on the water contractor to send us final estimate and schedule a date for water install.  Will activate the pumps and set up temporary water supply as soon as power goes in. 

Called Century Link today and made arrangements (we think) to have phone line to the house site pre-wired.  Spoke to some guy in India (we think) so not sure what is showing up next Monday morning.  We explained several times there is no house currently, and we want the line laid up through the utility trench so it can be buried with everything else.  Can hardly wait to see what happens!

Heading west next Wednesday for a brief visit.  Queets/Clearwater Pioneer Reunion in Clearwater on Saturday and Beck family reunion in Quinault Friday and Saturday.  Grooming appointment for Baxter on thursday and for the two of us on Monday!  Then back home to hopefully start construction on the shop.

These are Mike's new best friends.  They are hysterical - they come running to see what he is doing .  every time he goes down to the field.  Their names are "C", "D" and "E"  (ear tag numbers).  2 are Jerseys and the other is a Guernsey.  Trying not to get too attached, as they are destined for sale.  But we do enjoy having them around. I start thinking maybe it would be fun to have a "pasture pet", but then I slap myself silly and remind myself what a pain in the rear cows are!

The other 4 black beef cows went back to their home range last Sunday, so we just have the 3 babies with us now.  They are like a little bee swarm - they go everywhere together in a little group.  

Getting back into being "country people"again.  Went and picked apricots yesterday, and canned 6 quarts and 4 pints this morning, with about another 6 quarts ripening.  Waiting for peaches to come on next, but missed the cherries, as they came on really early this year.  Can hardly wait for my own kitchen again.  This is what it will look like, except the cabinets will be cherry instead of oak and the appliances are stainless steel.  We will have a wonderful view of the creek and quaking aspen from the windows - so peaceful.  Won't mind doing dishes here at all!

Was HOT yesterday - 101! Thank God for air conditioning, is all I can say.  We are learning to keep "farmer hours" - up early, while it is still relatively cool, as it is much too hot after about 10 AM to be doing much work outside.  Fortunately, it cools down at night to the mid-60's.

Got to run - they are bringing the propane tank this morning to set in place.

Glennis