Trench work 101

Okay, this was a failure.  But still a good learning experience.  We learned that some trenchers are just not what they are stacked up to be.  In this case I rented a ProTrac Trencher and drug our friend Tomas along for the muscle.  We started off innocently enough getting the ProTrac unloaded from the trailer and testing out the shovel blade before rigging up the trencher blade.  We should have guessed at this point that this day was not going to turn out as planned.  The shovel didn't have enough power to move any of the debris from earlier burnings or wood heaps.  Nor did it have enough to even work on leveling any ground or filling any low spots.   Nevertheless, we figured it'd be fine with the trenching chore, since that was primarily what we needed it for.

After struggling for a bit with the hydraulic hoses Tomas finally got them connected and we were on our way.   We headed over to the area where I needed the trenching.  The work started out well enough, but soon we found that things were moving a bit too slow.  It had taken roughly 45 minutes to dig a trench only 5' long.  Worse, the trench was only 24" deep, instead of the required 36".

4-15-08 Clearing on Tranquil Moon

There was really a lot of progress made on the clearing at Tranquil Moon this weekend.  Cara and I walked the path on Sunday to evaluate the area and to make plans for the next phase - the electric service, well, and move-in.  All is looking great and according to plan with some exceptions. 

A visit to VEC - the electric company - brought an incredible revelation that I was not aware of.  After getting the invoice for new service at Tranquil Moon - a total of about $1500 - I was a bit taken aback and wanted to know just what we were having to pay for.  My initial understanding was this was going to be about $600.  So when I saw a $900 increase I was very concerned.  As noted earlier, our plans had originally been to put in a pole roughly 15' away from the primary pole (the orange stake in the photo).   On this we would have our meter and circuit breaker panel.  Turns out part of the high cost of the installation was related to the contract cost of installing the transformer - $700.  A suggestion someone else gave me was to see about an underground installation from the primary pole to our service.  Now here's the WOW - they will provide up to 150' of cable free of charge to run from the primary pole to my panel AND the installation of the transformer is no longer considered a part of a new installation so therefore a contractor will not have to put it in - the cost is $0.  That's right $0!!!!  I said, DUH, you think???   So I quickly re-evaluated my plans and went with an underground installation.  The new panel will be on the toward the bottom left of this photo with the RV located to the right.  This weekend I'll rent a trencher at $175/day and put in a 36" trench for 150' to the property area.  The thing I like about this is it puts the electric service right up to our living area instead of being on the road.

Soon . . . Very soon . . .

Soon . . .very soon . . . we will be moved.  It's becoming very, very real to me now.  I can begin to visualize where this is going to be and where that will become a flower bed or garden.

 

It cannot happen too quickly to suit me!   Yesterday was one of the most fabulous days I've had recently. . . no thoughts of school, just buried up to my knees in Mother Earth!  The skid-steer and I were like one, not ripping and tearing down trees and vegetation, but cutting and styling the Mother's hair.  As wild vegetation was pulled down, there stood the magnificent old oak trees just waiting to be unveiled and brought into the sunshine. There were the soothing little meditation corners that had been unseen before the door was opened. 

I want to preserve some of the wildness because it, too, is beautiful in its own way.  The deer and creatures find the wild corners more suitable for their living, so they will have purpose and beauty also.  I look forward to sitting on the deck with my morning coffee and watching the creatures come through my world.  I plan to plant food for deer, butterflies, and birds.

The weather the goddess gave us was simply perfect!  About mid-70's, mild breeze, and lots of sunshine. 

Too breezy for burning the vegetation so it can go back to the earth and add nutrients for what is to come, but that will be another weekend.  I have my "Fire Wagon" ready to go with 300 gallons of water, a 5.5  horsepower pump, 50' of fire hose, and a fire nozzle for full stream or fog, or anywhere in between.  Jay will try to take care of a trailer this week, so we can keep the Fire Wagon dedicated to being ready for brush burning or any emergencies on the property.  My old skills are still of value . . . how long ago was it that I actually handled a fire hose? 

We've met Tony who owns the 7 acres adjacent to our little spread.  He might be ready to sell, but no one is in any hurry.  I'm afraid it's going to be over priced, but . . . He told me his property taxes were $700/year and his payments $560/month, but I think his improvements are worth more in his head than they are to the bank.  Time will tell; the goddess controls and what is supposed to be, will be.

I enjoyed working with Tomas.  I hadn't had a lot of close contact with him before, but he's really skillful with machinery and techniques for using it.  He seemed impressed by my rookie skills and showed me pointers which really helped my efficiency.  I'm glad Jay has such a friend.

Pedro, the neighbor to the other side, moved into Cuero because he bought another house and could put his painting business there.  But, due to his mother-in-law coming to live with them, he gave her that house and is now moving back next door.  Whew!  I will be working almost immediately on some "privacy fencing" between our properties.  Long term I will plant Chinese Elm hedges that grow about 40' high, but short term it will be bamboo fencing and timber.

Unfortunately, as wonderful as yesterday was, school beckons today,so I'm off for grading.  I won't be upset if I'm not asked to teach this summer . . . if Jay's good earnings continues, I'd like to be home playing in the dirt!  What will be, will be . . . 

More clearings

We asked a friend of ours for some help on the next clearing projects .  Tomas is a strong 29 year old young man with lots of stamina and perfect for doing an incredible amount of work.  Together with my wonderful wife, Cara, who has

no fear of machinery we managed to clear out a ton of back woods to prepare for the RV.  I had my doubts about my wife running the skid steer - and not because I didn't think she could do it, but because of the struggle of managing the machine - but after a few minutes we were rating her as a strong candidate for lead operator.  She really did marvelous.  Tomas, however, was indispensable for clearing out the live trees that blocked our progress in the clearing zone.  Between the two of them they really championed the clearing all the way.  All of the current pictures can be viewed by going to our Picasa Web Photo Album.

New Tranquil Moon Clearings

Hadn't been out in so long I'd almost lost site of the work that needed to be done. 

I started the other day by clearing the area around the electric pole that will eventually provide our electric service.  As it started out, the orange stake marked the spot where we would put the pole we were to drop.  I had to clear the entire area around it and the primary pole.   The shots here don't really show the area before the clearing, but it's pretty close.  As you can see from the brush I cleared out, there was a lot moved from around the pole when I finished.

We're moving!

Yesterday our landlady called and said the long lost sister of her deceased husband had finally been found . . . and she owns the part of the land we're on . . . so load 'em up, Henry!  We're moving ASAP!

Fortunately, the day before I'd done my taxes and my refund will more than cover the moving, and we'd already begun to plan.  We believe we're about six weeks out . . . and no one will EVER tell us we have to move again!  Tranquil Moon here we come!

As Spring Break ends, I'm a little depressed.  I've enjoyed my time off very much even though I've done a lot of school work during the week.  Just being able to set my own hours  has been a treat.  When we get to the new dirt, I'm sure I'll really want some more time off . . . I can hear trees and flower beds and Jay's salsa garden calling me now!

The briars have died off nicely and are ready to be skid-steered into a huge burn pile.  The 25' driveway is first on the list, with the nearby electrical pole location included.  Then the spot we've picked for the trailer will have to be leveled and cleared as well.  Jay will be contacting the well man to see how long it will take him to sink the well etc.  As soon as we have electric, we'll be ready to roll.  We can tote water for a few weeks, if necessary, and our "blue tanking" can start any time.  I wonder what it's going to be like to sit in the midst of our trees and drink morning coffee . . . I wonder, but I'm anxious to experience the reality . . . we've waited so long for this to happen.

Our Lizzie baby was diagnosed with diabetes three weeks ago.  We've almost lost her twice to diabetic coma due to spikes in her blood sugar, but $1,000 later it seems we may be on the right track.  Everyone has been switched over to the new "prescription diet".  Insulin shots have given way to pills, which she readily takes without problems.  March 10 her blood sugar was 368, but the vet says that's progress.  She's lost an awful lot of weight, but seems to be comfortable and is finally moving around the place more.  We've had to keep her confined to a cage for two weeks while she settled in, urine output was monitored, and the new food was introduced for all.  She slept with Jay last night, so I feel hopeful.

Off to Bobbie and her college paper . . . tutoring!

Continuing the intro of our babies...

Sure haven't done much on the property in a while.  Weather has just been too cold and wet.  Hoping to soon get out and begin working again.  Until then I spend a great deal of time on the PC learning Adobe Illustrator.  I'm not bad with Photoshop, but I've really wanted to expand my art techniques to include vector art so taking the time to learn Illustrator during the poor weather is a good opportunity.

I had introduced some of our babies earlier, but didn't have photos of the others until now.  So, I figure it's a good time to get at least two more of them into the blog

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A little beauty is one we named Dusty Rhodes.  Actually, the last name had been Roads - since that was where I found her; on a dusty road - but Cara preferred the Rhodes Scholar address.  So a scholar she is.  Dusty was on a dirt road being friendly to anyone who would pay attention to her.  I had held her as had a few other friends, but when I tried to walk away and leave her, she followed me to the truck.  I returned her to the group I had been with since one lady remarked that she might take her home, but again when I left, she followed me and beat me to the truck.  I figured after that, that she had to go with me.  Cara was reluctant to take in a new cat and was trying to be adamant about me returning her, but alas, Cara is weak and she fell in love with her.  Dusty is sweet, still small, the youngest, and lively and has become one of Cara's favorites.  Dusty loves to sit in her lap while she's working on the PC.

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Lizzie Boots is one of the few we've adopted off the street.  Cara and I were out running errands and we happen to see someone giving away kittens in the parking lot.  We went over to see and immediately saw two that looked like they needed us for parents.  Lizzie was an orange one and the other was a calico.  Both girls had white boots on each of their four feet, thus the last name attachments of Boots to their names.  Unfortunately the calico didn't make it; she died within a few weeks.  But Lizzie stayed and earned the effable nickname of The Napster because of her knack for grabbing a quick nap with me as soon as I laid down.  She now gets quite upset if her position is usurped by any of the other babies.

Not much work lately...

Weather has been poor; cold, rainy, miserable. Not very good for working on the land. No progress has been made for a few weeks - well, since Christmas I think. Hoping that, with the rain, the burn ban will be lifted so I can, at least, get in to do some burning. Since we sprayed a large area of the rose bushes are dieing out as hoped. Those will have to be plowed down with a skid-steer in order to make way for the RV.

Camera has been malfunctioning so I haven't been able to load any new pictures. Hopefully that will be corrected soon.

More briars . . . and I'm winning!

The briars (wild roses . . . whatever!) I sprayed on Dec. 27 are showing significant brown and wilt.  The wood remains green, as I broke off some twigs today, so dead roots are probably still awhile off.

I have now gotten the wild roses up our path from camp to the projected RV location.  From the front of the property (where we marked off our 25' road last week), I have thoroughly sprayed roses where the electric pole will be installed (come on $600!!!!) and up the proposed road to where we'll make our turn for the RV location.  From our trail on the other side, I've worked my way back down to the turn on the proposed road.  So . . . . I have a complete loop made of roses having been thoroughly sprayed.  I hope we can rent our first skid-steer around the 20th, so we can begin pushing those dead briars aside.

Victoria has a burn ban in effect, so only the Goddess knows when we will be able to burn.  Some areas cannot be burned because we will damage healthy trees, so I guess we'll keep renting the chipper until we get them ground into mulch.  In the meantime, we are dragging the cut materials we can handle to a large burn pile which will probably be the biggest bonfire in Victoria County history when the ban is lifted!!!!! (As a retired firefighter, I know we won't be burning anything not in a ring or fire pit until we have water on the scene!  Just don't tell Jay!  (Come on $700 for the down payment on the well!)

School starts again Monday.  Part of me is missing my kids, but I have enjoyed the stress-free physical work at Tranquil Moon.  I am reluctant to see these days go.  I have resolved to spend a full day out there EVERY weekend working, however; I hope it serves to help me keep my stress level down for this last semester.  This semester spells PDAS observations and more conflict with the AP, but she'll be gone next year.  So, as I see it, I just have to tie a knot in the rope, expect to get chewed on . . . and name some briars after her when I spray . . . "I win! HAHAHAHA Take that, you ol' sticker!"

Until next time . . .

Family intro...

We are finally putting together some pictures of our babies; cats to the familiar. This little lady is Marcie Diesel. Marcie got her middle name of Diesel because she was found at the Fastop Truckstop, abandoned and hungry. I was attracted to her because of her Tortie colors; black, brown, and tan. She's very similar to my first cat, Laura whom I had helped deliver, but died back in 2000, but Marcie's personality is very different. She doesn't know about the under the cover monster, but she does cuddle in her favorite spot at night - right between my ankles.

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Missy is the only one of our babies that was adopted at Adopt-A-Pet. Cara had lost her loved Calico, Anne, so to console her we picked out Missy at the adoption group. She is now the oldest and has adjusted to be the grand dame of the grouping.

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Athena is a high-pitched little lady whose life is owed to the Goddess. When we were moving out to The Tree - an earlier acreage that we rented that had only one grand old oak tree on it - I was clearing brush and grass from the area when I heard a high-pitched meowing. I followed the sound and came upon this very small kitten - an abandoned new-born - hiding in the tall grass. She's all black except for the locket on her neck and white tuffs in her ears. After stopping at a vet and getting formula milk and an eye dropper to feed her with, we took her home where we had, just a couple of week before, delivered a beautiful litter of 2 black female cats and one black & white male. We put Athena down and immediately Icie, the mother cat, took her to her nipples and nursed her like she was her own. From that point on Athena was a part of the litter.

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Another Fastop Truckstop baby is Axle Rose, who was found hiding on the axle of a truck - thus the name Axle; not at all after the lead singer of Guns n' Roses. Axle is a lovely little lady, but after a period of her disappearing for days at a time, I had to confine her to a cage to reinforce her home boundaries. Now she stays very close to home and cuddles up to me when I'm sitting on the couch.

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That's it for now. We have four other babies - Inca & Onyx - Athena's litter mates - Lizzy Boots, and Dusty Roads - to introduce which I'll take care of when we get some pics of them. We're looking forward to moving them out to the property where they can stretch their claws on any number of trees at their disposal.

And it shall be . . .

It is said that what one does on the first day of a new year foretells what s/he will do in the remainder of the new year.  And it shall be that Jay and I will spend a lot of time at Tranquil Moon.  Tonight he needs a $500+ run to Louisiana, so he'll spend some of next year on BIG MONEY runs!  Actually, I hope he stays snuggled next to me all night . . . but we do have to pay the bills, and, oh, those plans we have for Tranquil Moon!

Although today was cold and windy, we had lunch at our campsite. We both ate black-eyed peas, just in case Texas is right about the good luck!  We walked its trails and found a couple of new nooks and crannies.  We are determined to leave a lot of those little places that are just wide enough to enter with a golf cart . . . then there's this little haven inside that you can't see until you get there.  Some meditating benches, some deer feeders, some fire pits to roast marshmallows over . . . little treasure spots.

Jay tinkered on the new picnic table to get it just right.  What a joy that space is!  I no longer have to bend over to do everything.  I sat and read a book and thought about what I want in my life this new year.  We accomplished nothing except being there.

We talked about how we want to leave spaces in this new world which will be completely separate from our "work-day-to-day worlds".  A spot that feels like we aren't home . . . we're on vacation or at a weekend retreat.

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Also looked at fences and gates on our way out . . . we are planning to clear a path 25' wide, but don't want a gate that wide.  We need something that will be easily disassembled when we decide to build or put a mobile home on site.  I think we may just have to have the 18'x80' Fleetwood we saw a year or so ago!  It has everything we want and even at $50,000 it's cheaper than building when appliances and decorating are figured into the equation.

 

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No further sightings of our little feral kitties . . . I think about the one who had the respiratory infection the other day.  I think I'll build a little first aid kit for the kitties . . . just like I have for the big people!  A little all-purpose antibiotic, some itch relief, small tools to open abscesses.

Until next time . . .