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| Making trails |
I dropped a 30-pack of Bush Light at our neighbors porch. I now have his phone number and can TXT him in advance to see how the weather has been and if the gate will be open or not. We're still working on a more permanent way to enter the property. I think that I will ask him if he'd like to trade some firearms or something.
The last part of the day was spent in the brambles and sadly I was out of fuel before I was out of daylight. The brambles are very thick, but it was easy, monotonous work. Move forward a few feet, back up, lower the deck, move forward. Rinse. Repeat.
The 1978 Bolens lawn tractor has been doing a pretty good job. I'm mowing with it through a bunch of little saplings. A brush hog would make the work much easier, but the lawn tractor was only $275 and the brush hogs that I've seen came with a used price of $600+.
I think that with this Bolens being an older lawn tractor, it is much more capable and forgiving than those newer mowers would be.
I'm having trouble getting this post to take. I keep getting "service not available." If you get multiple comments from me please delete the excess. I was trying to say I'm glad to see you back on line. I've been stopping by to see how your project was coming, and it looks like you are getting there, slowly but surely.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment. Slowly is the keyword, for sure.
ReplyDeleteI think that one more days work should give me a complete loop of trails. From that point on, our kids can ride the ATV and perhaps I can spend some time picking up the dead fall trees.
The back part of the land is where I think that I'd be building the cabin. Nestled within the pines and cedars. I'd also like to have an acre or more of pond. I think that there's enough runoff points that it should remain fairly full throughout the year.
Of course, that's all a lot of work, but I'll keep carving away at it. I have a ton more persistence and stubbornness than anything else.
Ponds can be hellish to keep up. If you are going to bank clay or something like that it would be nice to find someone who has built ponds before to help. I'm not implying you can't do it, I'm sure you could. But I can remember going out in the pond in winter with ice scum on the surface and stamping around in the clay to find a leak.
ReplyDeleteEverything worth having takes a lot of work and a long time. I'm still at it after 26 years, and I bet you will be too, because you never get your place just exactly right. But there's so much satisfaction and peace of mind in owning your own land, building your compound to suit yourself. You're on the right track.
Yea, I've read up quite a bit on building and maintaining ponds. If a muskrat doesn't tear it up, mother nature will probably do all that she can to try.
ReplyDeleteWith the layout of this parcel, keeping it full shouldn't ever be a problem, and the location for the pond is already at the lowest point, so it will be more about digging a hole and it will be about building up any sides, etc.
It will be tons of work, clearing the trees from the sides of the creek and not something that I think that I will be doing by myself. I am pretty sure that one of the locals has a bobcat and it might be something that a few cases of beer or several cases of ammo might be needed for some friendly barter.