Starting a New Project

We installed new gates this week at the entrance of our drive. Sometimes when we leave for more than a day or two we don't want any uninvited guests to stop by.



We woke up to a half inch of snow Saturday morning. The kids were really excited. Me, not so much. I moved south to get away from this stuff. I think I may have to go look for a place in Florida, or maybe Hawaii. I hear it's 80 degrees there right now.











We got a lumber delivery on Saturday for our pole barn. Sandra and I started drilling holes on Saturday and put the poles in on Sunday. Monday I will try to finish the wall framing and move on to trusses. Supposed to rain Monday and Tuesday. I love building in mud!

Buck Fever Strikes Again

Swine flu may be the newest virus going around the country these days but there's another sickness that goes around every year at this time. It strikes millions of men, women, and kids. Sometimes you can see the signs, but most of the time it strikes you out of nowhere: Buck Fever! It's a sickness with only one cure. You have to get out into the woods, climb into a tree or a blind, and quietly wait and hope for that big rack to meander into your neck of the woods and well within range of an easy, clean shot. There are very few things in this world that can excite a man, or woman, more than harvesting a whitetail. I am in Michigan again to finish a couple of jobs and, of course, November 15th was approaching fast. If you live in Michigan for any length of time you know the significance of this date. It marks the opening of deer season. I received a call from my Uncle Dave in Quincy a couple of days prior to opening day and he invited Jerry, my stepfather, and me out to his farm for a few days of huntin'. He has 63 acres of prime huntin' land. I had a great time as usual. I love getting out in the woods and just sitting there listening and observing God's creations, absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately I did not harvest a deer, YET! Michael, Dave's youngest son, was the only one to take a buck opening morning. It was a very nice six point. Michael calls it a "wall hanger". There were five of us out there and everyone was seeing deer, but not close enough or big enough to take. Here are a couple of pics from the trip.

Michael's "Wall Hanger"



Michael & Cody with the 6 pt.



Dave let Cody drive his new farm toy "The Mule"



Jerry brought his dad's shotgun to hunt with and it fell apart when he fired it. I don't think it's been fired in years. So off to Gander Mountain he went. He bought a new Remington 870, 12 gauge slug shotgun. Merry Christmas Jerry!! Here's a pic of Jerry sighting in the shotgun with Frank calling shots.

Settlin' in!

We finally got back home 9 days ago. It's been a busy week of course. It wouldn't be a normal week if it wasn't. We are trying to get our lives back to a routine, at least somewhat predictable from day to day. When we went back to Michigan for what was supposed to be a week, turned into two weeks. Sandra only brought enough school work for a week and now they are trying to catch up on a week's worth of school work. Next time she is going to take twice as much as she thinks she will need, just in case. I got a call the day after I got home from a customer that I bid on back in June. I am putting a roof on his home right now. I hope to finish it by Monday. A couple of other jobs that I bid in Michigan last month have come through and I will be back once again. I don't mind making the trip to earn some dough, after all, you gotta go where the work is. It's just tough on Sandra and the kids. She likes to have everything planned out for here schedule and when mine changes, so does hers.
Last Saturday we were in Lowes to get some material to insulate and drywall the schoolhouse and there was a building class for kids going on, so naturally my kids wanted to join in. Below are some pics.



I didn't have my regular camera with me lately, so I had to use my phone. I took the SD card out of my camera to put it into my deer camera. Cody and I set up our stand a couple of weeks ago and set out a lick and a camera to see what might be on our dinner table this winter. Here's what we saw.




Does dog taste like chicken?!! If these guys are around when I'm out there we might find out!

Sandra and I insulated and drywalled the schoolhouse last weekend. We also added three more windows. It's too dark during the day for the kids to see their books. It really brightened it up. I got a good deal on two of the windows from craigslist. I had to drive 45 minutes to get them but I only paid $60 for two. We decided to heat with a portable propane heater instead of using a wood burning stove. The stove required too much space and the initial cost was a lot more. Also, if work stays consistent, we will be building the pole barn soon and we will be staying in there. We are going to heat it with a wood burner.
we got our water service put in on Thursday. It's cool to finally have water, only problem is that it's a half mile from my house! Now I need to run a water line from the service to my property. They recommended using a 1 1/2" pipe, twice what I was going to use. They said that since I was 300 feet higher in elevation than the service, that I may lose a lot of pressure. This would help reduce friction loss and provide greater volume. Otherwise, we may need a pump to help with pressure.

Sandra and I signed up at the church last Sunday to get as Jeremy says "plugged in" and "connected" with other families. I workout at the Powerhouse Gym here in town and many of the people that also workout there go to the same church, including the pastor. I met one couple the other day and the invited us to join their life group on Mondays. It's really funny to me to see how God works in my life and if your in tune to those kind of things you really can see the hand of God in your life. Before I moved here I really wanted to live in a town where my family could really connect with locals. I love living in a small town, a "Mayberry" if you will, or "Walnut Grove" for those of you a little younger, where you know everyone and everyone knows you. Just the other day I was at the gym and looking around I realized that I have seen the same folks at the same gym, same church, same China-mart, same gas station, same Waffle House, ect. over the past six months. Just then I saw my opportunity to have the kind of small town life that I always wanted, a real community feel. The benefit to being in a small community is that you have more opportunities to run into people that you "do life" with. When we attended Metro South, we would meet families that we wanted to spend more time with and connect with, but you run in different circles. You shop at a different grocery store, live in a different city, kids go to a different school, eat a different restaurants, workout at different gyms, ect. It makes it very difficult to stay in touch with each other. I don't want just a Sunday morning community, but an everyday life community.

My Crazy Summer!

Where do I begin? This has been one crazy and unpredictable couple of months. It all started with the week before Labor Day. I was just coming up to Michigan to pick up my wife and kids. School was about to begin and Sandra was anxious to set up her school house. Of course, I didn't bring my computer with me because I didn't plan to stay long. I must have sat around with Cody in Alabama for two weeks with no work to do. I passed out some cards and tried to make some things happen, but nothing did. I came back the week before Labor Day so Cody could get his cast removed and our plan was to go back after Labor Day. As it turns out, Aaron sold a roof and I stayed to help work on it with him. Then, as I prepared to leave once again, Jeremy called with two more roofs that I bid for him 8 months ago and both of them just happened to call while I was here and available for work. Then a friend of a friend called me and needed a roof on his son's and his daughter's house. I sold both of them and on top of that I did the neighbor's house. Besides that, I have been busy with some small jobs that Jeremy has sold. Now just today another friend called today and wants me to do a roof that he sold and doesn't have time to do. CRAZY!! God has really blessed me with a lot of work recently. Why here? I don't know, but who am I to question God's plan for me and my family. He has never failed me when I needed Him the most. I know that He has plans for us in Bama. I am anxious to go back home, but work is work and I never turn down an opportunity to earn some money. After all, if your going to ask God for work, then you have to take it when He gives it to you. It's been in the 40's here and in the 70's in Bama. Unfortunately, I only brought shorts and tee-shirts to wear. Sandra and the kids have started school. We did make one trip back down to get some things and check on our home. Cody and I set up our tree stand and set out some deer attractant. Today is opening day for bow season. We are both sick with buck fever and can't wait to put in some serious time in the woods. I don't have too many pics to put up because I didn't have my camera over the past month and wasn't able to take any.

Little House on the Mountain

I finished the school house Saturday. Here are some pics. It turned out pretty nice. The kids are more excited about the loft than about the school area. That's probably because this is where they will be doing school and the loft is where they will play and hang out. Sandra and I ordered their school books last week and are supposed to be here this week. I don't think anyone is quite ready for summer to be over and school to start back again, but what kid is. Becca celebrated her 9th birthday Sunday. She got an American Girl doll and another Webkinz. We are hoping to get the water meter installed soon so we can have running water on the property. In the meantime I'll still be clearing and burning brush and, oh yeah, looking for work. I bid a job this morning and I still have a couple of large bids out that I'm waiting to here from. It would be great if you could say a prayer for this large apartment job in Huntsville that I'm waiting on. It's 100 buildings that need new roofs and I talked to the manager last week and he said that they were waiting for the top people to approve everything. He was impressed with my bid and hopefully if this is what God has planned for me then I will hear from him soon.

Cody's Rough Week

Last week my son Cody (11 years old) broke his arm skateboarding at my mother-in-law's home and had to get it casted. He was really upset because he was going to come down to Alabama with me and help me work on getting ready to build. My wife and kids came down on Saturday and are helping me build a school house. The first day here Cody was climbing on a log fort he built and managed to fall off and cut his forearm. He had to get 5 staples. This is the first time he has ever really been "handicapped" for a short time and is still getting adjusted to not being able to do the things he normally does.

Cody built this back on spring break



Sandra made him this arm sling out of some hunting fabric. Cody and the doctor thought it was cool.



We finished the grading on the road and where I am going to build the pole barn. I was planning on building it this week but I ran a little short on cash. I spent twice what I thought I was going to spend on the stone for the road and equipment rental. I had two machines over a three week period. That gets quite expensive. I also had problems with the dirt I graded on the road after it rains it gets too mushy and slick in some areas, so I had to bring in 5 more loads of stone. I don't have enough money to dry in the pole barn, so we decided not to start it now, instead we decided to build a schoolhouse/play area for the kids. Part of the problem with staying in a camper with 5 people and trying to homeschool is that it gets really crowded. Sandra needed a separate place for them to spread out and do their school work. It's going to be 16' X 12' with 8' walls and a 8'x 12' loft. It's a short term compromise to our space problem. This will buy us a little time until we can scrape up enough to finish the pole barn. We are also going to have the water meter installed so I can run a supply line to the property. I have to trench about 3600 feet and bury pvc water supply line. Fortunately, the ground does not freeze in the winter and the water line only has to go about 12 inches deep.

After 5 more loads for a total of 12 loads, over 310 tons on stone.



The kids are "helping" me work



"Sandra, where did you put those instructions?"



This is the road about 500 feet into our property where it starts to approach the pole barn. It will sit at the top slightly to the right. As you go past the trees on the left the road curves to the left and faces the cabin site. This is where the camper is sitting now. The picture of the camper was taken from the top where the road opens up in the first pic. So the road is to my left.





I moved the camper up to where the cabin will eventually be built. I had to clear the area to get some of the top dirt to build up the approach to the barn. Since I was going to clear and level the area for the cabin eventually, it made sense to do it now and move the dirt where I needed it while I had the dozier. It's easier to blend the grades if you do all of the site prep at the same time. Besides, I needed a place to park the camper and have room for trucks to turn around and drop material deliveries.

Challenges of Building on a Mountain

Have you ever had one of those weeks? Yeah, I had one this week. It seems like you just get rolling and then something goes wrong. Well maybe not necessarily wrong, but not exactly as planned. Remember the problems that I had with the backhoe? Well, I did have one problem with the dozier. The fuel filter continues to plug up and restrict fuel flow and this has a huge affect on the power. At times, it won't even move. Most of the time it has operated better than I expected. We also had 2 rain days this week. Wouldn't it be great is the dozier decided to give me trouble at these times? Nope, it seemed to only want to give me trouble when the weather was the best. This is my first time using a dozier, I was impressed. This thing is a powerhouse, every guy should own one of these! This thing plucks 6 inch trees out of the ground like they're weeds. Gas mileage not so good. It is too much fun, I found myself clearing trees more than pushing dirt. It's like bubble wrap, you do one and you can't stop, you just want to keep going. The big trees take a little more work, but no problem for this machine. I started with dozing the area where we will build the pole barn. The dirt is much easier to move that the red clay. I had to buy a laser, since I don't own a 100 foot level, and it is amazing how when your standing on a mountain with a little slope to it how deceiving level looks. I would have guessed that I needed to take one side down about 2 to 3 feet. Let's just say after shooting it with a laser, I have about a 10 percent grade. What that means is that for every ten feet of pole barn the ground drops a foot. I'm building a 70 foot long pole barn. That means that the ground is 7 feet higher on one end than the other. That's a lot of dirt to move, not to mention trying to tie the grade in with the road to it and the area where the cabin will eventually be.





Fortunately, the ground where the cabin will be is a lot less sloped. I needed to take out a few more trees than I wanted to in order to get the extra dirt I needed to fill and also I did not want the ground to look like I just cut out a flat spot on the mountain. I would prefer to have a more gradual transition between slopes. Actually I only had to take the high side down about 4 feet and push it to the low side. In theory, one side goes down and the other goes up. Final grade will be in the middle.




I almost forgot, I graded the rest of the 1/2 mile road! This took about 3 days. The problem is that it rained and like any new construction grading the road was mud. It was mushy but I didn't get stuck. I'm going to have to get some stone on it soon. You can see in the first pic where the old road went around those trees. This entire fence line was covered in trees and brush.