Stick in the Mud? Nope, stuck.

We’ve been stuck in the mud lately. Literally and figuratively. From getting the old truck truly stuck on the property and needing a tow out to being unable to start the driveway because of the constant downpours of rain. I’ve been mumbly and grumbly because of it. Thankfully Mr. Bluejeans knows what to do and he quickly put a smile on my face!

What have we done besides gain a few pounds from ice cream? Well, I have to say we used the time to figure out a few things like a new spot for our driveway entry. There was much concern and worry (by yours truly) regarding the large slope we would need to conquer in order to even begin the project. Because of the recent bad weather we took time to walk the property and found a far superior spot to begin with NO slope issues. What a relief!

Once we found our new entry spot, we immediately brought our measuring wheel (this is like the one we used) out and measured off how long the driveway will need to be. Which is slightly over a third of a mile. The ONLY gravel/paving contractor that called us back and gave us a quote floored us with a $30,000 quote. Nope, not for asphalt, that’s for gravel. Which lead us to the decision of doing it ourselves. Enter an amazing new couple who have become fast friends. I will call them the Dynamic Duo. Mr. Dynamic is well versed in gravel driveways and bulldosermanship and has offered to lend us a hand to create our drive. 3 cheers for the Dynamic Duo!!… and many homemade goodies from me.

Gigi Update:

Gigi has ordered her prefab home and is very excited about it’s delivery. It should be arriving early April so the above mentioned driveway needs to be finished by then. Seems like a long time but it took us 6 months to get this far… She has chosen a different exterior color than the model pictured here. A white facade with grey trim will compliment Gigi’s sense of color when she begins to decorate with window boxes and flowers. I will be sure to show the the process of getting her home on the farm and all the details about it once it arrives!

Walking the property has given us the opportunity to figure out where Gigi’s home will be located along with the other homes AND because of the rain, we found some low spots and marked them off. This was really a bonus since low spots don’t always show themselves. There were a couple of spots that surprised us. There’s no rush deciding what to do with these areas, a couple thoughts are creating a planting area for edibles that crave lots of water like watercress. I adore watercress!  Or perhaps starting a hugelkultur mound (more on this planting style if we proceed with it).

We prefer to be stewards of the land and let it tell us what to do with it. There won’t be a lot of land movers (after the driveway and homes go in) to change things up. It may make our job harder but we feel strongly about being guardians of the land, not dictators.

Regarding the possibility of a Llama… *silly grin* I am pretty sure Mr. Bluejeans is tired of listening to me on board and we have determined that the llama(s) will be in charge of the vineyard area, close to Gigi’s house. This is also where our dreadful kudzu resides and they are supposed to enjoy munching on that plant. Definitely to be continued…

Ahoy S.S. K-9! We had been searching for an aluminum boat for the pond and happened upon a great deal we couldn’t pass up! This little baby is a 12′ v-hull aluminum boat with plenty of seating and room for whatever I will need to keep up the pond. Plans for the pond include enlarging it to a little over 1 acre and setting it up so it supports itself. We are considering three species of fish and plantings that support healthy water and little if no erosion. The pond will take some time and I do expect a few errors on this one. I can’t tell you how many fish tanks have… well tanked… in my hands so I plan on taking this particular project s…l…o…w.

One of our latest acquisitions has had me doing the happy dance. Our ATV purchase (I have named her Olive) was pushed up due to the ridiculous rains we have been experiencing for a month. Dirt has turned to mud and mud has turned to small creeks. Mr. Bluejeans and I had been trekking in all our equipment using a small and ornery little cart that preferred tipping over in the mud and sludge instead of rolling through it.

The farm is longer than it is wide and these trips ended in us getting less accomplished (other than getting materials on site). Olive to the rescue! I have ridden dirt bikes since I was 5 years old so bringing Olive home was a joyous moment for me. We will be getting her out to the property soon and I’m sure you’ll see much of how she will help us. A new ATV trailer is on order, for her to pull, and I’ll let you know all the details about what we bought and how it fares.

Mr. Bluejeans and I decided to take a walk around to check out the survey lines and discovered that we have a lot more woods than we originally thought. Staring at survey maps is fine and dandy but actually walking the lines puts things into perspective. Having the extra wood lot will help with our ability to keep up with wood cook stoves and the outdoor kitchen… both needing plenty of wood. Plus opportunities for a food forest and additional mushroom growing areas is exciting to us.

What’s next? We are waiting for an auger to arrive and then we will start drilling the holes for the timber post fencing we are putting in along our boundaries. We are in the process of making the final decision about which house style we will choose and getting started on the storage unit. Most importantly: Driveway, driveway, driveway. If only the rain would stop!

Have you ever had a project get stalled due to weather?