After weeks of anxious anticipation and worry, the house is starting to go up! We’ve built so many houses together since we got married, but this is the first house we’ve built for ourselves. And to watch it take shape has brought tears to my eyes on more than one occasion.
I often think back to the pioneers as the trecked across land probably very similar to ours – overgrown and full of thorns & bugs. What must it have been like for the wives with kids, riding in that wagon day after day? Never knowing where they were going to settle, what it was going to be like. . . And then to build a house by hand, with the supplies they were able to find in their surroundings! I used to pity them and think how tough their lot in life had been. Now I can’t help but admire their strength and willpower.
The House
But enough of my rambling! After weeks of rain, we finally got a long enough break to have gravel brought in for the road & driveway. Which was huge! Because before, when it rained, we’d have to wait another 3 – 4 days for the mud to dry out in order to get a concrete truck back to the house location. Which, of course, it would rain before that time period had passed. Grr.
After getting gravel in, it rained (are you picking up a theme?). The rain broke just long enough for us to bring the concrete trucks in and get the foundation poured! Ironically, the first truck to come back got stuck and we had to use the bulldozer on site to pull him out. *Face/palm* . It was a mess, but the foundation got poured, which is all we cared about!
Benjamin was getting walls laid out & stood up as soon as the concrete dried. His older brother and sons came to help us stand the walls up. And what a beautiful sight it was to watch the first one stand up! That was the moment it sunk in that we were really going to be living out there. . . I had to go around back to have a good cry. I couldn’t help but feel extremely blessed at 27 to be building our own house on 43 acres.
The last wall went up the same day the trusses got delivered! Then we got a call that my uncle from Texas was driving up to help us with the house for a week! So yesterday they both worked tirelessly and got all but one of the trusses up over the garage portion of the house. Which also happens to be where we will be living until the rest of the house can be completed.
Windows have arrived and are starting to go in. Benjamin installed the front door (yay!). Waterlines are getting roughed in. Dale is hooking up the water collection filter and pump. All the siding is on except for a couple pieces. . . It’s really starting to look like a house!
The Land
We’ve continued to work on clearing all the small locust trees out of our fields. It’s certainly not an easy job. And it leaves us covered in chigger bites and small seed ticks! But the fields are starting to look so much better. Who knows, maybe we’ll even be able to hay them this year! It would be SO nice not to have to buy hay, and so nice not to have to worry about running out.
The previous owner of our land had 10 quarter horses on it. Unfortunately, when we purchased it, he didn’t have a place to move them. After a month of trying to find a solution he threw up his hands and gave them to us. Which normally would make me jump for joy. The downside – they are completely wild. Never had any human contact. And there are three mustangs out there fighting each other for the mares. It was getting dangerous for our girls, so we called up a local cowboy!
We’ve managed to catch 5/10 horses and plan to try again today. This time he’s going to be bringing some of his own horses to chase them down (we’ve been using our four wheeler). We’ve even tried using a tranq gun, but they shrug it off like it’s nothing! I’m beginning to wonder if we’ll ever be able to catch them. . . It’s sad though – they are such pretty horses! I wish they had been cared for and were more tame.
We also mapped out our future garden space and finalized our plans. It will be an 80ft. x 56ft. space, complete with fire pit, grape trellis, blueberry bushes, raspberries, a seating area with pergola, and lots of fruit trees. I can not wait to (literally) dig in! Once we’re ready to pour the concrete on the front porch we’ll have them finish leveling out the garden area and then we can get started. 😀 Next spring is going to be SO much fun!
The Farm
While we were waiting for concrete, Benjamin took on the job of building us a new chicken coop! It’s a 10ft. x 6ft. coop with a slanting roof. Long term we will build two of them with a 30ft. run connecting each. That way we can have two flocks and collect rain water off two roofs.
Each coop will have a small front “entry” area before the coop begins where we’ll be able to keep chicken feed, extra waterers, etc. After Benjamin framed it, I had the honor of filling it with lime screenings to help deter rodents from finding a way into the coop.
The two cows we AI’ed didn’t take. So we’ve found an Amish gentleman near us who has a Jersey bull that we’re borrowing. Hopefully they both take to him and (hopefully) we get at least one heifer out of the breeding. Bare minimum we’ll have a full Jersey and a Jersey/dexter mix.
The goats have already mowed down the 1/3 acre we had them on. You’d think they had been starving the way they’ve gone at it! So now I’m going to be working on moving the fence to a new area. Which is a good problem to have – it means they are doing their job! I just kind of hoped they wouldn’t do their job so quickly. Lol.