Once arrived, we marveled at our fortune of owning such a peaceful expanse of land and water. I imagined refreshing swims in our basin on hot sticky summer days. My vision vanished when I spied the multitude of turtles and a long black snake treading water. The turtles turned out to be of the slider and snapping species, and rather curious. In the early morning quiet, my favorite slider would be waiting for snippets of sausage or bread. He would eat out of my hand, but I got a little nervous and instead opted for the safety of needle-nose pliers to feed it.
Happily, Tom decided we need some “equipment.” First, we needed a zero-turn John Deere to mow the lawn and field to reduce the proliferation of creepy crawly bugs. I acquiesced, I’ve always wanted something in John Deere green! Besides, being from the North, Southern bugs are much larger than I am accustomed, and I am happy to experience less of them. Wearing headphones and the biggest smile, he whips around the property at 17mph. I have never seen him so excited to mow the lawn and he must restrain himself to mowing only once a week.
Next, to tackle the wilder terrain, next he needed a skid steer with a bush hog. This machine is a beast and can cut a tree up to 3″ in diameter. I stay far away while he is clearing, that machine is dangerous. More heavy equipment was in our future, we needed an excavator to clear the land to build our homestead. With it, Tom can pluck 20 foot high trees and pile them like toothpicks and enjoys every single minute. In record time, he has single-handedly cleared 1 1/2 acres. (I will post pictures of him clearing in the next blog post.) And of course, always finding something different, Tom purchased the vintage tractor to use as a marina sign?? He convinced me that it would be something spectacular….somewhere.
We decided to tackle the docks, which looked pretty worn initially. Upon assessment, a few more years of life could squeezed from the current decking. Tom, of course needed buy a pressure washer to clean and brighten them. I must admit, he was on target again.
My task was to start sweeping up Spanish moss, leaves, sticks and cut back the plant overgrowth on the docks. Dressed in a short sleeve shirt and shorts I plunged into my project. After two days of sweating dirt….I find myself with a slight rash which got rapidly got worse. Turns out, I am allergic to Virginia Creeper which is wound around most trees and growing like a weed here. After two weeks, I managed to re-infect myself again! After enduring my itching fits and sleepless nights, Tom does not let me venture into the wild overgrowth. I guess that task is off my list!
Love the tour!
Dad- Reads well, sound good and I think you did a good job Tiff. Will try to look at the pics later.
Pam- Fantastic start to your adventure. Love the honesty about the project, that makes it more intriguing. The images help to tell the wonderful, yet filled with it’s own set backs, story of your life, hopes and dreams. Love you guys and wish you much happiness and success!
Hi! I am going to shoot for a post update every Wednesday to keep everyone in the loop of our progress.
We are so glad to have you here, not only as neighbors, but as friends! We love you both and love watching everything grow!
Patti, It was all by design…..you are perfect neighbors, friends and confidantes! We love that you are right by us.
Sounds like a great adventure
Shelley, it’s the best adventure!
And the adventure continues——-
Reminds me of that saying “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life “. Cliche maybe, but seems you’re proving it true 😉 … I look forward to following more of your adventures and journey, sounds like lots of hard but work mixed with loads of fun thus far!
Hi Bethany! You’re right- lots of hard work….but we are loving it, so we are not working at all! Good to hear you’re doing well. xoxo
I am very excited to see what you are doing & enjoy watching you grow. I actually live not far from you & didn’t even realize this was happening. I haven’t been riding my back roads lately, but promise I will be seeing you soon. I will pop in & introduce myself as it is exciting to see what you are doing with such a great piece of property! Keep up the good work!!!
Hi Sharon, Thanks for the well wishes! You should definitely stop by, we would love to meet you. We can tell you all about our dreams for this wonderful property we are stewards of. We find this area, people and way of life very refreshing and friendly, and are happy to be part of it! 💜Tiffany