Big Day - Footings

Yesterday was a big day.  They dug and poured the footings.
I still say, "It looks so small!"

We had 3 concrete trucks there all at once pouring the footings.  I asked Tyler how much each of them cost and he said about $1,000.  Charley climbed up one of the dirt piles they built from excavation and took this birds-eye picture.

 

In digging, they found this clay that several people said they had never seen before.  Paul, the excavator, said this is the type of clay you would use to line a pond.  Most of the footings are dug down into this layer and they said we couldn't have had a better foundation to build our house.  God is good!

This is the crew Tyler uses for this kind of work.  They were great!  The little boy is 6 and his school hasn't started yet so he was out there with his dad all day.  I never heard a complaint out of him that he was hot or bored!

Tyler's kids were there after school and they were all out there having fun.

This is Tyler Oberman, our builder.  Yesterday several times we heard, "He's the best!"
Last night when the building inspector came, he said we didn't need to worry about things being done right with Tyler.

And there always has to be a "peanut gallery" - right?  We can sit in the comfort of the kids' front porch and keep an eye on things.

Did you know we had monkeys in Kentucky?

 

Another exciting day in the Bluegrass.

FINALLY!!!

Finally!  They started digging!

 

 

On Friday, they brought gravel up the (new part of the) driveway.  They are supposed to do the footings on Monday.   Big sigh....  Lots of different emotions on my part.  Excitement - fear - disbelief that it is actually happening...

Today I had a perfect summer lunch.  Tomatoes and cucumbers from the garden.

 

Our friend Bruno asked why I didn't have any pictures of the cattle.  I took this picture as we were leaving one evening.  I know you can't really see the cattle, but at least you can see they exist.  We have to go through two gates every time we enter or leave.  Big pain.

If there is more than one person in the car, the rider can get out, open the gate and close it again after the car goes through the gate.  If the driver is alone, he/she has to get out and open the gate, get back in the car and drive through the gate and then get out again to close the gate.

 

Well, one day, someone was going through the gate and the cows were right by the first gate like you see in the picture below.  One of the cows got through the gate and into the neighbor's pasture that we drive through to get to our place.  Bob and I, Charley and J went down to find her and get her back in our pasture.  We left Charley and J at the gate and Bob and I drove back through the pasture.  We didn't see any cattle, so we drove back to the gate.  J said, "We didn't see her, let's go back to the house."  He was teasing us which he likes to do.

 

Actually, the cow was just up the fence a ways in the shade of the tree and when she saw Charley, she came running to him and went right through the gate.  She knew she was not where she was supposed to be.

 

 

This morning I went out to the garden early and there were lots of spider webs sparkling in the dew.

Random Thoughts

Random thoughts for the past week:

I was mowing at evening time and that is my favorite time of day.  The long shadows flow across the lawn and the fog begins to rise from the river.  So often we sit inside in front of the TV and miss all this.

We've been talking for so long about the possibility of digging for our house that we are skeptical and will believe it when we see it.  On Monday of last week, the excavator came and put his poles in the ground. 

So now, we FINALLY have some progress!  Our builder came out to set the temporary electric pole and to dig this trench.  I'm not sure what the trench is for, but I'm  glad to see some dirt.

 

J started working on a birdhouse.  The kit only included a tiny brush for painting decorations so he used his hands to paint the whole thing.

 

 

 

Sunday after church, we went to Frisch's Big Boy for lunch.  J wanted his picture taken with The Big Boy.

 

 

 

Wed, Aug 7

It's been a while.  I've fallen into a habit of posting on Sunday night, but we stayed out at the farm for a few days to do chores while Charley, Jackie & J were gone to see family in North Carolina and Atlanta.  We enjoy waking up on the farm with the roosters crowing and the sound of the birds.  I'm surprised how much bird sound there is even though we only have a few small trees.

We have the small garden which you see in the first picture below.  Fenced.  This is where I have the 3 raised beds.  Beyond that is the big garden.  I think the rows are 30 feet long and there are 16 rows?  Anyway, it is pretty big.  Most of that is laid out with black plastic over the rows and drip irrigation under the plastic.  This year the University of Kentucky Agricultural Development paid for the plastic and the drip line, so they had a "field day" where these people came out to see what was going on.  The weeds are bad, although Bob and Charley had weed whipped most of them down.  This group of people was split between those who rely on chemicals to keep the bugs at bay and those like Charley, who choose to not use chemicals.  One man said that every Sunday afternoon his activity is to spray his garden.

There were a couple people that Charley hopes to develop a relationship with so he can learn from them.  All of them were really nice and willing to share their knowledge.

We were really excited that we were going to be able to start digging on our house this week, but it is not happening.  Monday, the excavator and the builder came out to look things over with the intent to bring the equipment back on Tuesday to dig.  Well, he had forgotten that an underground electrical line needs moved before they can dig.  The electrician came out on Tuesday but is busy on Wednesday and is having surgery on Thursday, so can't come until Monday.  Sigh...  Another week.

Usually the kids do the picking on Friday evening after we are gone, but this week we stayed to help.  It is beautiful to see the produce.  The beets in the right picture below are ones that I planted from seed in the greenhouse after I got here.  Then I transplanted them into one of the raised beds.  The variety is Bulls Blood.  I picked some of the greens to have one day, but none of us eat beets so we didn't try them.  They all went in the baskets for the CSA customers.  They had corn and potatoes.  To dig the potatoes, Charley is having to fight the weeds.

We had a momentous happening this week.  In the first picture below which was taken in 2010, you can see the big barn in the distance.  Since then, it had really been leaning (to the right).  We didn't feel it was worth trying to save it, so we just let it be.  On Saturday, Aug 3, Bob drove past on the tractor and thought it was leaning more than ever.  He thought about taking the gates off the end so they didn't get damaged, but didn't want to take a chance on cattle being in there when it fell down.

Well, Sunday morning, Aug 4 - this is the view.  The barn is flat on the ground like a line of collapsed dominoes

This is Bob walking on the roof.  We definitely want to salvage the roofing sheets.  The far right corner sheets were replaced by the previous owner so are fairly new.  Most of the wood is oak, but is so old that it is very difficult to use.  You have to drill holes because the wood is so hard.

 

Well, I guess that is all for now.  Another week and a half in the Bluegrass.