Sunday, October 31, 2010

The Big Move continues . . .

On Tuesday, October 19, 2010 Doug and I packed the rental truck with Load #1 for the first trip back to Michigan. This load is now stored in our new pole barn on our new property.


On the road - as Doug drove north the colors of Autumn became more beautiful and more pronounced.







Arrived at our property on Clara Lane Friday, October 22, 2010. This is Clara Lane - our property is at the very end - about 1/4 mile.  Trees this far north have lost most of their leaves.  Our land is located just a few minutes (as in latitude) south of the 45th parallel.  To be more precise: 44.75°N,  85.62°W





Our property - the house will be approximately where the little pile of dirt - center right - sits.  The pole barn is to the left of the picture, out of camera range.  The pines - center back - mark our east property line. There is a hay field beyond.



Now to get the truck unloaded and pile all this stuff in the pole barn. Fortunately the well drillers were there when Doug arrived and they helped him unload the two largest and heaviest items that were in the very back of the truck.

This is the "faucet" where we will get our water until the house is built and plumbed.  We will be able to hook this water into our new-to-us used Airstream (another post).




Beginning the unloading process into the pole barn.






Doug turned the empty truck in at a rental facility in Traverse City.  He then took a cab to the airport where he rented a car for the remainder of his stay. That stay turned out to be longer - 4 days longer - than originally planned as an incoming storm forced flight cancellations.



Our neighbors to the south came to say, "Hi" or perhaps they are saying, "Hey".  :D  One horse is obviously more curious than the other.  We don't know their names yet.  We wonder how Molly and Daisy will react?  They know the horses around our house in Eagle Roost but only from a distance and only when we are with them.





 Sorry, fella, no apples and no carrots - next time. :D

The next post will feature our 1988 new-to-us used Airstream. This trailer will be our temporary home here on our land while we are building our permanent home.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

On the Road Again . . .

The pole barn is finished, our well is in so we have water, electricity is in, and phone/DSL lines are run to the property. The time has come to move Load #1.


A 26' Budget rental truck, automatic diesel . Doug would have preferred a manual transmission but they just don't come that way. 




Doug and I worked from 5:00a.m. until about 7:00p.m. on Tuesday, October 19, 2011 loading this box. There were times I wondered what possessed us to keep so much stuff.  And this is only the first load. The house still looks full and now that so many shelves (books) and drawers are gone there is stuff just laying around in piles which must be dealt with.  In this picture the truck is about 1/2 full.  I never got a picture of the truck filled and ready to go. By 7:00p.m. I was so sore, tired, and hungry I wasn't thinking about pictures.





This is only a small amount of what was still left to put in the truck. It was these tail end items that seemed to take the longest. Perhaps because we were so tired we were moving more slowly? Perhaps because it really mattered how these final items were loaded - they needed to be secured and that took extra time. Perhaps because Doug knew there were still two large, heavy items that needed to go in last and he had to plan for them?

Doug pulled out about 5:30a.m. today, Wednesday, October 20 headed for Lake Ann, MI - 2250 miles east - and our new-to-us property.  This load will be stored in our newly completed pole barn (thanks to Matt Kroll and Kroll Contracting:).  In the meantime the house needs to be painted inside as well as all outside trim. Yard work needs to be done and everything needs a good cleaning. It will be a little easier with so much of our stuff gone. However, what is still left  is going to take another full truck load.  This probably won't happen until near the end of March 2011.

On my FB page I wrote: "I am a newly retired elementary school teacher working on a new set of life goals."

Moving onto land where we can grow our food, raise a few animals, live in the country with four distinct seasons, good water, and green: grass, trees, forests has been a long time goal for both of us. The time has finally come to begin to realize this dream.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

The Pole Barn is Completed


October 13, 2010 - the pole barn is complete. The lines for electricity, phone and DSL have been run to the property. The well was scheduled to have been dug today.  


There is electricity into the pole barn - let there be light :D



This is the front of the pole barn facing east.  It is a 40' X 40' structure from which Doug will eventually run his business, Barnes Aero. In the meantime this space will house our worldly possessions while we build the house and garage.  When we find our travel trailer to live in during construction it will be parked on the apron in front of the pole barn. 


Interior of PB littered with falling leaves from our woods.  Electric box is on the rear left corner of the back (west) wall. Back door is to the right. This picture is looking west.


North side - back door and small pad.


South side looking north. Our woods are in the background. When the house is built it will be to the right of the PB and out of the picture.


Clara Lane in the lower right corner. This is the back - west side -  of the pole barn - looking east. 


Clara Lane looking west toward Maple City Hwy.  Cathy, our only other neighbor on Clara Lane, lives in the house in the background (house built by Kroll Contracting). She is about 1/4 mile west of us at the very beginning of Clara Lane where the lane meets the highway.



Fall, 2010. Changing colors in our woods.


The brilliant orange is the same tree as above but about 2 weeks later. Matt (Kroll Contracting), our contractor and neighbor out on Maple City Hwy. is standing where our well will be drilled.  If the house was built Matt would be standing behind the house.  This picture is looking north toward our woods.  I believe this tree is a Maple but not being there I can't identify it for sure.