Camping on Triangle

 We closed on the land just over a month ago. We are anxious to start the process of building our house. However, the process starts with a driveway permit.  Our obstacle there is we can’t do that permit until we quit claim deed the 5 acres to Mom and Dad and Tori and Matt.  We couldn’t complete the paperwork until the county completed the recording of our purchase.  With a February weekend with highs in the low 60’s and lows in the 40’s it sounded like camping was in order. Rod spent Saturday getting everything ready - setting up the tent, firewood, chairs, and the cooking supplies. He picked a spot by the creek to pitch the tent. The evening was beautiful and as we sat by the fire it made everything just seem real. 

Rod cooked his dinner of deer steaks, roasted veggies, and corn muffin sticks. Of course we also had s’mores. Moose and Rose loved drinking from and walking through the creek.  They were mostly good in the tent. Rose barked at a coyote once and Moose had to go out to the bathroom once. We went to sleep listening to the flowing creek. Breakfast was eggs, veggies, and cinnamon rolls. 

All in all - we are just so excited about what lies ahead. We know it will be hard work but we are not scared of working hard. 

Closing Day!

Closing Day! 

So today we are the official owners of 54.70 acres of land.  In the near future, we will be deeding 5 acres to my parents and 5 acres to my oldest daughter.  Rod and I will own the remaining 44.70 acres.  We are so excited!

Our real estate agent gave us a gift card to one of our favorite restaurants as a thank you.  So after closing we headed over to The Depot for dinner.  Funny enough, we were seated directly opposite the sellers of the property.  We all got a good laugh out of it.  They finished before us and when we were ready to leave, the waiter told us someone had taken care of our bill.  We are going to have some amazing new neighbors. 

  

Here is a picture I took a couple of days ago of the creek at the very edge of the property.

House Plans - Northern Lights 4

Soil Analysis Complete

Survey Complete

Now thinking about the house we are going to build.  We have been very happy with our decision to build a passive solar and ICF (Insulated Concrete Forms) house.  So we decided to turn to www.sunplans.com to try to find our next home.  We know we want it to be 1 level, smaller than our current home, passive solar, north facing, lots of porch space, 3 bedrooms and a space for my office.  

Since making a firm decision on ICF, we reached out to a builder who needs a copy of our plans to give us an estimate on doing the foundation and outside walls.  He has said he thought he could get us on the schedule for May/June.

After looking through many plans and buying the study plans for 2 different houses, we decided on one called Northern Lights 4 (https://www.sunplans.com/house-plans/Northern_Lights_4).  So today we bought the CAD plans ($1,920).  

We have changes we plan to make.  We are going to take out the door in bedroom 3 that goes to the great room.  The other change is the dining room.  I don't think it will be used and I think the kitchen is too small.  Because of the vaulted ceiling, I am having to think outside the box here.  I'm going to do away with the panty closet in the kitchen, move the refrigerator, and make that a doorway into the dining room.  I'm going to build a wall down the middle of the dining room.  The left 1/2 will be approximately 8 X 11 and will be a butler pantry or scullery.  I will move the refrigerator into that room.  The right 1/2 of that room will be my office which will have the entry from the hallway.  I have a few other small changes that I haven't really finalized yet.

I will now be spending hours of time reading over these plans and trying to visualize every corner and understanding the changes that I will want to make.  But it is one more decision down.

Someone needs to check my sanity.  I really can't believe we are doing this again

It is interesting to see the pictures they have on their website for our current house :)  https://www.sunplans.com/house-plans/Fernwood_2 .  I sure miss some of the dogs in those pictures..

Survey

 After getting the soil analysis scheduled, I went to meet with the surveyor.  Once again, the fact that the lady we are buying the land from had connections made a difference.  All the surveyors are backed up for months.  We needed someone that was willing to wait until we had the soil analysis done to start, but be willing to complete it within a few weeks.  We didn't want to incur any cost associated to a survey until we knew it would perc for 3 houses.  This is a tall ask and we recognized that.  This land was surveyed a few years ago as part of a 144 acre tract of land.  Obviously we are only buying around 1/3 of it, but some of the boundaries are still the same.  

Rod and I had a meeting at their office and outlined what I wanted.  I had a copy of the survey from a few years ago.  Took out my handy dandy rule, dusted off my math skills, and started calculating where we could put property lines to accommodate Tori and Matt getting 5 acres, Mom and Dad getting 5 acres, and Rod and I having the remainder.  We took that in and explained about the 3 building spots how we envisioned it all laid out, and the fact they shouldn't start work until they heard back from us.  Our tentative closing date was set for 12/15 and they were willing to work with that date.

Here is what I took into them with my calculations in pencil.

So on 12/5 I messaged them with the go-ahead.  Perc test was done, the soil scientist was going to call them with the details, let the survey begin.  We were very anxious to actually see the boundaries.  Rod and I had taken my rough estimates and placed some "rough" flags to help give everyone some idea of where they could try to put their house, but we had no idea how accurate I was in trying to lay it all out.

The surveyor's office sent me a tentative drawing and asked me to approve before they went out to put the flag and created the full legal descriptions.  

 

All looked good and we gave the go-ahead.  So while we were out of town I got the call that they had completed placing the flags and I could come by their office the following Monday and pay my $5000 bill.  Rod and I decided to go by there on Monday so that we could walk the perimeter.  Then we rushed by their office before closing to pick up the drawings.  Once at home we were shocked to see how the land was divided up.  He had made it so that most of soil area # 1 was on Tori and Matt's property and all of soil area #2 was on Mom and Dad's property... leaving Rod and I without any perc location!  Additionally this increased Mom and Dad's land by almost an acre.  This would mean we would have to pay for another soil analysis!   I was so very frustrated.

So Monday night was text messages with my realtor, the land owner, Tori and Mom and Dad.  I just couldn't believe that they went out there and put the flags after deviating from both my initial drawing and their draft drawing without EVER CALLING ME... 

Tuesday morning I was on the phone with the soil scientist who assured me that the soil analysis would accommodate 3 houses.  Next a call to the surveyor.  The surveyor did not want to change the lines.  He was trying to insist that I have the soil scientist come back and look for a 3rd spot (at a cost of $1,600).  He argued with me that he "didn't know until that morning that I wanted 3 houses on this land".  I had to let him know that the lack of communication in his own office was not my fault.  I had a 45 minute appointment with his staff laying out exactly what we were trying to do with sectioning this land.   I knew that if we had to look for another soil analysis spot, Rod and I would have to build on the other side of the creek that would cost a lot of money in a bridge for the driveway.  

After about 20 minutes arguing on the phone, he agreed to move the lines between Tori and Matt and Mom and Dad to split soil area # 1 between them and put soil area # 2 inside Tract 3.

I don't know if they have went back and marked the new corners or not.  They said they would, but at least we now have 3 tracts that all will be able to get a building permit.  One more step closer to closing.  Fortunately we had already decided to move the tentative closing date to after the New Year.  The current owner asked if we would be ok with that so it would hit her 2024 taxes and we agreed.  Nothing was going to happen between mid December to mid January anyways.

So the PSA for young people looking for a career - Just like soil scientist, there is a need for more surveyors.  If you have a strong aptitude for Math and enjoy being outside... this could be the job for you.  Again the fees are not cheap.

PSA # 2 - If anyone decides to become a surveyor as a career - if you are making changes from what the customer expected, call them before you waste your time going and driving stakes in the ground.

Hurdle # 2 is clear! 

Soil Analysis

Our contract was contingent on what I called a perc test.  I have now been educated that they call this a soil analysis now... who knew?  The soil scientist companies are normally booked for 4-6 weeks out.  I didn't have this much time. I needed to get the perc tests completed so that I could order the survey.  Both of these are costs that we would have to pay prior to closing and if we ended up not closing for any reason we would be out this money.  Fortunately, the lady we are purchasing the land from had a little pull with a company and the soil analysis test was scheduled for the week of Thanksgiving.

The week before they were to come out, we all went over and marked where we hoped to build houses.  This would help the soil consultant to try to get a location that made sense for each of our spots.  

Adam Brown Soil Consulting quoted me $1,000 per soil analysis.  Since we want to have the ability to put 3 houses on the land, that mean 3 soil analysis's.  After about an hour of them being on site I got a call saying the ground was to hard for their hand auger.  Of course they have equipment that they can bring out - only an additional $600. 

They spent the day and marked 2 areas on the side of the creek that we wanted to build on.  Adam called me and said that 1 of the locations was a large area that would be able to accommodate 2 build sites and then the 2nd area would be for Rod and my house.  There needs to be 10,000 sq feet for a 3 bedroom and 13,000 sq feet for a 4 bedroom house.  Area #1 that was marked is about 35,000 sq feet.   Area # 2 is smaller but still larger than 13,000.  The areas were marked with red flags and we were told that if it is disturbed that it will invalidate the analysis.  The next step when we get ready for building permits will be to pay another $500 each to the state of Tennessee for the actual permit.

The soil scientist told me he would send his drawings to the surveyor. 

Rod and I did go look at the areas.  We are a little concerned that area 2 is on the hill behind where we want to build.  We are assuming this means our system will be a little more complex (complex probably = expensive).  Guess time will tell on this one.

We didn't take any pictures of the flags, but the day we went to look was the first time we had been over there when it had been raining.  So we got a few pictures of the creek with a little more water in it. 

Hurdle # 1 completed!

PSA - If you are a young person looking for a good career - There is a need for soil scientists in Tennessee and the fees are pretty good!

Take 2.... Crazy?

How many followed our story, read my ramblings, laughed with us while we were living in the camper, and bet that Rod and I would never move again?  Thinking we had the perfect spot, built an amazing house, put all this work into the land here to stay here until we were really old..  Well if you placed that bed, you just might have lost.

Take 2 - Today is the official start of us being under contract to purchase land in Pleasant View (but with a mailing address of Ashland City) and would start the process of selling this house/land and building a new house!

What will this mean?  Will we live in campers again?  Will we rent some place?  Will we be able to build before selling this house?  Will we build ICF again?  Will we do passive solar?  All of these are questions that will remain to be seen.  But for those that enjoyed the ramblings before, this might just be the start of volume 2.

There are still some contingencies that will have to be met before we close on the property.  We are targeting a date in mid December for the closing.  I will keep everyone updated here!

Here is a very rough outline of part of the property. It is 55 acres including a creek!

Timber... at Steven and Keela's

This past summer we were up at our neighbor's house talking about the trees in their yard.  They had two trees that were starting to die.  One of them was leaning toward the house.  One was a monster oak tree that was approximately 90 feet high.  Of course when you have a friend with a backhoe and a willingness to help a neighbor out, you end up with a plan of "hey when it is cooler we can do that without you calling a professional".

Fast forward to a 65 degree day in January... Rod had cabin fever and was feeling the need to play on his toys.  So he called Steven and said "hey, lets do it this weekend".  So we have one system admin and one high school math teacher ready to work.  Never fear, all is ok, because we have at least 1 that is in flannel... In typical fashion, we had plans on Sunday and Rod said to me... we can do this in 2 hours.

Tree one went almost according to plan A.  The only problem was it got hung on another tree.  Rod was able to hook a chain up and twist and it came right on down.

Tree two took a little more planning.  After plan A, B, and C were deemed unsafe, the drop went according to plan D.  (this was after E, F, and I am not sure how many others were discussed and they went back to the original D).  This tree was huge!  I did already mention it was leaning toward the house..

Steven and tree two giving some perspective on how big around it is.

Plan A had them trying to put a cable as high as possible.. which is why the ladder is in the bucket of the backhoe.

To give another idea of the height... this is a 12 foot 2X4 and you can't see the top of the tree!

So the playing turned into work.  Breaking 2 steel cables and 6 hours of work later.. 2 trees were down, no one was hurt, the house was untouched, and Steven and Keela saved a few $'s.... success!

Click this link to see the video of it coming down! As Keela is doing the commentary..."Timber" is not the word you will hear when it falls...

Sebastian

So my birthday was a few days ago and tonight I was asked to dinner by my mother-in-law, Annette.  While I was having a peaceful dinner talking about everything going on in our life.... Rod and Tina were plotting against my sanity.  While I was calmly shopping with Annette... they were carrying out their plan.... And when I got home at 8:45 at night... there was dog # 6!!!!!  Who needs 6 dogs???  Who has any sanity left after 6 dogs???  I guess we will see if I make it or not! :)

Really we got a new dog a few months ago named Marley.  Marley was supposed to be another outside dog to help keep predators such as foxes, raccoons, and coyotes away from the chickens.  Marley was just not cut out for the job.. she doesn't bark!  So although she is sweet and certainly has her place here, she is not a guard dog (now herding the goats - she has that down 100% and even herds them when I don't want her herding them)

So while I was eating my peaceful dinner and shopping, Sebastian found a new home here at the Cagle Compound!  Rod found him on craigslist.  The people seemed to have cared for him even though he was living on the end of a chain.  They were not willing to give him to anyone until they saw the home... little did they know that Sebastian hit the lottery tonight.   He is 8 months old and has not been neutered yet (we will take care of that immediately).  He seems to be full of energy, very friendly, and social.  Marley and him have not quit playing for the last several hours.  So far he has gotten along with everyone with the exception of Sadie -who doesn't get along with anyone.  Bear has his nose out of joint a little and will not quit rubbing his face all over me!  He wants to make sure he is still Momma's # 1 boy.  I'm sure Sebastian is going to make a great dog for us.

So hopefully we now have our 2nd guard dog so that Rod can stop browsing craigslist!

Jackson Hole - Day 8

Well today we packed up and we are on a long trek home.  I have talked about all our activities, but there is a big part of the trip that I have not talked about - our hotel.  We stayed at the Hilton Homewood Suites in the downtown Jackson area.  The people there were AMAZINGLY NICE!  The front desk people that I learned by name and they learned our names were Kelsey, Cindy, and Levin.  There were others that were nice and greeted us with a smile and any help, but these 3 were the ones that I interacted with the most.

The daily breakfast helped to save us some $ for sure.  We never ate breakfast out.  Monday - Thursday they had some small meal in the evening that we ate once.  But Tina's favorite part was in the late evening.  There was a man named Levin and one of his many jobs in the evening was to bake and set out cookies and milk at 8:00 pm every night.  Tina and Peter got cookies every single night we were there!  One night we were going to the gun barrel restaurant and were going to miss "cookie time".... Tina talked to Levin and he saved her a stack of cookies.  We came back in and he had them saved and went to the kitchen to get her some milk!  Rod and I spent several nights talking to him.  Learned he was a retired teacher from Texas.  We talked about Tori and the fact that she was a new teacher, talked about Tina and Peter and how they are both hard workers, talked about Tina and her scholarship to Austin Peay, etc.  We learned some about his kids and the fact he found out this week his daughter is pregnant with his 3rd grandchild!

This morning we needed to ride the shuttle to the airport at 10:45. Last night Tina was not able to get the last souvenir that she wanted.  We called the store and at 10:00 they were still not open.  One last call at 10:30 and they were open.  I went down and talked to the front desk and explained our problem.   He told me "we are here to help"... and so our shuttle driver made the 3 block detour to the store, parked on the curb, let Tina run in... and get her shorts she wanted!  Then we headed on to the airport. I would absolutely recommend this place!

Here is Levin and Tina on our last night with her last cookies!!!!  Thank you so much for your hospitality!

Jackson Hole - Day 7

New Year's Eve!  Today is our last full day in Jackson Hole.  We have bought ski lift tickets and headed to the slopes at Teton Village.  Since I only handled the cold so-so on Tuesday, I decided to hang back and be the photographer.  Tina started out with her boots having problems.  She struggled with her feet and calves hurting.  We were able to switch up her clothes some and get different books and that made it somewhat better.   Peter did much better this time didn't fall nearly as much.  They even braved a ski lift that you get on and off of while on skis (as compared to the gondola where you walk on and walk off).  Rod and Peter each fell the first time using the lift... Tina was fall free on the ski slopes for the entire trip!

After skiing we headed back for some down time at the hotel before walking back to the square.  One of the lodges did a nighttime torch parade down the slopes and we could view that from the square.  We had a little more shopping to do and were surprised to find that many of the shops closed at 7:00!  Seemed crazy to me that it was so crowded downtown, a Saturday night, and New Year's Eve and they were closed....

Since we had so much extra time before our dinner reservation, we took some more pictures and then tried to get into eat before our reservation time.  We ate at a small Italian place that Rod like and the rest of us thought was just fair...  Walking back was COLD, but we made it back to the hotel. Not sure any of us made to stay awake till midnight in the mountain time zone.  We just joked that we rang in the New Year in the Central Time Zone.

Jackson Hole - Day 6

Today's activity was snowmobiling in Grand Teton National Park and it has been Rod and Peter's favorite part of the trip so far!  We were picked up from our hotel at 7:45 am.  The weather was a balmy 0 when they picked us up and according to our guide it was great that we had a "warm" day for the trip.

Our guide's name was Zane.  So right off this morning I couldn't help but think of Tori and Matt's best friend, Zane, who passed away a few weeks ago.  This guy was young and full of life and it certainly made my heart a little sad to think of Zane being taken too soon.  To say that I thought of him several times today would be an understatement.  (This is all of the sappy stuff I am writing in the post)

The drive to the park took about an hour and was stunningly beautiful.  We pulled over to take pictures of Grand Teton and also a bison that was rooting around looking for food.  Once we got there, we did a pre-check of our machines to check for damage, signed away all liability to the company, and got ready to go.  It was crazy.. for $25 we did buy optional collision coverage to cover the snowmobile but it still had a $1,000 deductible!  These machines were pretty cool.  By far the greatest feature was heated grips.  The worked so good, I couldn't even leave mine on high the entire time!

Our guide was a native Jacksonian.  His family has been here for five generations.  He knew his way around this park.  We went about 50 miles and had a top speed of 45 mph.  We had rented 3 snowmobiles.  Tina rode with Peter for the majority of the time (although she did drive for a little bit so she could see what it was like).  All of the trip had amazing views.

We started off on the groomed well traveled off road trails.  Since there seemed to be a lot of people out, we detoured to some less traveled trails.  These were single lane snowmobile trails that were challenging.  They included lots of turn, twists, bumps and hills - both down and up.  At one point we reached a field of about 3 feet of snow that he pulled over and let us just play and have fun on the snowmobiles.  After the field, as we were headed back, he took us on fresh power that did not have any tracks.  He even had to have a talk with us before taking off about counter balance and to "always lean up hill."  After the last stop, we took off across the valley heading back and we were let loose to make our own way.  This trip up and back down the mountain was totally untraveled and the guide was literally making his own trail.   It was crazy fast (about 45 mph), bumpy, and lots of fun.  We totally got our money's worth and it wasn't just a "canned" tour!