Day 6 - 12ish; 4-27-2014

   Alright, I am sorry I have missed a few days but the land does not have internet access and power is not set up yet.  However we have made some huge improvements to the land and at this point simply need for the heavy loads limited signs to come down so we can really get to work leveling and preparing.

We have done a great deal of clearing and all and all I think we have done some good work. Here is the dog fence area we have started.  Right now it is only 150 square feet but we shall be adding to it as the months pass on.  This is the first time we have ever been able to put the "boys," Mario and Luigi, outside without them getting loose, (side note, they escaped about three times before we found all the weak spots.)  They are so much happier being able to run around without getting tangled on each other or trees. It is taking us a 6 ft high fenced in area to stop them from jumping out.  We have been using the layout of the land to maintain the posts and it is working well.

I know I posted a picture of the camper with our nice log poles holding up the tarp overhead, so I wanted to show a little more of what we did for that.  The area in which the camper is sitting has so many rocks that it was impossible to dig nice holes for poles.  So I had this awesome idea… Why not use stumps to hold the poles? This is where I started to have a great deal of fun playing with a chainsaw. Kids don’t try this at home… I started off by finding nice big stumps and cutting slits right in the center all the way down with the chainsaw in the form of a square.

After cutting the outer “square” I then made some diagonals to help break it all up.  In order to really clear the hole out I went back through with the hatchet to break things up and remove pieces.

With the chainsaws that I have I don't really care how good you are, it is nearly impossible to make a perfect fit.  So to counteract that, we took some rocks and mud and pounded them into place to keep the post straight.

Alright so what happens after you create something pretty awesome with a chainsaw that is really useful? Yup you guessed it more fun projects…

The seat in the close up was the last of the seats I made and by far the best.  The first one I made was for my buddy James and well it is sub-par at best, however it sits fine after a few adult beverages.  James, Jenn and I also spent some time making a really nice fire pit from the slate rocks we have found on the property.  We have even made a few meals off from it, and I must say a meal cooked over a fire beats any oven, any day of the week.

The kids have been having a blast and the baby seems to get tuckered out pretty quickly out there.  Our list of friends helping us on this journey keeps growing and we welcome many more to help as well.  Although we don’t have money to pay for labor we seem to know a great deal of people willing to help out today for a little help for them tomorrow and we enjoy that philosophy.  I shall close with a few pictures of Elliona and Gavin.