The ball is rolling...stand back!

I'm enjoying a rainy day at the library, my office away from camper, after spending a super busy day yesterday on the mountain.

Here's the scoop on what's what!

I thought it would be a good idea to show you a glimpse of my commute to work each day. Big Tree Road winds up the mountain approximately two miles to our property. This is a private road and well maintained by the Big Tree Road Maintenance Association. Fall is in full blaze and hopefully the rain won't drop too many leaves.


The biggest news is that we have water. A bunch of water. So much water that we are thinking about selling some of it to the City of Raleigh. This photo to the right is of the pipe coming from the pump. Crystal clear aqua pura is in the bucket. The pump guys set up the pump, ran wire to our temporary electrical service and took a water sample for testing.





The next big event was that our footers were dug, rebar placed in the trenches, inspection that passed AND the concrete was flowing. Now this might not be a big deal to you but this event sets in motion our officially getting an address (no longer homeless), beating the hard freeze that is coming in November, start the foundation (block work for basement garage) and keep us on schedule for trusses and SIPS deliveries later this month. The photo shows concrete being loaded into a really neat device at the end of the backhoe. The operator can place the concrete exactly where he wants it and can control the quantity from his cab. I'm amazed at the use of construction technology here in Ashe County.

I dropped a 2011 penny in the house footer and in the workshop footer for good luck. The guys were teasing me about how they we're going to find the pennies. They were also quick to say that to be really traditional I should have used silver dollars ;^)

While some of the "stay out of the way Kent" work is going on, I am chainsawing old timber, etc. I had to drop a good size tree that was damaged a few years back and died. Once the tree hit the ground, I start to to cut it up in manageable lengths for firewood (if it's good wood). I was amazed to see this black bat crawling from the downed tree to higher ground. He was OK but obviously seeking safer footing. A gentle pickup with a shovel and relocation to a safer area spared him from harm.

Just think about it for a moment, you're sleeping, minding your own business, when all of a sudden you're flying without the use of your wings...wait a minute, that sounds like some experiences I've had from the 60's!

More coming,
z