3R Home and Barn Project

[3RRL]

Ha, the depends are out! But the cardboard is a good idea.
I have several pieces left from some of the new appliances we got. In fact, I always used cardboard when I used to wrench on the tractor at camp. It kept me from getting a lot of dirt and mud on my clothes, although some could not be avoided.
The working conditions at camp were not the greatest back then.
You can see part of the cardboard in one of these shots.

 

[dfkrug]

The working conditions at camp were not the greatest back then.

Your new workshop is fantastic. It will more than make up for those
awful working conditions at your campsite. I don't know about you,
but I have a very hard time getting motivated to do some wrenching
when it is as cold as it must be in your 2nd photo above.

 

[3RRL]

Your new workshop is fantastic. It will more than make up for those
awful working conditions at your campsite. I don't know about you,
but I have a very hard time getting motivated to do some wrenching
when it is as cold as it must be in your 2nd photo above.

Thanks Dave,
I have worn out 2 pairs of new jeans in the knees already getting down to thank the Lord for my new workshop!

 

[3RRL]

Wes came up up to help us with last part of getting the front yard level. He kept the dust down to a minimum. We also got some rainbirds set up to water the grounds.



In some of those photos above I'm not sure if you can see it or not, but the grass is starting to grow. On the far side of the South lawn past the leach field, we threw down some sunflower seeds to see if they would sprout and they did.



This last photo is an area on the hillside below the log home. We did an experiment to see if the natural flora would sprout if we added water. We didn't know if it would grow or not. Well, it is responding too. Our plan is to irrigate this area during the Summer to keep it lush and green. Now I have to figure out how to get all that water to everything.

 

[3RRL]

We also decided to bite the bullet and continue the deck so it wraps 100% around the log home. You see that wall behind Loretta? That's where the added deck section will be. It will connect the front porch entry way over to where the ramp is.
Loretta hooked up the Leinbach 7200 PHD onto her Jinma and dug holes for the concrete that will support the wood posts. See that handle to position the PHD? Be careful of that thing. When Loretta was in the tractor, during one of the "lift ups" to clear dirt from the auger, that handle squished her hand between it and the seat. It cut her hand pretty good. She got off the tractor and I patched her up. That's her posing with her PHD afterwards.
Other than that accident, the PHD did a nifty job.
We have a couple of the guys from the construction crew doing this add on for us. They are working "on the side" and we are helping them to keep the cost down.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Now I have to figure out how to get all that water to everything.

A very long hose? Your place sure is coming along Rob, can hardly wait to see it next February.

 

[EddieWalker]

Rob,

Looking at the job you guys are doing on your yard, I'm starting to think "putting green."

Eddie

 

[3RRL]

Brian,
Looking forward to seeing you again next February!
We should be pretty well settled in by then, but still commuting to Rancho for a while yet.

Eddie,
You must have read my mind! I told Loretta that's exactly what I saw after smoothing it...a radical putting green. It would be like Bullwinkle's though with all those whoop-de-doos in it.

 

[3RRL]

Hey, some of the lawn is really starting to grow now!
I know these are boring pictures, but to us they are great.



We had some deer eat one of the little trees we were growing and the ground squirrels have been eating the little sunflower plants! Dang.
There are ground squirrel mounds and holes at the bottom of one lawn. I did get one of them with the 17HMR though.

 

[3RRL]

The new deck addition is coming along nicely too.
It will be a lot easier to get around the house now, instead of going down the front stairs or ramp to get to the other side. The rest of the railing spindles will be put in next week. Then I will wait a couple weeks before staining the new deck.



If you notice, we have made a removable section in the railing. It's fastened by SS hooks. I can be lifted straight up, out of the way.



That section will be removed when we load a special made pallet of firewood onto the deck. I figure we can use the tractor with forks to pick up a pallet and lift it to the deck level. I got this idea from Larry. I saw how he gets his firewood onto his porch in New Mexico using his tractor. I checked to make sure the Jinma FEL can get that high and it can easily. The Kama has even more height. I still have to make the firewood pallets which will have rubber pneumatic wheels so we can wheel the pallet around the rear of the home at deck level.