The ranch is becoming a reality

[ladyhk13]

Well we finally were able to get out to the property for the first time since we closed on it last month. It wasn't raining or freezing ice cold. It was a nice day in the upper 40's and we took the dogs for a day to try and see more of the land which we are going to hopefully in the next couple of years make home. We walked for most of the day (and my body is feeling it - a fall didn't help) and even though we still haven't seen all of the the property we did find some new things. I am amazed at all of the water sources! It looks like they are all spring fed and all stone bottom...not individual little stones but big slabs!
DH found a spring feeding into the main creek on his first day out there so we traced it back to it's origion and he hit the motherlode!!! I think it's perfect for hydropower. It is a solid rock channel with awesome flow. The realtor didn't even know it existed.
There are beautiful areas for horseback riding and gentle topography along with nice hilltops - all of which so far seems walkable. Again I am amazed at the water bubbling everywhere and the fact that it's not dirt bottom but beautiful stone/slate.

I'm going to try to post some pics and you can see how clear the water is (I know...I'm just thrilled with the water!) and as we go I'll post more pics. We are looking at metal buildings right now for barns. We still have to decide where to put things but that will have to wait until we actually get to see all of the property a few times to get the feel of it and maybe hire a surveyer and have all the water sources tested to make sure we can actually drink it.

http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/6658/1024857.jpg

This is a tunnel that is under an old rail road bed. The rail road bed is our "access" to the property. The rail had to cross this little creek so they put this cool tunnel in.

http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/7411/1024883.jpg

http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/4492/1024890.jpg

This is the channel that is cut in rock by the spring that my dh found. It looks like mud on the sides and bottom but it is actually all rock! It is so cool.

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/7711/1024847.jpg

Well this is a start for now. Will continue on as time permits.

[ladyhk13]

pls let me know if the pics don't show up right.

[GunnerMax]

they dont lady.

[GunnerMax]

What a nice looking place Lady. I am interested in how you go about setting up hydroelectric power.

[Stormfeather]

Wow, great pics!!! Love the tunnel!

[Sniper-T]

That place is just so full of WIN it's scary!

Thanks for sharing!!

[Taz Baby]

wow what a beautiful place. I know you will treat it kind when you start building. This summer be careful of the copperheads. We have a lot here and when we turn over logs and rocks when working they are there.

[helomech]

Can't see the pics.

[Sniper-T]

If you copy/paste the core from her post into your browser, you can then flip through them.

ie:

http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/7411/1024883.jpg

^ copy paste that... and then click on the foreward/back buttons to scroll through

[helomech]

Cool thanks Sniper

Great looking place. How big is it?

[realist]

Hopefully you will have good volume this summer. They problem with nice falls like this is you end up sitting in them all day long on hot summer days and then you don't get anything done. YOU made a great score. Hopefully the permit process will go smoothly.

[Taz Baby]

permit? With being that far out who,s gonna know what your doing, lol

[Grumpy Old Man]

Lady, in your explorations you will want to keep a sharp eye out as you may have a cave on your property. That looks to be limestone forming the ledges that make the falls. And where there is limestone and water, there's bound to be karst topography. Very nice score. Is your right of way over the tunnel for ingress/egress?
Anyway, very nice!!

[ladyhk13]

Cool thanks Sniper

Great looking place. How big is it?

241 acres

[helomech]

Wow, sweet.

[ladyhk13]

Lady, in your explorations you will want to keep a sharp eye out as you may have a cave on your property. That looks to be limestone forming the ledges that make the falls. And where there is limestone and water, there's bound to be karst topography. Very nice score. Is your right of way over the tunnel for ingress/egress?
Anyway, very nice!!

We found a small cave that had water pumping out of it and the dh went nuts (he's a cave freak) so he did a little digging but when he looked inside there was only about a 6" clearance between the water and the rock but the water is awesome so it will probably be a great source. Yes, since we are in TN karst is huge. We have caves all over the area. I don't know if we'll find an actual cave since the topo is not really steep anywhere but maybe we'll luck out and find something in a hollow. The tunnel is actually on our property but the old railroad bed is part of the ingress/egress R.O.W. coming from the property over from us. The bridge we have to build has to cross the water fall creek which runs parallel with the railroad bed. There isn't much land in between them and the land is kind of rough in between so it's going to need work just to make it easier to get to the main part of the property.

[ladyhk13]

Hopefully you will have good volume this summer. They problem with nice falls like this is you end up sitting in them all day long on hot summer days and then you don't get anything done. YOU made a great score. Hopefully the permit process will go smoothly.

From the looks of the rock and how much the water has cut into it I am assuming that there will be no problem with volume anywhere but we are going to keep an eye on all of the main areas during the hottest part of the summer (yeah, maybe sitting under the falls part of the time - but we'll have to yell to talk to each other because they are so loud) and see where the best areas are.

[ladyhk13]

That place is just so full of WIN it's scary!

Thanks for sharing!!

What's WIN?

When I put pics on here, the link is reallyy long and I know I have to delete part of it but I must have deleted the wrong part...can you tell me which part needs to be posted for the pics to show up here?

[ladyhk13]

What a nice looking place Lady. I am interested in how you go about setting up hydroelectric power.

Hi Gunner,

Here is a link that will help explain the concept of hydro. If you do google micro hydroelectric power you will find a lot of information. Some of the info is really good and some is just too complicated. You have to wade through it and decide what works best for the amount of power you need and the property you have. There is a magazine out called "Home Power" that has good stuff about hydro and solar (as well as other types of power) that you may want to pick up. Hope this helps. If you want more info let me know and I can get specific stuff from my dh for you.

[izzyscout21]

What's WIN?


from urban dictionary:




1.


win




A word with a very broad syntax of usage, generally indicating that something is great.
Music = Win



win




On imageboards, when a image post is made, the post can be win or fail, depending on if the image is liked and appropriate for the topic of the board.

This can be made stronger by adding epic before it, as in 'Epic win!'.

"WIN!!!"
"This thread is made of win"
"WIN! DO WANT!"

[ladyhk13]

What a nice looking place Lady. I am interested in how you go about setting up hydroelectric power.

Hi Gunner,

Here is a link that will help explain the concept of hydro. If you do google micro hydroelectric power you will find a lot of information. Some of the info is really good and some is just too complicated. You have to wade through it and decide what works best for the amount of power you need and the property you have. There is a magazine out called "Home Power" that has good stuff about hydro and solar (as well as other types of power) that you may want to pick up. Hope this helps. If you want more info let me know and I can get specific stuff from my dh for you.
Micro hydro - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micro_hydro)

[ladyhk13]

from urban dictionary:

Guess I'm really old since I still use "Websters" huh? Thanks for the explaination! Cool, glad it's a WIN!

[Katrina]

Girlfriend,
All I can say is AWESOME!!!!!

[ladyhk13]

Girlfriend,
All I can say is AWESOME!!!!!

Thank you...we are really excited. Just have to get focused and make a plan as to where to start. Buying a bulldozer is high on the list. DH has to have a new toy :rolleyes:

[izzyscout21]

I told my wife i wanted a bulldozer. She pointed to a shovel and wheelbarrow.

I have dozer envy............

[Sniper-T]

I tell my wife I want a tank, but I'd settle for a bulldozer. She just rolls her eyes.

women! :rolleyes:

[izzyscout21]

I know, right? A bulldozer or a tank (or even a tank bulldozer) is a perfectly reasonable request..............

[Sniper-T]

I even offered to make my own, and she still kiboshed it! wtf?

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh106/fezfraggle/Stuff/RedneckTank.jpg

and they're so practical for so many things:

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q97/cwtokenman/Bulldozer.jpg

[Taz Baby]

sniper and izzy, I will buy you a tank and bulldozer. I am going to Walmart right now before they sell out of the Matchbox ones. What color do you want? Lady we have a few small caves but they are on the side of the mountains, not on the ground.

[Sniper-T]

camo for me Taz, tx

[izzyscout21]

I like green........and tan......

[Taz Baby]

now that the boys toys are covered and taken care of. Lets get back on track with this thread. Lady when you start exploring, look for what kind of plants you have for medical and edible. Spring will soon be here. Look for maple trees to tap into for syrup and so forth. Also this summer look for gynsing to harfest and sell.

[bacpacker]

Great looking place you have. The water will be awesome, hopefully the flow is as good this summer. I bet it won't be down a great deal. I subscribe to home power and there is a wealth of info in the mag along many different lines. Very good read I think.

[ladyhk13]

Well I bought duh dh a matchbox dozer a few years ago and put it in his Christmas stocking and said "there honey, I just bought you your dozer" but now that we have the property I guess I have to buy him a real one. Sorry guys....yup, I'm gonna buy my man a real dozer. He just has to pick it out. Gotta make sure my man is happy so he can build my bunker in the woods!

[Evolver]

Wow did you ever do good! Your land is beautiful and I can't even imagen what it will look like in late spring and autumn.

[LUNCHBOX]

^^^Lady, that is rediculous.....I'm j/k. If we had the land and needed one I'm sure the wifey would be on board with it.

[RedJohn]

pls let me know if the pics don't show up right.

Sorry, saw this too late, but still fixed for you.

[ladyhk13]

Sorry, saw this too late, but still fixed for you.

I'm using Imagshack and I'm not sure when I copy and paste the "link" for a forum, which piece I need to cut out and leave here on the site in order for it to come out right? I know the origional link is really long and a lot if it needs to be deleted but I can't remember which part since I hardly ever post pics. Could you pm. me the instructions so I can keep them? Thanks!

[Brownwater Riverrat 13]

Currently we have 2 possibly 3 more water sources to check out that we know are year round. Each one of these needs a bit of cleaning out , just leaves, branches and what nots, and there will be some serious flow. A couple of these we want to use for ponds and the others.......hey who knows, there's much to be explored yet. But I am most certain that we will not have a power bill. But the batteries will be a bit pricey. My only thoughts are which method of hydro am I going to use? Which application is going to be most efficient for which water source is dependant on the geographic location's advantages and disadvantages. (that's a mouthful) The cave is belching out some serious water in itself, but it's location is another matter, but it is a serious water source! With a little work I'm sure I'll be able to see wether I can gain access to this cave or if it's just a crack to doom. There is another place on the property that is suspect of a possible cave (In my opinion)

All in all I think we are going to have a blast................anyone have a bulldozer? anyone? Bulldozer? Anyone?



Be safe..............the night is your friend

[Taz Baby]

CL in the Tricities area under farm. One for sale there. Download craigslistpal.com and you can search any area you want.



Currently we have 2 possibly 3 more water sources to check out that we know are year round. Each one of these needs a bit of cleaning out , just leaves, branches and what nots, and there will be some serious flow. A couple of these we want to use for ponds and the others.......hey who knows, there's much to be explored yet. But I am most certain that we will not have a power bill. But the batteries will be a bit pricey. My only thoughts are which method of hydro am I going to use? Which application is going to be most efficient for which water source is dependant on the geographic location's advantages and disadvantages. (that's a mouthful) The cave is belching out some serious water in itself, but it's location is another matter, but it is a serious water source! With a little work I'm sure I'll be able to see wether I can gain access to this cave or if it's just a crack to doom. There is another place on the property that is suspect of a possible cave (In my opinion)

All in all I think we are going to have a blast................anyone have a bulldozer? anyone? Bulldozer? Anyone?



Be safe..............the night is your friend

[ladyhk13]

I was thinking about planting ginsing and maybe even horseradish. I have to wait until things start sprouting up to see if any ginsing is there but I think I need to take a pic with me so I can identify it. I thought I bought a handbook a couple of years ago to take out in the woods with me for edible plants and nut/berries but I have to find it or buy another one. It was a nice size to carry around and great pics.

[Taz Baby]

I was thinking about planting ginseng and maybe even horseradish. I have to wait until things start sprouting up to see if any ginseng is there but I think I need to take a pic with me so I can identify it. I thought I bought a handbook a couple of years ago to take out in the woods with me for edible plants and nut/berries but I have to find it or buy another one. It was a nice size to carry around and great pics.

I have the Basic Essentials edible wild plants and useful herbs by Jim Meuninck. It is A flacon guide. $8.95 at BAM. lots of pic. We have ginseng here and there is another look-a-like plant so be sure it is ginseng. Best way to recognize it is when it berries in late summer. I have a lot of info on it and I will get it for you soon. How and where to sell for top dollar. the differance between mountain ginseng and organic, ect.

[bacpacker]

Currently we have 2 possibly 3 more water sources to check out that we know are year round. Each one of these needs a bit of cleaning out , just leaves, branches and what nots, and there will be some serious flow. A couple of these we want to use for ponds and the others.......hey who knows, there's much to be explored yet. But I am most certain that we will not have a power bill. But the batteries will be a bit pricey. My only thoughts are which method of hydro am I going to use? Which application is going to be most efficient for which water source is dependant on the geographic location's advantages and disadvantages. (that's a mouthful) The cave is belching out some serious water in itself, but it's location is another matter, but it is a serious water source! With a little work I'm sure I'll be able to see wether I can gain access to this cave or if it's just a crack to doom. There is another place on the property that is suspect of a possible cave (In my opinion)

All in all I think we are going to have a blast................anyone have a bulldozer? anyone? Bulldozer? Anyone?



Be safe..............the night is your friend


BRR, I can't believe your good fortune in finding a place with a great available and underground water source like you have. i mean, years ago when I first gave much thought to looking for land to move to at some point (BOL, although I wasn't thinking on those lines yet) a water souce like that was the #1` thing on my list of wants. It still is.

I think this may have been mentioned, forgive me if it has, but check out Home Power magazine. They cover the gamut of "alternative energy" and have listings in most issues of manufacturing co for any the technologies discussed. Here's a link:
http:http://homepower.com/home///



Speaking of Bulldozers, PM sent.


What in general are you looking for? Brand, size, set up? On our way home tonight just over a mile from the house, this guy had moved a dozer down next to the road and had a sale sign on it. It was close to dark so I couldn't tell what make or model it was, but the sign said sale and the price was $

[ladyhk13]

Was out there today and verified the source of 2 springs and had a surprise...2 more springs that were undocumented!!! It's late but we'll catch up. So exciting to have all this water to build ponds!

[Brownwater Riverrat 13]

Notable Quotable: The wife just said " Taz is Awsome! We're like twins! .................Wow, I guess that makes me awsome too!" Long pause.................................sooooookay now what


Be safe ..............the night is your friend

[Brownwater Riverrat 13]

Something else we found, this is buck #2. This is the second skull complete with full set of bones, that we have found on the property. This used to be a hunting lease, obviously someboby counld'nt shoot for shit. But both were pointers. So at least they were'nt spikes. So we put him up on his shrine (stump) and there he'll stay. Also here's a shot lookin down the Southeast side of the property. This was part of a 450yd stretch, for you distance shooters............."range me"

http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/2710/67405927.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/6/67405927.jpg/)

http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/6345/52151002.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/811/52151002.jpg/)

http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/5739/59967756.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/812/59967756.jpg/)

Be safe...............the night is your friend

[ladyhk13]

Don't listen to him....it just came out because she sent me this awesome pm with great info and I said she was awesome, then she said she was terrified of spiders....I am too, so I said we were like twins and then it dawned on me that if she was awesome and I was like her then it meant that I must be awesome too... it just kind of came out like that! Come on, give me a break here!

[ladyhk13]

Taz, I was just looking through my books and found one I bought by Natl. Geographic "Guide to Medicinal Herbs" The World's Most Effective Healing Plants. Have you ever seen it? There is a lot of stuff in here!

[Taz Baby]

Hey you are awesome and we are like twins. Nothing wrong with being awesome. I am just glad I found my twin. They say everybody has one.

[Taz Baby]

Taz, I was just looking through my books and found one I bought by Natl. Geographic "Guide to Medicinal Herbs" The World's Most Effective Healing Plants. Have you ever seen it? There is a lot of stuff in here!

never heard of that one, but I will check it out next time I go to B A M.

[ladyhk13]

never heard of that one, but I will check it out next time I go to B A M.

I like the book, has great info and pics but the one thing I don't care for is the way decided to explain harvesting/processing. It seems more geared towards if you were to buy suppliments instead of making your own lotions/tinctures ect. There is some of that in there of how it is used 'raw' but a lot more as if taking the pill form. A good book though and of great quality (Natl Geo, need I say more?) since it goes into great detail of the uses so ya can always find out how to process the plant from another source once you get the info you want about the plant.

[ladyhk13]

Ok guys and gals we are one step closer....we bought a bulldozer today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Finally found one. It needs some minor work on one side but the guy is going to do the repair for us and is even going to deliver it to the property for us at no charge! AND I think we found a trailer that is heavy duty enough to haul our tractor back and forth too (property is 2 hours away from us so we'll need to take it over there to bush hog and home again to do it here). Will be going to look at it probably Monday. Now if dh's back will heal we should be good to go. So excited!

[Grumpy Old Man]

Ok guys and gals we are one step closer....we bought a bulldozer today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Finally found one. It needs some minor work on one side but the guy is going to do the repair for us and is even going to deliver it to the property for us at no charge! AND I think we found a trailer that is heavy duty enough to haul our tractor back and forth too (property is 2 hours away from us so we'll need to take it over there to bush hog and home again to do it here). Will be going to look at it probably Monday. Now if dh's back will heal we should be good to go. So excited!

Make and model? Track or tires? ( I also manage our off-road fleet for CARB compliance)

[ladyhk13]

Make and model? Track or tires? ( I also manage our off-road fleet for CARB compliance)

It's a 450B with tracks. We totally forgot to take pics while we were there looking at it! DUH!

[bacpacker]

Congrats! You guys have been lookin a while now.

[ladyhk13]

Thanks! We are excited. Ok, I'm more excited than he is I think. So Grumpy that's a good machine?

[bacpacker]

I'm not familiar with that model, but I've talked to some folks that have JD's. None of them was bitching about there dozer's.

[ladyhk13]

Cool! Glad to hear it. Oops, forgot to say it was a JD...good catch. Oh and it has a 6 way blade.

[Grumpy Old Man]

Thanks! We are excited. Ok, I'm more excited than he is I think. So Grumpy that's a good machine?

While I'm not a John Deere guy, many are. But, bear in mind our off-road fleet is all Cat, and they are the best!! They are also $$$$$$. Things to watch for:
Machine hours-change the fluids and filters as per manufacturers recommendations religiously!
Check for PTO and attachments available locally. This is a versatile tractor and can be used as a front end loader and backhoe if the proper attachment points are there.
Check on using (and making) biodiesel in the summer; it can save you some $$ in fuel as well as lube your engine. I don't think it's practical in the winter as biodiesel is notorious for gelling.

You got a decent tractor that can do a lot for you. But if it is more than 10 years old preventive maintenance is the key to having a good machine, whether it is John Deere, Caterpillar, Kubota or Ford.

[ladyhk13]

We have 3 of the 4 that you mentioned. A 1974 Ford 2000, a 2003 Kabota 3130 with a front end loader and the other impliments of destruction, and now the John Deer 450B Bull Dozer. DH is religious with maintenance but the Ford came with the property we have right now and it needs restoration so that's a project he's got on the "honey do" list.
My brother makes his own fuel..said it cost him about $3K to get set up but loves the savings on his wallet now!

[Brownwater Riverrat 13]

I spent the day with Chad (prior owner of the Dozier) replacing the right sprocket, chain, and replacing the old pads. This is one job I think everyone should try. Wrestling those cast iron snakes is a real bitch! We had to torch off the old bolts (144) then torch/cut the chain, drag it out from underneath. Then torch the bolts, sledgehammer the pads off. Then remove the old sprocket, put on the new one, these are a bit heavy..........the wrap the new chain around the whole thing. You can't just put it on an drive the master pin in where you want it, nooooooooooo. You have to put it all the way in the back, just half way up the new sprocket, wrap the whole chain around the whole assembly and across the top of the sprocket. Give that one a try, now that's a snake! Then we ended up a pad short? What the hell? Long story........but another one on the way. All in all, the dozier will have fresh brakes, sprockets, chains, and 2 clutches. Everything else is in running order and ready to destroy inanimate objects and certain unwanted trespassers at slow speeds. Sounds squishy............now I can say I have wrestled the "cast iron snake from hell"


Be safe..............the night is your friend.

[Taz Baby]

BWRR I see you are getting that Dozer ready for a demolition derby. I can't wait to see it. Lady and I want to take it for a test run. We will be there soon.

[bacpacker]

BRR sounds like you are just about ready to start pushing some stuff down before long. With all the work done, you should be good to go for a while now.

[Brownwater Riverrat 13]

Yeah let's see "Justa" and "Evolver" cut that puppy (Cast Iron snake) with the lobbers huh? He, he, he....I'm still sore brother. Don't know if you're familiar with the parts of a bulldozer yet but I sure am becoming intimate now. I'm sure glad I didn't get a bigger one.



Be safe.............the night is your friend.

[bacpacker]

You'll prolly be reliving that chain overhaul in your dreams for a few days. Good info to have for the future though.

[Taz Baby]

Like my Daddy always told me. If your gonna buy it you better learn to fix it. The more you learn how to fix it the more money you save. Did you get the Manual for it?

[Brownwater Riverrat 13]

Like my Daddy always told me. If your gonna buy it you better learn to fix it. The more you learn how to fix it the more money you save. Did you get the Manual for it?
That was the funny part. During our deal making ceremony, he said, "I paid $200 for the manual on this thing" to which I replied "you know I'm going to need that of course right?" that's when he gave me that choked look. He gave it up though, he is a gear head and hurt him quite so. I wouldn't have gave it up. But then again, that's me.

Be safe.............the night is your friend.

[ladyhk13]

Well we had the bulldozer delivered today and BWRR took the first long drive back to the property. I kept asking him if that thing had a higher gear to go faster! Ok, I love NASCAR and high speeds and I guess bulldozers don't do that. He didn't get to play since we took the seller around the property (which has grown up that I hardly recognize it) and it was getting ready to rain. He would have stayed and knocked stuff down but I want to plan a little more. We did get a better idea of things, another option for house site and a good idea of where the road will come in and where we want the bridge. Also think we may buy a little more land so it's easier to build the road up on the ridge so we looked at that area too. There are so many blackberry bushes I couldn't even count, some either red blackberry or some variety and even some raspberry. Chad (the seller of the dozer) knew a lot about trees and tried to teach me some but at 6 different Oaks (I didn't know there were so many red's and whites) and hickory, elderberry, and I've already forgotten the others already my brain was on overload. I'm going to BAM to find a good tree book. Lots of oats/wheat and who knows what else at this point.
That's the update for now...the fun shall begin.

[Taz Baby]

Lady am at BAM now and will be everyday for the next week so if I find something I will call you. I also need to replace my pocket tree book so I will be looking. Now Thank God it was raining or BWRR would have just bulldozed the berries thinking they were just vines, lol. Just kidding, maybe. But yes you have to find what is there before playing on new toy. Get orange tape and stake a area to bulldoze. Lady if he lets you bulldoze, think of me making the dozer sound. BRRRRVROOMMMMM

[Brownwater Riverrat 13]

The Large Hairy Brown River Rat (with big nasty teeth) Glares down from his lair at the unsuspecting Tasmanian rodent foraging with young Colt. The The rat coils getting ready to strike when .........

So the rat sits there waiting for his damn cheese..............BULLSHIT..........I'M GOING TO GO TEAR SOME SHIT UP! Honey by the time you read this I'll be on the property runnin over berries, bushes, furry little animals and what nots! Bring more diesel and food! Got tired a waitin.
Love ya!


Be safe.............the night is your friend

[Taz Baby]

Taz spinning as fast as she can to help big brown rat tear up the land. Eating everything that's alive. OOOOPPPPSSSS taz sorry she stopped to eat the berries.

[bacpacker]

Glad you guys got the dozer on site. I know you all will be going to town on the place ASAP. Planning your routes and building areas, even down to direction orentation of the buildings, can be critical.
I'm lookin forward to "seeing your progress"

[ladyhk13]

Good thing it was raining today!!!! And it's Mother's Day. I just read BWRR's post and now I know I have to supervise at all times. Crap. Taz leave the berries alone! They aren't ready anyway. Bought 3 tree books today at BAM so I should be able to identify most of the trees out there if I'm real fast and get to them before they all "dissapear" by magic one day soon.
I know that our house has to have south facing orientation for the best solar use and the summer kitchen needs to be right next to the house so it's easy to move things back and forth. Thinking of putting the root cellar under the summer kitchen too. I'm a planner, dh wants to do demolition. What's that Mar's and Venus thing???

[bacpacker]

Lady from my past failure, i woild highly recommend the root cellar exposure be situated true north if possible. Northeast if not. We tried doing ours on the northwest corner with just a little western exposure and not deep enough cover. It will not get cold enough to work. Unless you plan on an air lock and putting it deep, I"m not sure anything close to southern exposure would work.

At least thats what we ran into.

[Brownwater Riverrat 13]

Hey I'll take any "lessons learned" I can get from anybody on any topic, be it fencing, bulldozers (I think I might quickly becoming the expert on that one) land clearing, pond building, spring tapping, you name it. IF YOU SCREWED IT UP, I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT IT, and how you did it so I don't.
Thank you,


Be safe.............the night is your friend.

[Sniper-T]

Any questions about ponds, ask away. I've built several and designed several others for friends.

[Brownwater Riverrat 13]

Any questions about ponds, ask away. I've built several and designed several others for friends.

Roger that, when we get to that point, I will keep you in mind Sniper-T and I thank you for your offer. I'm still waiting on the rain to clear, it hasn't stopped since Saturday afternoon. I don't think pushin mud's going to be a good Idea either but we'll see what it looks like. Either way I have some bottom land that's going to be on the wet side too. One of those ponds will change that, turn it into more useful pasture, kinda dry it up a bit and have a creek running through it. Should turn out nice.



Be safe.............the night is your friend.

[ladyhk13]

Lady from my past failure, i woild highly recommend the root cellar exposure be situated true north if possible. Northeast if not. We tried doing ours on the northwest corner with just a little western exposure and not deep enough cover. It will not get cold enough to work. Unless you plan on an air lock and putting it deep, I"m not sure anything close to southern exposure would work.

At least thats what we ran into.

Luckily I think that the sites we have chosen the house and summer kitchen can be situated north/south so it should be good. I am all about the exposure and want everything from the house to the barns to be put right. Great advice BP!

[ladyhk13]

Work has started...dh has learned how to use the dozer. Now if I can keep him on OUR side of the property line all will be fine!
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/w465/ladyky13/Work%20on%20the%20Ranch%202012/102_5386.jpg
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/w465/ladyky13/Work%20on%20the%20Ranch%202012/102_5440.jpg
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/w465/ladyky13/Work%20on%20the%20Ranch%202012/102_5325.jpg
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/w465/ladyky13/Work%20on%20the%20Ranch%202012/102_5320.jpg

I am starting to identify trees too. So far we have: Black Oak, Sycamore, Tuliptree, Alder of some sort-the bark isn't matching yet, Downey Oak, Sumac (real and toxic) and I still have a pile of leaves and pics to go through but it's slow going. Will keep you updated!

[ladyhk13]

Pics are backwards, sorry. It looks muddy but it is actually dry, it's the color of the dirt.

[bacpacker]

The place looks great. Sure has some lush vegetation. The road is coming along nicely. Can't wait to see more pics.

[eagle326]

Hey I'll take any "lessons learned" I can get from anybody on any topic, be it fencing, bulldozers (I think I might quickly becoming the expert on that one) land clearing, pond building, spring tapping, you name it. IF YOU SCREWED IT UP, I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT IT, and how you did it so I don't.
Thank you,


Be safe.............the night is your friend.


Brownwater & Ladyk :

As far as operating the dozer ; I'll give you the advice an old Spec. 7 gave me in Army Dozer school.
I had to take a D7E up to the shop for minor maintaince. The Spec.-7 Pops asked me how I was doing and I told him I couldn't for the life of me I couldn't get it to cut level.
I was just making ruts and ridges and couldn't get the dozer to cut level.He laughed and said he could teach me in a few minutes. Then all I had to do was go back and practice and it should come to me.

Okay here's what he said :
When sitting in the seat on level ground you're sitting straight up as in a chair therefore you're level.

1- If you are leaning forward in the seat lower the blade till you're sitting straight up again.
2- If you're leaning backwards bring the blade up until you're sitting straight up again.
Now this is just the basic rule ; You'll find how to adjust the blade as you work. But it does work and I pretty well had it in hand within 2 days since you had to share dozers and class work. After that just fine tune yourself to how the dozer feels and handles.
I shared this with all my classmates and we did pretty damn good in field class. Once you figure it out you 2 will find it's fun and easy and you'll be looking for things to do with it.

Good luck and Happy Dozering. :cool: :D

Eagle

[Brownwater Riverrat 13]

Hey I'll have to try that one out. Thanks Eagle, I'll have to admit, that with a 6 way blade and having so many options one tends to get a bit squirly. (three hands would be better) Going down hill on a curvy path with the ups and down was a challenge, up hill is even worse. But it looks better, the wife says it sucks but from my seat it looks great! Of course............I also did a high speed down hill, crash and burn direct route, full tilt boogie for the future driveway. But, I had to turn around cause the wife was trying to follow me on the 4 wheeler and got hung up on a stump, so I had to "un stuck" her by that time it was almost 1900 so it was time to pack up. Almost made it to the "future bridge" waypoint, ...........she said I was supposed to make it smooth as I go???????? That was my first pass.................just when I get the dozer up to 2 MPH I got to stop. I was on a roll........:(

Be safe.............the night is your friend.

[ladyhk13]

Hey, I just said that if you leave the blade in one position and are going over ruts you are going to continue to have ruts! You have to go slow and adjust your blade as you go to lower your high spots and fill in your low spots so that the road comes out smooth! But I'm only a girl so what do I know????? Guess I'm supposed to sit on the 4 wheeler and take pics of the trees.
Yeah I got stuck because he went over a big trunk and left it in the middle of the path all covered with dirt and I thought it was a pile and the darn thing popped up and snagged me right under the middle and I couldn't go back or forth...stuck I was and of course I am too small to push it. So I sat and listened to him snap trees like toothpicks hoping they weren't ones I would have wanted to keep (he keeps saying already "sure, just as I get up to 2 mph I gotta stop for a blackberry bush!!") funny, huh? This is gonna be fun - you guys wanna take bets on who is gonna kill whom first?????? LOL!!!

[Taz Baby]

well as I am always telling dh of a better way to do something, his reply is....if you can go for, I do and most of the time he was right. His way was better. BWRR, give lady the reins and let her have at it, lol. Worse can happen is she can tell you I told you so.

[eagle326]

Hey I'll have to try that one out. Thanks Eagle, I'll have to admit, that with a 6 way blade and having so many options one tends to get a bit squirly. (three hands would be better) Going down hill on a curvy path with the ups and down was a challenge, up hill is even worse. But it looks better, the wife says it sucks but from my seat it looks great! Of course............I also did a high speed down hill, crash and burn direct route, full tilt boogie for the future driveway. But, I had to turn around cause the wife was trying to follow me on the 4 wheeler and got hung up on a stump, so I had to "un stuck" her by that time it was almost 1900 so it was time to pack up. Almost made it to the "future bridge" waypoint, ...........she said I was supposed to make it smooth as I go???????? That was my first pass.................just when I get the dozer up to 2 MPH I got to stop. I was on a roll........:(

Be safe.............the night is your friend.

When going downhill always keep blade near the ground ; It will act as a brake or stop. Just dig in enough to slow down. Too deep and you get get that Sudden Stop Syndrome :D.
When going uphill always try going up backwards as the blade makes you top heavy on a steeper incline and can be dangerous . It throws the weight towards the back of the dozer there by making it unstable.

We always started from the top of a hill if we could and pushed dirt down in front of us .

[ladyhk13]

When going downhill always keep blade near the ground ; It will act as a brake or stop. Just dig in enough to slow down. Too deep and you get get that Sudden Stop Syndrome :D.
When going uphill always try going up backwards as the blade makes you top heavy on a steeper incline and can be dangerous . It throws the weight towards the back of the dozer there by making it unstable.

We always started from the top of a hill if we could and pushed dirt down in front of us .

Great advice!

[bacpacker]

Sounds like you all had a good day. Good memories being made right now! I know you guys smile great big every time you think about it. Learin that dozer will come quick. Just need the hours.

[Brownwater Riverrat 13]

As with all new toys/tools, one has to play with it for a while before it actually becomes a tool. Someone took a nice "chunk" out of the front yard with the front end loader on the tractor but I wasn't supposed to say anything. Now if "I" did that????? As I was told by the man I bought it from last night, "you sure picked the hardest job to do to try and learn on". He rode a 4wheeler up that trail so he knew what I was talking about. So I like learning the hard way, it gets all the simple stuff out of the way quicker.

Be safe.............the night is your friend.

[ladyhk13]

Update for those of you who don't know yet. We have had to file suit on all parties involved in the sale of this land (about 6 - from the seller all the way down to the title company). The land was sold illegally - we cannot get a building permit and the seller (which was a bank - actually good for us) did not go to the county and get permission fron the county to divide the property and we don't have an easement that meets the requirements to build. The seller and their agent actually knew this and didn't tell us. Long story and lots of evidence so they will have to give us our money back and pay us for any money we have spent on the property. It really sucks because it doesn't compensate for our loss of time or the increase of properties now that we have to replace it but I guess on the bright side we aren't stuck with 240 acres that are useless. So, now we will have to start all over again and find another piece of land. Once again traveling TN tromping through the woods which those of you who know me know that is NOT how I like to spend my time. Wish us luck in court (probably next year) and in looking.

[helomech]

Wow, sorry to hear that. Hope it all works out for you.

[bacpacker]

Sorry to hear about the problems you've ran into. That just sucks! I'm sure you'll find something you like even better.

[ladyhk13]

Thanks. Looking at those counties further east that has 'gold in them there hills' Bp...you know which ones I'm talking about. Figure if I can find something over there maybe it'll help with paying for it :)

[bacpacker]

Wow funny you mention that. I've been thinking about spending some time checking into panning some areas. Sure would be nice to hit something like that.

[Willie51]

Lady, sorry to hear that things are still not working out on the land....it is so beautiful. BWRR had told me about it, but I was hoping somehow that it could be fixed. I know it's very stressful for you both!!! But it sounds like you have a winnable case. Good luck with it and hope y'all find a piece of property better than the first. Tell the DH if he needs to vent, he knows how to contact me. :)

[ladyhk13]

Wow funny you mention that. I've been thinking about spending some time checking into panning some areas. Sure would be nice to hit something like that.

We've had a gold lease for over a year and because of that stupid piece of property we never used it. We could go anywhere in the country and mine for gold or gems. Guess we might renew the lease and actually go have some fun this summer. Do you have a lease?

[ak474u]

Update for those of you who don't know yet. We have had to file suit on all parties involved in the sale of this land (about 6 - from the seller all the way down to the title company). The land was sold illegally - we cannot get a building permit and the seller (which was a bank - actually good for us) did not go to the county and get permission fron the county to divide the property and we don't have an easement that meets the requirements to build. The seller and their agent actually knew this and didn't tell us. Long story and lots of evidence so they will have to give us our money back and pay us for any money we have spent on the property. It really sucks because it doesn't compensate for our loss of time or the increase of properties now that we have to replace it but I guess on the bright side we aren't stuck with 240 acres that are useless. So, now we will have to start all over again and find another piece of land. Once again traveling TN tromping through the woods which those of you who know me know that is NOT how I like to spend my time. Wish us luck in court (probably next year) and in looking.

Does your state allow for treble damages in a real estate lawsuit? Here in TX if someone violates the deceptive trade practices act, or doesn't disclose material defects in property or title, you get 3 times damages. That would help find a new property I bet.

[ladyhk13]

Does your state allow for treble damages in a real estate lawsuit? Here in TX if someone violates the deceptive trade practices act, or doesn't disclose material defects in property or title, you get 3 times damages. That would help find a new property I bet.

No, TN law is that they put you back in the same financial position you were prior to the sale and maybe a little more if we're lucky. That's why we requested a jury trial. The jury may not like it too much that the bank screwed us so they may make an example out of them??? Would be nice...they have a little more leaway than the judge. We're not expecting to get rich that's for sure but at least they'll pay for everything we've bought for it (bulldozer, trucks...all that kind of stuff) so we will get some freebees out of them. We'll wait and see. They may want to settle out of court so it doesn't go public since I do belive they would be in trouble with the FDIC as well.

[mitunnelrat]

I would say the... people... who did this are worthy, if anyone ever has been, of receiving a package from www.poopsenders.com

Otherwise, I'm glad to see ya'll have a good course to follow and are looking forward. If you can pardon the pun, E TN really could turn into a golden opportunity for you. ;)

To be honest, that and the AT had me looking over there as an option for myself. I'd be interested to see what areas ya'll are looking at.

[Sniper-T]

That blows!

Can you petition the county to sell it?

[Taz Baby]

If they do want to settle out of court, don't do it. Because, what ever they offer you, that means they know you will get more than that if you do go to court. And yes the jury will be on your side because they are citizens like everyone else in that area and would look at it as if it was happening to them. They will get pissed off and ask for heads on a platter and the juggler. So don't settle out of court, be smart and go for the full blown jury trail.

[ladyhk13]

Guess we'll see what happens. The problem with going to court is time. We would have to wait over a year for a court date. We really want to get working on another piece of land before shtf! I'm sure our lawyer will tell us if it's a good deal or not. That's what we're paying him for :)

[Evolver]

Well... IMOP... It was probably meant to be. It sucks and all but I guess it just wasn't THE place. Will you be losing the dozer that BWRR spent all that time working on and the truck in the settlement or will you be able to keep them?
You two will find THE place and it will be all worth it. :):):)

[ladyhk13]

I asked the lawyer about that and he said we should be able to keep everything but the bank could try to demand the stuff. Considering what they did is a crime I think maybe we can use that to 'blackmail' them sort of speak and keep the stuff. We won't go down without swinging. If they insist then we just may insist on going public with what was done and let them deal with the fallout. The FDIC could come in and take over their bank when a crime is committed. I think we have the upper hand so they should just make a really good offer and walk away or we can put them in front of a jury of OUR peers. People don't exactly like banks right now nor realtors who try to just make a sale.
I believe the same thing. I think the Lord has decided that this land is no longer the right one for us and we need get one closer to Izzy and Bp. That property is in the opposite direction and puts us further away from them than we are right now. I keep thinking that the way things are coming down the pike we need to prepare for some of the colony to making the treck to us should shtf and we need to be able to accomodate them...we must get ready as soon as possible - so much work to do.

[Katrina]

lady
keep on pressing on. See Pm

[Grumpy Old Man]

I'm praying for you guys! You will be shown the right path. And this incident may well lead you to the land which fulfills all your dreams and needs. Stay strong and persevere.

[phantom72171]

Wow love the pics very beautiful scenery there.

[ladyhk13]

Wow love the pics very beautiful scenery there.

It is a beautiful piece of land. Lots of water, beautiful trees, not too far away from a town but far enough that we wouldn't be bothered. Met some great neighbors (landowners) that are pretty much like us. But on the downside, there's been a problem with tresspassers especially during hunting season and since we can't be there it's almost impossible to keep them off. The land is tainted now. It's not what we bought. We bought land with a flat access, not one that we have to build a road and drive through 325 acres up and down and across streams pulling trailers with our animals not to mention anyone that wants to visit us. We didn't agree to share it with every tom, dick and harry to come through either so they will have to buy it back.

So far no word. I wish it would get done so we can put our house back on the market, of course the day we had to take it off we had 2 calls wanting to see it and one of them was a guy who was interested in getting our apple orchard back up and running. Maybe he'll still be in the market when we're ready.