Of Tractors, Trees, and Mud

January 2019 update

So much has happened, and yet so much more has to happen. This has been a slow time with a lot of wait and see. I am really thankful that the process has not been rushed. We have the benefit of taking our time, thinking things through, and searching for great deals. One thing I have learned is not to let four months go by without posting about our progress. There are a lot of photos to go through and a lot of things to say.

First of all, middle Tennessee had more rain in 2018 than we have had since the 1970s. Of course we have. Of course... What that means for us is a lot of mud and not a lot of work. But what have we done? In reality, so much has been accomplished. Let me catch you up. I have included a lot of pictures to save myself writing thousands of words.

September 2018

New lairds of the land

It was an exciting day when we finally closed on the property. We are very thankful for our wonderful realtor, Jennifer Alston and her Q Realty team in helping us find the land of our dreams and closing in a painless although not quick way. That wasn't her fault though. It took a great deal of time to get the land re-platted and to get the closing papers in order. The closing itself was a dream. We immediately drove over to the land, hopped out of the car, and took a quick shot in front of the field at the start of our new 8 acres. Right behind our heads is now the opening in the trees for the driveway which you will see later in this post.

The next big purchase was a new tractor. David's old International is good for some things, but it won't quite cut it with all that has to be done. So we bit the bullet and bought a new Kioti tractor with lots of attachments. We are thankful to the Larry Stovesand Equipment team (including Jesse Jordan, a former student of mine) who helped us with this purchase. You know boys and their toys. Well, I have learned to drive it as well.

The next day David started cutting trees and made some great progress.

This is a shot of the tree line before any trees were cut down.

Truck and tractor in place to start the work. September was a warm month. It was fairly dry and lots of work was accomplished.

The mighty woodsman and his chainsaw go to work.

The driveway opening is now visible in the tree line.

October 2018

David was able to cut the driveway from both ends and meet in the middle. I spent a little time helping to drag trees to the front of the property, but let's face it, he is really the worker here. There is quite a learning curve for me. He has it down pat. He spent a lot of time on the land cutting trees, dragging them out of the driveway, digging ditches and trenches, cleaning up brush, and trying not to get stuck in the mud.

This is the top of the driveway down to the gully.  We purchased a culvert for the gully and some kind of fabric to lay over the driveway before the gravel gets put down. One of the great (or is it?) things about punching in a driveway is discovering some amazing top soil beneath all of those trees. Unfortunately for us, that means the ground is very soft, and we really don't need the soil or the soft earth for all of the big equipment soon to drive down our little road. We did not find a lot of clay and rocks here which are the norm for this area. That means when it rains, we get mud. Lots and lots of mud. That equates to very soft ground and with all of the steep hills, difficulty in getting a tractor in and out. The tractor happened to get stuck at the bottom of the driveway after a decent rain. A chance meeting with some construction workers in the neighborhood netted him a pull out of the mud and a relationship with someone who had equipment to get in and do some digging that our tractor could not do. We are so grateful for the chance meeting and help.

November 2018

Our dear friend Tay Krull came in from Washington to help cut down more trees and clear out the building site. All of the trees were cut down, leaving behind more than 45 stumps that still have to be pulled out. The orange flags are the corner markers of where the building will eventually be. The cedar tree on the left will be right outside our bedroom window.

Here is a shot from the other side of the clearing with the cedar tree now on the right.

The guys saved a tall cedar stump that will be cut for our new mantle for the stone fireplace in the sunroom. Here they are marking the lines to be cut so it can be dried over the next 12 months.

Some of the trees were too beautiful to cut down. This white oak was one of our favorites from the first time we saw the property and the clearing in the middle where our future home will stand.

This beautiful white oak marks the corner of the driveway on the building side and will be visible from our living room window.

That big pile on the right is only part of the residue of all of the trees that once stood around the original small clearing.

Burn pile to the left and cedar logs for future projects to the right.

The best of friends, Dave and Tay. What would we have done without his hard work?

David and Tay in front of the big tree pile

Sharpening chainsaw blades...again and again. He is a master at it!

The week before Thanksgiving we took a hiking adventure to the property with the kids. It was a great time getting everyone over there to see where "the old folks" would be living. A hike down to the creeks and back up to the clearing gave them all a great perspective of this beautiful piece of land. Then we went home to decorate the Christmas tree for the last time at 5075. We are intentional in creating memories during this season. We have so much to be thankful for: healthy and happy children and their significant others, gorgeous creation, clear and cool weather for the day, joy, love, peace, and blessings too numerous to mention.

Nate, Savannah, Ryn, Sara, and Ali

December 2018

The second week of December we took a trip with Robbie, our friend and general contractor, to visit VersaTube and meet with Mike Bond. We sat down for a couple of hours and hammered out a lot of details on our building. We were able to handoff our hand-drawn plans to their engineers and tour the facility. Sadly I did not take any pictures of that adventure. What was I thinking?

We connected with friends who will be allowing us to rent some property from them for a month or two to park the RV on until we can get in to the building site. For that to happen we need to have gravel, power, water, and a septic tank.

Dave got back to the property with Allen Keymon along with a trackhoe and a skid steer and they made changes to the big curve on the driveway, dug some trenches, pulled out some stumps, and put in the culvert.

Dave has done so much to get the property ready. Plans are solidifying for the electricity and water trenches as well as the laying of the rock and gravel for the driveway. We are hoping that in the next month we will be able to accomplish at least the driveway gravel so we can begin putting the rest of the infrastructure.

Last Christmas as 5075

Before the kids tore into their "goodies"

Last "before stockings" picture on the stairs.

Mom and Dad join the steps selfie

Snuggled into our tiny living room. Next year we can spread out in our 600 sq. ft. sunroom.

The end of December found us "inspiration shopping" to look at stone, tile, light fixtures, and some other necessities. It was fun to dream and see products in person, even if it was a bit overwhelming to see all of the choices that are out there. So far we have settled on a siding style (board/batten steel siding), quartz for the kitchen island (Silestone Pietra), and some pretty cool tiles for the kitchen (white hexagon with grey grout) backsplash and bathroom shower.

January 2019

Last week we made arrangements to purchase an RV. It's not as big as I was wanting, but it will be a cozy home for use for 6-8 months during the building process. We did originally want to "go tiny," so this will be an adventure into what might have been. We really only need a bed, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a space to hang out. Anticipating living there from March through October, we will be able to utilize outdoor space quite a bit, which will help keep us from feeling claustrophobic.

The first week of January for me has been filled with cleaning closets, packing what we are keeping, loading boxes to donate, and filling trash bags. I think my favorite part has been going through old photographs and sorting them into bins for the kids to take. Minimize. Minimize. Minimize. Hopefully that task will be finished by the end of the week. Then we will be staging our home for photos and listing it at the end of the month. Once it sells and closes, we will move into the RV and begin the next phase in earnest.

Be looking for more frequent blog posts! Please comment, like, share, etc. Follow us on Instagram (@notquitetinytn) and check out my Pinterest dream board for the house (Lizabeth Brasells, board name: This is not That Tiny House) to see some of our plans for the interior and exterior.

Until next time!