Homesteading has begun to sink in. The reality of this challenge is in full swing as we make our way through January. Our first winter living on the land. The water line froze this weekend, and we were forced to retreat to South Pine Cafe for coffee and facilities. What a hardship.
The sunshiny glory of the California summer is in the distant past now, and I think about how much we've done- how incredibly hard Scott has worked, and how little we seem to have to show for it. But we have made progress, and I suppose, since we missed the opportunity to send a Christmas letter this year, I feel compelled to let everyone in on all that has happened.
We are indeed back living in our little tent, with the camper now conveniently parked only steps away. As winter approached, we added walls and insulation to the inside of the tent, along with a wonderful little wood stove that is keeping us toasty....sometimes a little too toasty! The camper provides for our bathroom and kitchen needs, but we spend the majority of our time in the tent; playing Ponies, reading books, and doing the occasional puzzle by candlelight when the power goes out. It is a quiet time of year, with the construction halted due to rain and lack of funds.
But here's a little summary of what has happened:
MAY - Moved back to our land and submitted our building plans to the county....Permits!
JUNE - Clearing. Felling trees, pulling stumps, splitting logs.
JULY - Destruction. Grading, Leveling, Compacting the earth where our tiny little barn will be. We had wonderful help from friends here. Scott's co-worker's swooped in for a whole weekend to help operate the heavy machinery. So much dust and devastation for such an small building- roughly 32' x 28'.
AUGUST - Layout. Now with our perfectly flat building site, Scott began the tedious task of perfectly staking corners and squaring the building. We had a dirty dusty existence this summer... each footstep was like
walking on the moon as we entered August... Remember, it does not rain here from June to September. Not even a drop.
SEPTEMBER - In the trenches. Digging the trenches for water, power, and septic, along with digging the footings for the foundation.
OCTOBER - Forming. Scott built the forms for the foundation, Leveled the rock, and then in an all-out-blitz weekend, his brothers helped complete the under-slab insulation, re-bar, moisture barrier, and hydronic tubing.
NOVEMBER - The Foundation. We were ready for the concrete truck just after the first big rain of the season.
DECEMBER - Holidays and Celebration! We have a foundation!
We have entered the winter months now with a sense that we have completed the first step in building our home, though there were thousands of steps to get us where we are today. We are resting and recuperating now, but there has still been plenty to do around the homestead. Scott has been digging again this month, putting in a perimeter drain around the foundation, and last weekend was consumed by a burn pile. We have had a mountain of roots and stumps front and center in the yard since July when we cleared the building pad. The largest stump was at least 7 feet tall and we were convinced that we would need to rent the excavator again to move it- but together we nudged, twisted, shoved, and then daringly rolled it into the fiery pit. The last coals were still twinkling after four days of burning. As the mountain of branches disappeared into a smoldering mound, we headed to town again- water lines still frozen- to view the Wild and Scenic Film Festival. I'll be honest- this year has been really tough. Some days it doesn't seem worth it, other days it does. But what else would we be doing with our lives, if not living our dreams?
