October 14, 2016

We were able to get out an burn a big pile last Saturday, felling one medium sized fir and burning the branches. Last night we went out to look things over and the burn pile was really quite small.

The storms coming in this weekend will keep us in town, safe and dry.

We are shopping for a park model trailer to renovate and live in while we build the farm house. But things are looking up a little bit.

Oct 6, 2016 Back to work

They have lifted the burn ban. So we are finally going to get back to work clearing the land.

This weekend we will burn what we have and try to drop a tree, maybe two.

Looking forward to making some progress, even a little will be a big deal.\

It has been a long time coming.

Sept. 15, 2016

Another big baby step. We have re-roofed our house and painted one bathroom.

I know it doesn't sound like much when stated simply in one short sentence, but the simple words don't begin to tell the story of the projects. A roof is a big thing for people who don't do roof. Jack and I spent four days nailing down new tiles, Ann spent four days picking up the trash as it hit the ground. Ultimately we go the job done. So now we are one big baby step away from being able to sell the house and move to the farm.

The bathroom isn't so much, just finding the time. Seven more rooms to go.

August 29, 2016 Necessary Update

It seems to me that nothing is happening around the Farm this past few months. We are waiting on money to continue the project and our other business is slow for the time being. But we have been doing some planning as we wait, trying to fill in the details of the very broad stroke plan I put here in the Spring. I won't bore you with the details since, like most of my careful plans, not many of them come to fruition just as I wrote them. It is better that we all wait and see what happens.

The only part of the plan we have going today is the new roof on our home, getting the house ready to sell so that we have the money to build the next. I have been slowly painting the interior of our home and doing little fixes as well. The place ought to be ready to sell in the Spring, but are we ready to move to the next phase in April so that we can be built in June or July?

We have  decided to buy a derelict park model trailer as a project and to put it in our driveway to work on during the coming winter so that we have a place to move in March. We have to move prior to selling so that we have the dogs out of our home and carpets can be replaced. The money for the roof is there, the trailer will come sometime in October. The rest of it is as it comes.

On the Farm we have a burn ban, so we have things to burn which will sit in a pile for a while longer. This ban includes chainsaw stuff so we're not cutting down trees until the fall. To tell the truth, there is a lot more to do than there is money, time, and energy, to get done. Much of this must wait until we are on the property.

We have spent a few Sundays driving around to look at other guest farm and nursery operations. Each has its own merits, most are either too narrowly focused, but occasionally we find someone doing much of what we plan to do. Anyway, we are having fun looking around and getting a feel for the sorts of plants and services we wish to build into the Farm.

To fill time I have been working on two of my books. Both are old ideas for which I got new ideas recently.  There are at least fourteen books in process today sitting on my hard drive. One is a stage play which is to be written from a short story I began in 2008 and which I felt completely unworthy to write until just last week. "Muddy Waters Turned to Wine" is a story of a flooding event in the South. I had always had the story, but couldn't find any means of doing the monologue near the end. Dialogue is tough because you have to see things through the voices of characters. Monologue is tougher because they can get very boring, very quickly. Think of Hamlet and you'll get the idea. Now try to think of another dramatic monologue. You probably can't do it. Today I have the thing pretty well fleshed out and it has a completed outline and about 9000 words written, including four songs for the stage version. Who knows? I might finish it this week and become a famous play write who has all of the money to build his farm. But my process (not really the right word) is to write until I run out of words, then wait until I have more. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for the curtain to go up.

On that note: I came to the realization that I am a dramatist a few weeks ago while painting a bathroom. For a guy who has always written long fiction (30 years now), this was a startling thing to discover about myself. I had never really put anything of a definition on what I was doing. Now I am a dramatist. So this has changed how I approach writing in general and so now I am making good progress and the work seems to have much more power. My philosophy degree has added a great deal to my work, most of it very bad. But the education has also added an ability to see the deeper meanings too. And all of those writing classes have been a big help. Worth the time and money? You betcha.

Truth is that I would rather be building on the Farm.

Carmen and Cinnamon have made complete recoveries following this year's litters. The dogs are very happy. Henri Hudson is feeling his age, as am I, and needs medicated dog treats we make for him, as does Ann for me. Both of us feel much better eating cookies instead of taking pills for our arthritis.
Clark Bar Griswald is a bouncy young boy who keeps his bitches in line. All is well in the dog world.

July 28, 2016 Update

It's been a quiet month for our Creekside Farm Project. A million things to do, no money to do any of them. . .  Same old story. Anyway, the project is still moving forward and we will eventually win the day. Here is what we are working toward:

1. We are in the permit process. What we think is the best way forward is to get our property removed from the 100 years flood plain. 
1. Step one: Get an elevation certificate from a surveyor. 
2. File with FEMA and get a LOMA.
3. File the LOMA with the County and get off the flood map
4. Everything is simple after that.
2.  Alternatively:
1. Stay in the flood plain.
2. Suffer the County's desire to keep everything small and unobtrusive.
3. Pay the extra fees and variance costs.

 We are also working through the trash removal process, this is a big thing and so has taken a bunch of time and money. There is still the problem of thirty yards of trash and a bunch of trees to remove, and also the raking of the property to remove the last bits from the dirt. These few remaining things represent a bunch of cash we would rather spend on the permit process, but one without the other isn't going to work. My thinking is that the trash will probably get done before the flood plain thing, but that the flood plain thing must be done first. But both must be done before building. This sounds absurd, but getting the elevation certificate comes first, then the trash, then the permits. Still, this is all expensive and must happen as the money shows up. We are hoping to get the trash up before October rains, but building won't happen before Christmas this year as I had hoped. Perhaps June of next year.

We are still getting ideas, and many people are helping by supplying us with places to go and people to talk to. This weekend we will go out to Joy Creek Nursery in Scappose. I hear they have a place much the same as the one we are planning. It'll be a good diversion.

Other than these few things, we are on hold for cash. If you find yourself having thirty thousand extra dollars laying around in a drawer and not being used . . .