~ Retired and Starting My Future In The Foothills ~

[gryeyes]

Quote:
Uhhh, errr, uhhh.. welllll... make that weeks. I am gonna move EVERYTHING in over a period of three months, but I suspect I will be sleeping there within a couple of weeks of escrow closing. As soon as I can get a fence up and the garage enclosed as the coop, and the chickens are relocated. I have an AeroBed on which to sleep; that can be tossed in the car and brought up with linens and a GOOD ALARM CLOCK without any difficulty at all. Other furniture will follow later....

 

[annie3001]

great house! congrats!

 

[farmer_lew]

Quote:
Me, too!

Uh, that's for ME to move in, not you. Sowwy.

I am so antsy about this I drove up to the foothills today JUST to look at the house and property again. My favorite feed store is on the way, and when I left and Bradshaw hit Highway 16, I just turned right instead of left. ~<*whistling merrily*>~

Found the next door neighbors outside working on their chicken pen. No coop, just a covered run. Six chicks and a duckling were inside it. The lady of the house asked if escrow had closed; I said, "No, on the 24th, but I just had to come up and look around some more." We talked about a few things, including ducks, since I told her I also had ducks, not just chickens. No, her duckling is too young to tell the gender, but I told her about the "girls quack, boys don't" bit and explained what I meant. That happens before the ducklings get their full feathers and long before a drake will grow his "drake feather."

Then I brought up a topic and question posed by the well pump company: "Is there a chance, if I decided to have the well dug deeper, that the drilling equipment can use your driveway for access to the current well, and we'd replace the fence section we need to remove to do so?"

She said she could see NO reason why that wouldn't be perfectly fine.

I admired her dogs and the chicks and duckling. (Just love animals - can't help it.) Her teenaged and pre-teen sons were much more conversational this time.

In wandering around, I found out where the septic tank is buried, because part of the inspection process involved digging up the ground on top of it. Wow, right there, huh? Okay.

I scoped out where I want to put the 300 gallon stock tank for the duck pool. It will fit PERFECTLY against the wall of one of the terraces, and I will surround the rest of it with those retaining wall concrete stacking blocks. The ducks will be able to get into it from one terrace level above it without needing a ramp. I have a Wildlife Rescue Ramp INSIDE the tank, too, so they can get out okay but they should be able to hoist themselves right up onto that higher terrace level.

Yup, the wooden bench will go THERE on the veranda just fine. I might even be able to screen that veranda without too much trouble, but I wonder if that would obscure the lovely view of my yard? Hmmmm. (It would keep chickens off the veranda...)

Picnic table will fit perfectly on the patio on one side of the house. Next to that patio, there are some GORGEOUS purple iris coming into bloom.

On my way out, I did a little side road wandering just to see "the neighborhood" and simply had to take a picture of this sign:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/41679_suicidal_deer.jpg

We, too, cracked up when we saw that sign! Pretty darned funny

 

[HHandbasket]

We laughed our FANNIES off the first time we saw the "suicidal deer" sign over on Perry Creek Road. I would not be surprised if a few of the side roads around here have some of those signs!

We finally got an SUV today. Never really had much use for one before, but now that we live up here in mountainous terrain, it's kinda a necessity.

I'm all for a BYCer potluck/get-together at Linda's new place! I'll bring a sandwich platter. I make some grubbin' sandwich platters!

 

[Kansaseq]

Quote:
Uhhh, errr, uhhh.. welllll... make that weeks. I am gonna move EVERYTHING in over a period of three months, but I suspect I will be sleeping there within a couple of weeks of escrow closing. As soon as I can get a fence up and the garage enclosed as the coop, and the chickens are relocated. I have an AeroBed on which to sleep; that can be tossed in the car and brought up with linens and a GOOD ALARM CLOCK without any difficulty at all. Other furniture will follow later....

Yea, when I first read that you wouldn't move for a couple years, I was skeptical. I wouldn't be able to wait, either; that place is fabulous!!

 

[gryeyes]

Today I had an appointment with a co-worker and his FIL for them to come pick up some chicken poop. They drove up in a pick-up, towing a small trailer with a wheelbarrow, a rake and shovels in it. The last coop I needed to clean out is one I built, 4x8, currently ALSO housing a broody hen on eggs, in a large Kitty Litter box. I picked up the kitty litter box and moved it outside temporarily; Shirley Welsummer took that opportunity to take her daily break. These two guys shoveled out my coop, swept it, and put down fresh bales o' shavings for me. THEN they asked how much I wanted for the poop.

Uhhh.. after you clean my coop??? It's free - go forth and spread the poo! (I also gave them some eggs, gratis, and in return, was given four jars of fresh, home made salsa. Deal!! )

The FIL works for the state transportation department. He and my co-worker got into quite a lengthy discussion of exactly how to cut my newly constructed, not quite completed, 8x8 chicken coop off its posts, get it on a flatbed carrier, and move it to my new property. "Heck, Linda, that's way too nice a coop to leave behind!!! You can cut it off the posts, and then put it up on pier-blocks!" Apparently, because I am not sure about such things, they're going to spend the next few weeks noodling over ideas and "resources" to borrow which might make the project successful.

I still don't know if I can manage it. I DO want to hire someone to move the other coops which are not so solidly attached to this back yard.

Then I headed up the hill to visit HHandbasket and Farmer Lew. I brought them one of the jars of salsa as a Mother's Day gift. Hey - re-gifting can be honorable! I told 'em how I happened to such a precious gift!

I had wanted to visit my "almost house" again to put one of my more discrete yard art items somewhere in the yard where it might not be noticed by anyone, just to claim it for myself... but I forgot the yard art. (Two metal and glass cat-tail stalks, which I figured would be cool to have on either side of the abandoned, neglected Koi pond. Next trip.)

But the things that made me smile as I made this trip:

3 little quail (with the bobbily head goodies) trying to make decisions about WHICH way to go on the roadway. (Partridge are the ones without those doolie-bobs, right?)
A jack-rabbit pacing me for about 50 feet.
SERIOUSLY large hawks flying over expanses of open field. (Gorgeous, but I hope they aren't as prevalent in my much more wooded lot.)
The bantams at Bantam Cellars walking around in the closed parking lot.
The regal German Shepherd sitting in the private roadway, facing traffic, checking out the visitors. Right next to the "Drive Slowly, Children In Area!" sign. You betcha, Hugo! (I don't know if that's the dog's name.)

The small, scattered masses of jonquils still blooming in sunny curves, and the glorious, tall iris in the shaded areas.

We spent a lot of time enjoying Chicken TV with HH and FL's flock. Yes, darn it, the silkies in her flock are.... adorable. <*sigh*>

Farmer Lew tossed a ball for their dog, Ginger, across the yard and it landed near some of the chickens. Minor bokking about it. Ginger dashed up the incline, weaving around two tween-aged chicks and nearly plowing through 3 older hens. They scattered just in time, and with just enough lateral movement to get out of Ginger's way. Rico Suave, their dominant roo, watched carefully, but did not take action. Although he did move a little closer to those 3 hens.

There's just something hilarious about chicks when they get the zoomies. And one will trigger another.

I just love to listen to happy chickens.

I want mine to be able to range freely on my property, with the greater shade coverage provided by the Ponderosa Pines and cedars, the apple tree, the flowering bushes, instead of the near barren, open pasture they currently share with my land-lady's 3 Barbados sheep. I, too, would like to spend my summer in the foothills where I might actually be able to come outside on the hot days.

 

[HHandbasket]

You're gonna need a bigger dog than Dooley. He will be hugely ineffective in chasing off predators that come down from the hill behind your place.

You didn't mention how hilarious it is to watch my poor dog (who is getting healthier the longer we live here) try to "dash" her poor fat li'l self up that hill after that ball! You didn't mention that said dog only weighs about 50 pounds less than I do, and it ain't because she's a large breed, lemme tell ya! She's working on her weight problem, though. Living out here is REALLY good for all my animals, including the happy chooks.

And I knew you'd learn to lurve the silkies, especially when the whole lot of 'em gets the zoomies & they zip across the yard in their little 'fuzzy pants'!

 

[Kansaseq]

I've got a serious case of foothill-envy

 

[sheaviance1]

When we moved my chicken coop (bought used) into place, they unloaded it onto steel pipe and rolled it into position. The pipe we used was about 2-1/2 dia. I would recommend larger if you have it. It worked pretty good. If you have something to tie it off to, I would also suggest a come-along or a winch instead of lady thigh muscle power. It's amazing what thunder thighs can accomplish, I must say

 

[gryeyes]

Today's progress: Received, read, printed, and initialed the heck out of the Whole House Inspection Report. Scanned the heavily-initialed copy and had it e-mailed back to my real estate agent. She forwarded it on to the Escrow company.

I asked her, "What's next?" She said I needed to get Hazard Insurance, and recommended a local insurance agent, which I promptly contacted. He provided what I thought was a pretty darned good quote. (I'd already gotten 3 quotes for Homeowner Insurance from a service provided by my bank, and I liked this quote better.) Told the insurance agent, yup, I'm good to go with this. He thanked me for my business and told me to just tell Leedy (the real estate broker) he was all set up when she was ready to close.

I relayed that information to her. She said the last thing we are waiting upon is the preliminary Title search from the Escrow office. Once she gets that, she puts the whole package together and we go over the costs, I get a check from the bank, and we can close escrow. She "suspects" we will close before the 24th.

At that point, I'll get the keys and can start gathering recommended names and numbers of home repair, fencing, electrical, well pump and other professionals.


Is there a smiley for someone with an extremely wide grin AND top of the head exploding???