~ Retired and Starting My Future In The Foothills ~

[gryeyes]

Quote:

Don't be sorry! I listened to Arlo Guthrie's music when it was first broadcast, loved it at that tender age, and also saw the movie IN A THEATRE when it was first shown!

I could SO do that type of presentation, if it weren't so darned important.

 

[redhen]

Linda, if worse comes to worse..

(hopefully NOT!!!

)
Does the relator have ANY responsibility in this mess?? Will she have to pay you or something for the mistake about the zoning?

 

[SkyWarrior]

Good luck!

 

[gryeyes]

Thanks, y'all. You'll just have to come back every couple days and say it again, and again, all the way up to the night before the hearing. Sorry, it's a dirty job, but I'll need you to do it.

My friends are SO cool! Near and far, met and not yet met, here and there.

And today, HHandbasket and Farmer Lew made one of their irregular visits during the day and discovered the automatic pop door had NOT opened and everybody was still in the coop. They were darn near trampled by 24 webbed feet plus another (possible) 140 chicken feet of various sizes when they opened the people door. (Farmer Lew also risked certain death or dismemberment by velociraptor when he put a hand into a nest box occupied by a hen.) Before he left, he disabled the pop door in the open position for me to manually close when I got home from work.

HH said it had been SO eerie to drive up and not see a single chicken ANYWHERE. I'm so glad they made that trip!!

The only thing that makes the "waste of time commuting" better is that it's a gorgeous drive up here, and now folks are starting to put up their Christmas lights. Every night there are more to see.

And another cool thing: when I got out of the car at the top of the driveway, I saw John had started work on the foundation for the new shed!!! Pictures won't be available until the weekend, as I am not home at all during daylight hour on work days. <*grumble*>

Oh, and redhen - this situation is one that would definitely make the real estate company hope like heck its malfeasance insurance is paid up. Ummm, not malfeasance, but .... oh, I forgot the specific word. But it's to make right mistakes which may have been made. If my broker and agent weren't really nice gals already, having invited me into their homes and to exclusive community galas, so I trust they really care about me and my chickens, they would still be doing what they could to make it right without the company losing some bucks.

 

[grammypam]

Good Luck,Linda

 

[redhen]

Lets hope you wont need that malfeasance ins...

 

[Jferlisi]

Quote:
The "complaint before chickens there" issue really is a moot point, and not in my favor, really. The first letter to me pretty much said, "There's been a complaint, if it's true, fix it before Aug 4. There will be a site visit then, and if there are chickens there, you will be cited."

Well, there were chickens there on Aug 4th when the Code Enforcement Officer made his visit. Then the next letter was, "Due to evidence discovered on Aug 4, you have until Sept 14th to cease the illegal activity or you will be cited.". There were still chickens there when he actually returned in Nov, and wrote out the citation.

Yes, interesting about a complaint from neighbors before there were chickens, but the evidence is the flock which is there NOW.

But I plan on repeating the Code Enforcement Officer's own words to him: "Your chickens are really friendly.". Evidence they are people oriented PETS. I might also print photos of all of them, individually, with their names written on each photo.... And some genealogy like, "Samantha, my first GrandChick, daughter of Carl and Rebecca.". "Buffy, hatched Samantha, daughter of Carl and Rebecca.". "Frisckson, son of Frick, nephew to Frack, who drowned in a fish pond." "Alice, sister to Joy, who died brooding on a nest. George, obnoxious brother to Alex and father of many chicks." "Jack, who used to be Janell until he grew a comb and saddle feathers, but he has not yet crowed."

Think that might impress 'em? I mean, not enough to lock me up in a padded room, but to understand these are not just ordinary barnyard chickens, destined for the dinner table.

Hey, i wouldn't say that the few died. I would say "no longer with me". Since someone who doesn't know about chickens might think that a chicken drowning in the fish pond or dying while brooding might be neglect or some wierd thing they will try to say. So ya best of luck in the trail and all i love reading this. Its like my bed time novel.

Just my two cense.

 

[Casey3043]

Stockbrokers, insurance agents and real estate brokers have "errors and omissions" insurance for just such an occurrence. BUT I'm sure it says somewhere in the fine print (but I hope it doesn't) that buyers must check out everything for themselves, as the information given by the broker is "assumed to be accurate, but not guaranteed". If your broker is as nice a person as you have indicated, she is feeling terrible about this. I know I would be. She doubtless will help you all she can.

I wish you success. I don't know why people have to be such busybodies, especially since you HAD NO CHICKENS there when the original report was made. Some people have nothing to do except cause trouble.

 

[gryeyes]

Quote:
That's it! Thank you, Casey! I just couldn't remember the term.

Today, John and I worked on the platform upon which my new shed will be put together (the shed is a kit). He'd already set the posts in concrete earlier in the week and put up the outside boards of the rectangle. (He said the chickens like Stevie Ray Vaughn music, which he played from his van while he worked.)

No music today; he had human company "helping" him - me. I am not sure I really helped all that much, as it was Construction Class either telling or showing me how to do something either for the first time, or a better way than I have used in the past. But I marked off lengths and put in many screws any 8 year old kid could have handled if he was allowed to use power tools.

All of the property on my street slopes. Everything has to be terraced or made flat. The shed location is about 10 feet from the property line and fence belonging to the really nice family who keeps chickens. Theirs are penned, but the fence for the property is that wire stuff with 4 inch square openings. My chickens (and one of their dogs) can pass though the fence fairly easily; they just have to find the right spots. You can see a couple of my girls on their property in the next photograph.

This ain't no "throw it together" project just to have a level base upon which to set a shed. He'd been annoyed with the shed kit instructions because he believes water could get in along the base of the walls and eventually damage the heavy plywood underfloor material. Although the kit has a plastic/rubberized floor, the kit walls snap into the floor panels and don't run "past" the lip of the floor panels. "Water is pernicious," he said. "I thought of this in the shower, how to protect that wood." So he put metal flashing all around the edges of the wooden platform, sealed it with clear silicone, and will be putting down a bead of sealant under the edge of the floor panels when we start again tomorrow with the actual shed building tasks. The platform is so steady that however many elephants could fit into an 8 X 10 space could dance on it. Safely, without it buckling.

Rather than digging into ground to make the whole thing flat and level, he put in pier blocks and upright supports to be raise it above the ground. He's also going to build a suitable ramp so I can "ride that scooter right into the shed."

While we were working, I heard and saw the NICE lady with the parcel "behind" mine, gathering up brush. I said good morning to her, she responded cheerily and came to the fence line. I introduced her to John. There's been a lot of wind and fallen tree/branches damage in this area, but none of us have suffered anything as bad as one of her neighbors. She said the top 15 feet of an old Ponderosa pine came down right into their house. After some more pleasant chatting, she returned to her tasks and we to ours.

John said, "Ask [my real estate broker's first name] if you could get a paper from your neighbor proving lease or rent of half an acre of their property, pay 'em a buck a year, and see if that will fly at your hearing. Nothing says you have to have your chickens on the whole surface of an available acre you own or are renting. You will never use that bit of land, never mess with the fence line, and they aren't out anything at all. No surveying, no property line dispute, they don't lose any of their acreage and you should meet the requirements, don't you think?"

I looked at him. "That's a great idea, think I should pose it to her now?" (Meaning the neighbor, still working within sight of us.)

"No, run it past [broker] first. If she doesn't think it will fly, no need to bother anybody. But if she does, then get that paper signed and ready by Friday."

As I looked at him, speculatively, musing it over, he said, "I thought of that in the shower. Get my best ideas in there."

I don't know why that was so funny, but it was. He smiled and said, "I like you, Linda, you're so easy to entertain." Then he handed me a hammer. "Nail down those ones that didn't sink all the way flat."

He let me - nay, urged me - to try his pneumatic nail gun, later. I now know what that feels like and it does give one a sense of power and accomplishment.

Now, tomorrow, when we start putting up the shed, maybe I can feel less like a dork. I have already put one of these sheds together (at the rental) and I don't think John has EVER built a 'kit' building of any type. I wouldn't be surprised if he could walk onto a lumber yard and pick out all the materials he needed for a room addition without a danged list. I could be wrong, but I know this shed kit is something new for him. ("It even has a window? Clever.")

I am worried because I haven't seen Priscilla at all today. Elvis was out with the Cayugas but she was not. He came over to the "treat area" when I was putting out things and made a few quacking calls, like he was looking for her, so I am really worried. She's old enough to start laying, which is probably not something she'd do this time of year, but I am hoping she's secreted herself somewhere safe and out of sight and I'll find her tomorrow. I hope.

It sucks that so many days can go by without me being able to get a real good look at everybody. Angel is down to four chicks, now. I knew nine were an awful lot for her to protect, so I almost expected some losses. Doesn't make it any less sad.

 

[coloradochick]

Hmmm and the plot thickens

He probably figures if I'm going to date this woman she'd better be handy with a hammer and all

You know I read your posts and am living vicariously through you and your adventure. The single woman in charge of her own destiny with the means to do it right. Pretty exciting Linda keep the pics coming