LIFE AT "09" (Mark)

"09" is how we refer to our pending house, as opposed to "40," where we are living now, since the houses are a quarter-mile apart, and have same two beginning address numbers.

We have just given our design input to an architectural designer for our new house and look forward to that process.  In the meantime, this simple-looking enclosure may not actually look like much, but it has taken a lot of sweat and toil to get to this point.

The fence is protecting our little garden:  tomatoes, peppers, squash, eggplant, okra, cucumbers, watermelon, herbs, and a few other things.

The wire, fence posts, and funny looking gate, an old tractor implement, have all been recovered from the jungle surrounding our house.  I have been continuing to work on clearing the 7 acres. I think I am slowly gaining on it, maybe!

As I was clearing brush I found this tractor furrow leaning against the tree, completely covered in ivy.  This picture was taken after much clearing and cutting of brush.

The weather has been cooperating very nicely:  warm breezy days, not hot yet, but I know it is coming.  From where I am standing taking this picture, you could not see the house before clearing the underbrush.

I had been talking with Cheri about needing a little cart to drag behind the lawnmower, but I did not like how much they cost.  Two days later I found this in the ivy.  I will replace the wheel bearing and tires, sand and paint it, then build a simple bed when we return from our current trip.  I am very happy to save the money and not have to buy one.

I wonder what the story behind this car is.  I am just getting cleared up to it; one of the reasons I need a little cart is for hauling stuff like this around.

I am also uncovering many bird houses.  This one is a double-decker:

I am hoping as I get some of these uncovered the birds will be able to use them again.

It takes a lot of mowing to keep the grass in check.  This is significantly less than half of the driveway and lawn area to mow.

Luckily I have this to use:

I was driving this from "09" to "40" the other day to mow the lawn and get lunch before heading back.  My next-door neighbor texted me about how he liked both of our orange sport cars.  I think Cheri’s Mini Cooper is a lot faster, but the wind blows through my hair better on this one!