OK Randy, This One's For You!

OK, so recently a few people have pointed out that I've been slacking in updating the blog.  Most notably, my uncle Randy.  I guess I just figured that Chris and I were the only two people who actually looked at this blog!  I guess I was wrong, it turns out at least 4 people are looking!!  Woohoo!

Anyways, since the last post, lots has happened, both at the land and behind the scenes as well. Here's a quick rundown of what has been going on:
• We went up for my Dad's birthday and took he and my Stepmom out on the reservoir at the peak of the fall foliage.  It was gorgeous, and Chris's new boat was amazing! The beers tasted good that day, that's for sure!
• We bought another snowmobile.  This one's a lot nicer than our first and it's for two people too, which is nice.  Can't wait to take that baby out!
• We have just received our septic design  for the future cabin and are awaiting final approval from the state.
• We decided to clear even more land for the future cabin (2015 build is looking more and more probable).  We now have a massive opening, which is amazing.  And, we were able to make $800 off the timber.
• We realized we would need some winter coverage for our "toys", so we were able to put up a portable garage (literally one day before snow flew).
•  We extended the driveway beyond the cabin, about 100 feet further up the hill, and cleared a little space for the portable garage.  It took many many loads of dirt.
• We've continued to update the cabin inside, adding dimmer switches to the lights, an outside light, and making plans for flood lights off the back.  We also installed two pot lights under the loft. The drywall is at a standstill for now as we need to put on a second coat of mud and sand and in order to do that we need to take all of the furniture out.  With snow on the ground, that project will have to wait (probably close to 5-6 months).
• We saw fresh moose tracks in the clearing but have still yet to see anything (in person or on the trail cam).  One of these days...
•  We extended the driveway culvert another 14 feet.  Now, large trucks can easily get in/ out.  We'll be glad we did this when we go to pour the cabin foundation and we need to get concrete trucks in/ out.

Upcoming things:
• More lighting in the cabin (track lighting at the ceiling).
• Trail maintenance (widening trails)
• Snowmobiling :)
• Winter upkeep.

I'll be better with the updates too.  It's also nice for us to have this permanent dialogue of our progress. 

Let There Be Light!!!

This weekend was a monumental weekend.  A game changer. We now have electricity.

It took us a while to figure out how (and where) to turn it on, but it most certainly is on.  And it is sweet.  So different laying in bed and then turning off the light with a switch.  It's great now and it's summer but when it's winter and getting dark early, it will be even better.

Not only did we arrive to electricity at the cabin, I think we've started the final push to the finish line there as well.  We put up drywall and were able to mud it as well.  The bottom half of the walls will be 1x8 boards with a chair rail between the boards and the drywall.  Should be sweet. We also did a little extra work furthering the driveway even further up the hill toward the future garage and also were able to plant two Blue Spruce along the property line to help give us more coverage from the snowmobile trail.  We also spoke with the neighbor about adding a few more culverts to our driveway to make turning out easier for big trucks.  One of the culverts spills over to the neighbor's property so we spoke with him about the job.  He's all for it!

The road ahead is exciting.  The upcoming jobs include:  finish mudding and sanding the walls, instal a floor and also put up the bottom half boards, add the track lighting at the ceiling and the can lights under the loft.  We also have to add an exterior light--it will be amazing to come home to a lit cabin when it's dark.

I'm continuously amazed at our progress, vision and results.  Nothing has ever been so gratifying.  The future is bright--literally!!

Oh and the wild blackberries were out, and they were amazing!

And....We're Back!

Things are coming along up north.  Things are happening, progress is being made and the future is quickly becoming the present.

Chris and I made a trip up in April to put in some plants and a few other things but progress had been slow over the last few months.  We just got back from a pretty great weekend at the land.  A lot of discussion about the "real" cabin, water, electric, septic....the next steps.

It was hot this weekend, but we had a great time.  The big project was getting the backhoe up to the land from Chris's backyard.  It took us an hour or two, and wasn't easy, but we were able to load it onto the rented U-Haul and head out by about 9:30 Saturday morning.  This was a major success for us and once at the land, we unloaded it and then attached it to our tractor (not without some trouble removing bolts though and spending way too much time on our backs under the tractor).

I practiced using the tractor a little and moved a few buckets full of mulch to behind the cabin.  Chris worked on digging out the trench behind the cabin while I re-mulched the lookout spot and then spread the mulch behind the cabin.  I then did my best cutting up downed trees in an effort to make a bridge for the ATV across the bigger trench.  I got pretty close to finishing it too, just forgot to take a picture.

We met with Todd (our tree guy) and a local electrician in preparation for our last (and biggest) clearing to date and also putting in electric.  We're clearing out a ton of trees and the space that will be left for the future cabin will be huge when it's all cleared!  It's exciting!  The clearing and electric could be done as early as mid-August.  From there, progress can really be made as we're talking about putting in the well and even getting septic designs, etc.  Chris has spoken to a local timber framer about the future cabin and they have exchanged pictures, ideas and even some preliminary money figures.  It's exciting that we're moving closer to what we've been building toward for so long.

We finished early Saturday night and drove to NH for some fireworks (buy one, get two free) and then visited an old favorite for dinner, The New England House. It was incredibly foggy Saturday night as the view from Hogback Mountain wasn't more than 50 feet.  We both slept well that night, that's for sure.

On Sunday we went to the flea market in hopes of finding an old school push lawnmower but were unsuccessful (except for the awesome chili plant we took home).  We also paid a visit to Lisa, who informed us she may have a buyer for her coffeehouse that she has been trying to sell.  It's sad that she's selling but also happy that she's moving on.


Last winter, Chris bought a snowmobile and trailer from a local guy in town.  It's been 8 months and we still never took the trailer, so we tried loading the snowmobile trailer into the rented U-Haul trailer but completely failed.  The trailer will have to wait a few more months I guess.  We did get a good picture of a local barn next door though that sort of has the look of the future cabin we are planning to build.

Chris and I spent the last few hours Sunday tag teaming the tractor, him on the bucket and me on the actual tractor.  We were able to make progress on the trench but met our match when we came across some pretty large boulders.  We pushed the backhoe to its limit, that's for sure!

Hopefully another trip up is in the cards for us this summer.  There's always work to be done and the list is always growing but it remains exciting, interesting and fun.

Electricity.  It's so close now.

Run Forest, Run

One step closer to electric. Wouldn't that be sweet!

We got most of the cabin wired for electric this weekend.  The biggest job remaining is to bring the power from the street to the cabin, a mere 350 feet.  Oh, and it has to be underground too, so no easy feat.  Maybe that tractor we've been talking about buying will be come more of a priority now. :)

Yesterday was very cold, but that didn't stop us from taking a 30 minute ride on the snowmobile trails.  It was my first time really getting out there and man, there's some beautiful land around us.  It was hard not to enjoy the views.  That snowmobile is fun!  We need another.

We worked until dark getting the electric prepped and moving furniture so both us and the furniture would fit.  The we drove to Dover for some awesome food at the tavern in town.  The bartender remembered us and even remembered that we are brothers.  We had to wait for a while, but finally got two seats at the bar and enjoyed some ridiculously tasty food! Ver-mont!

This morning we visited Lisa for our coffee, picked up some supplies and returned home.  On the way, Chris filled up his water bottle at the "mountain spring" down the road from us.  That's where the post's title (and picture of Chris mid-run up the hill) comes from. We were able to almost finish the electric prep work.  I was able to wood fill some holes/ cracks on the last unpainted exterior wood.  It was so cold though, we were unable to paint and barely able to get the wood filling completed. It was freezing too quickly. 

Another weekend in the books and we're looking ahead.  Warmer weather should bring some big picture thinking: tree work, electric, water, garage, etc.  The possibilities are endless.  Back in a few more weeks for the local Maple Sugar Festival and another trip up with Chris.

The future is bright.  Just check out that sunset. 
Not too shabby.

Shingles-Check

Finally, after what seems like months, the shingles are done.  And stained too. Just a little more work on the outside and we're pretty much done!  It will be so satisfying. 

Chris and I got into a few of our patented working grooves this weekend.  Chris on the ladder, me on the saw and the cuts.  He calls out the cuts, I make them and hand them back up to him, he nails them up.  You wouldn't think it would be that time consuming but almost every shingle needed to be cut...and cut precisely too. 

There's still some snow in VT so I got to take out the snowmobile for the first time which was pretty sweet.  We also bumped into a real estate agent checking out the property across the street.  Chris and I have sort of been eying it for a while.  It has a huge house that's about 75% done, but totally abandoned and rotted.  What we like is the land though (complete with brook frontage), not the house. We put a bug in the agents ear, so who knows, maybe we'll hear from him some day with a deal we can't refuse.

Another highlight of the weekend was our dinner Saturday night-wow!  We went to a place we've been to before, just a little tavern, but the food there is insane!  And the owner even remembered us--Vermont!  Duck "fingers", mac n' cheese, gnocchi with short rib?  Yes, please.  Oh, and the obligatory few Switchback's.  And also the best NFL game of the season ending in the outcome we wanted.  All in all, just about a perfect night.

We talked a long time about goals for this summer and even longer beyond.  Our aspirations are high, and it's very exciting.  Just a little teaser of the future---more clearing, electricity, more culverts, more material, a longer driveway (+ a wraparound??), timber framing???, a garage, a truck and plow, and the real deal cabin.  Maybe summer 2014???  Maybe, just maybe. 

Have I Got a Story for You...

Have I got a story for you...

I had been waiting all week to get to the cabin for a night with my wife, 3 year old daughter and 5 month old daughter. I LOVE going up with my family because I usually only get to go up with my brother so I look forward to these trips.

So, about half way up (about 125 miles total trip), I start thinking to myself, "Wow, traffic is thick today. Pay attention". Twenty minutes later, I get locked in a lane behind an Ohio license plated car with about a foot of snow the roof. Every few seconds huge chunks of snow come flying on the roof and narrowly missing my car. Before I know it, a chunk about half the size of the roof comes hurtling toward my car and lands directly on the windshield, right in front of my face. Instant shatter.

Luckily, I kept my poise and kept driving, even though millions of tiny little shards of glass were all over me, my car, and more importantly, my 2/3rds full coffee. Worst of all this Ohio lady won't pull over after it all...so I chase her down for about a mile, honking and pointing to the side of the road.

She finally pulls over and we talk, I call the police and eventually things get squared away. We wait for about an hour for a tow truck and a transport for me and the kids. At this point, I'm pissed about the windshield and totally crushed that our VT trip that probably isn't going to happen at this point.

We get to the Auto glass place after a 30 minute ride and by now it's about 12:00. The glass won't even get to the shop until 1:00, then it's about an hour job to clean the car and get the glass on and then an additional hour of waiting while the glue sets. A 3:00 PM departure under perfect circumstances.

Things went just about perfect and we were on the road around 3:00, with a fresh cup of coffee (damn you, Ohio lady). We had waffled over whether or not to go up or go home. It would be 4:45 by the time we got to the land, dark, and I would still have to snowshoe 125+ yards uphill carrying all our junk through 2+ feet of fresh powdery snow. Finally, we decided to give it a go...and I'm glad we did.

We got to the land, I showshoed up (it was beautiful, but tiring), got a fire ready in the stove, headed back down to the fam, got in the car and we drove to town for dinner. Dinner was amazing, that's all that needs to be said there. Incredible eating after a horrible day.  Things were looking up!

We got back to the land, strapped on our snowshoes and headlamps and each carried a kid up to the cabin. Within minutes the fire was roaring, the kids we going to sleep and things were looking better by the second. What a day. The moon was so full and bright last night we kept walking outside in awe as it was so bright out we could see our shadows against the snow at 10:00 PM. Awesome!  I lay in the loft for about 10 minutes, just looking out the window at the beauty of nature under a bright-ass moon! :)

Today we drove some beautiful roads and saw some beautiful mountains covered in snow. We made some visits to some local friends, did a few errands, putzed around the land for a while before returning home, just before the snow really hit.  Oh, and we bought some new VT maple syrup from our favorite sugar shack (sadly, no "sugar on snow" today)

A crazy, but awesome (in the end) few days. A cold beer definitely tastes better at the end of a trying day.

...oh, and we bought a snowmobile last week that I saw for the first time today. I didn't have time to take it out for a cruise, but I must say I'm pretty pumped about it.

Happy New Year