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Sunday, May 25, 2014

Turn Here Rose

I spent some time clearing bricks from the footer foundation of the burned out house this week.
All the bricks in this view had to be cleared out. Thankfully they crumble at the slightest touch, so I can load a small bucket and dump it without having to carry too much weight. Takes awhile, but I got time.
I have a pile of broken, crumbling brick and twisted rusted pieces of mostly unidentifiable bits of metal in a couple of places around the area. And someone from some other burned out houses after the fire two years ago dumped at least a ton of cinderblock and debris in the shallow of the pool. (The original house on this property was wood.)
My eventual plan is to take some of this crumbly brick and throw it in a cement mixer with some (probably bright green) paint, let it tumble and paint itself as it crumbles even more, until it dries, and then spread it as walkways around the property. Will this work? I have no idea, and am open to suggestions, but its my best idea to date.
The pile of twisted metal I plan to go through and any forgeable pieces separate, and the crumbly rusted bits I'll bury to rust away in peace. (Pieces?)
Once I get my house livable, (I have yet to find something to put on the foundation) and actually start living out there, things will go a little faster, but I'm still guessing at least three years before I get the place 'pretty' while trying to raise crops and critters.
I'm okay with this. I have time, and have to work slowly and find ways to do things with only one shoulder. Frequent rests to let the pain subside makes things take longer, but again, I have the time. My main goal right now is to get the electric run out there, cut off the rusted top of one of the wells and get that operational, get a building and make it livable, in that order. I don't have time to worry about big piles of rubble right now.
But I have the ability to leave them alone for now, as its out in the country on unincorporated land, and I have good neighbors who mind their own business and don't worry too much about what I do there.
Last year, here in town, I was cited for standing water in a barrel that I used for garden water, even though it was screened to deter mosquitos from breeding, cited for not mowing my grass, even though I was still recovering from my gunshot wound, and told it was also my responsibility to clear and mow the alleyway between my house and my neighbor's behind me, even though it is in all reality city property. Two years ago I was told chickens were allowed in the city limits after calling to city hall prior to purchasing any, and after doing so, bought a half dozen chicks, and built a coop in the backyard for when they were old enough. When my rooster got old enough to crow, I was told that roosters weren't allowed due to sound ordinances....
Then, when the city 'zoning police' walked the neighborhood, I was told I had to get rid of the chickens, because any coop had to be up to 'code', and no closer than 100 feet from any standing buildings on a neighbor's property! This is a good sized city I live in (for NOW!) and I doubt there is 100 feet of land located anywhere that is completely open between buildings. And this 'law' would require 100' in all directions! I did manage to find a corner that comes about 80' away from my side neighbor, and 60' from my back neighbor's yard shed, but its only 30 feet from the railroad that cuts through town, and I put my too-small coop there this year in anticipation of moving out to the country with some mature animals. So far, so good, and if I have to, I'll move them out to the land and set up a feed and water system that will take care of them over my absences. Not an ideal solution, as I still have little faith in people, even though I so far like my neighbors, and coyotes, raccoons, and farm dogs run pretty rampant out there.
Its all a work in progress, and probably always will be, but I got a nice farmer's tan going, have spent a couple nights listening to coyotes howl, and look forward to moving out there permanently. Hell, I'd move out there now if I thought Rose could handle camp life and working full time too. But I guarantee THAT ain't gonna happen!

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