Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Current progress

1. Snakes!

Friday afternoon, we spent a day at the property working. It was a beautiful day - not too hot - just great for working. Towards the end of the day, we went for a hike "down to the deer stand". It's funny how we just naturally start naming different areas of the property. It had rained quite a bit last week and we have a seasonal stream in a valley with a waterfall and we went to check it out. The dogs went with us and at one point, I caught Mercy chewing on a snake skeleton - yikes! We deicded to not hike into the waterfall after all - we decided to wait until the fall when the underbrush isn't so thick and the snakes are in hibernation :)

Saturday, we found this (it was already dead - whew!). John said "yesterday ... snake skeleton. Today ... dead snake. Tomorrow ... "






2. Baseball:


Aaah - no playing baseball in the house! Oh - that's ok, the house isn't there yet ...






Hadden and Savannah are both enjoying playing baseball. Hadden has always loved it, but we have just begun playing with a hard ball. We were with our home group at the park on Sunday afternoon and he "caught" some with his lip and his nose. Ouch! He kept at it and is now doing a lot better and gaining more confidence.

3. Sunsets:

I have always loved sunsets and so I am thoroughly enjoying them at the property - I hope I never tire of them. Hee - also, I hope you don't tire of seeing pictures of them :) A truly breathtaking reward at the end of a hard day working.


4. Cactus:

The cactus is blooming! I am looking forward to going again next week, because there are a lot of blooms close to opening.




Not sure what kind this is, or what it is going to look like, but it is close to doing something, too.



4. Discoveries:


We have muscadine grapes (they are new to me) on our property. Anybody ever tasted them before? I read online that they have a pretty thick skin, but can be used for jelly and jam. I would like to try to make some jelly and maybe even grape juice - we'll see! The plants are currently in danger - they are not exactly planted in the best spot, so John keeps threatening to "move" them.

We also have either blackberries or raspberries, I think. I am a little disappointed at myself because I used the weed wacker and took out a lot of the bushes because of the thorns. We were here too late in the fall to know that they had berries on them and the thorns are just nasty so I was glad to get rid of them earllier this spring. Now that I see the berries, I am not so glad. Lesson learned.

5. Current schedule

We have ordered a pump for the well and it should be here tomorrow. We have an electrician coming to hook it up for us and then we will hopefully have all of the necessary pieces to move the camper up to the property. Our goal is to move it up this weekend since John has a 3-day weekend. We are a little bit concerned about the actual move, as our driveway is still pretty rough, so we are praying that everything goes smoothly. If we damage the camper on the move, we will be homeless!

4 comments:

  1. Hi Shirley,
    Ok I have to ask are the snakes in Alabama poisiness? I just have to ask. That green snake is so long and skinny. I have not seen one like it before. wow you are in a new world with new critters to get used to. How is it going getting used to them all?

    I will be praying for that camper move. No time to be homeless! You got a house to build. I love the baseball in the new house foundation hole. Have fun kids this is your moment!

    Do you notice how much of this building is just and adventure for the kids as long as you and dad stay happy. I do know though that on tired days it is hard to stay in adventure mode for us parents.

    If you do make jelly out of those plants..I can't remember what kind you said they were at this moment...let me know how it goes. I love experimenting making new jellies and jams.

    Stay safe from the snakes!
    bye...Kim

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  2. Hi there, Shirley!
    Yes, it IS a good thing Paul didn't say I looked like Maxine...just the picture...hahaha!

    It is so exciting to see all you are accomplishing and all the new sights and such at your property. Baseball is a favorite here, too. I always played on a local girls softball league growing up and so did my brother and my brother once got a line drive (he was pitching on a hard ball little league team) right square in the nose...it broke...but it also healed up.

    I am not much for snakes, but I am much more frightened of spiders. My brother and I used to capture little harmless green grass snakes growing up. My only concern in Alabama would be if they are poisonus. Sawyer and I read a lot about different types of snakes and there are quite a few around.

    I hope you have a great day. I hope everything goes well!!

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  3. I think I remember Morning Song talking about muscadine grapes - or maybe it was someone else from the south - I do remember them saying that they were delicious...although I could be totally thinking of something else...ha!

    Ok, where was this email going? heehee

    Great pictures! T has enjoyed getting caught up on your blog - and Quintin was thrilled with the snake picture! "I hate snakes, Chuck! I hate 'em!" - Can you guess which movie that is from?

    When you get a chance, would you mind emailing me with some things I might need to know to do the church website...guess who asked me? LOL!! It is something I've always wanted to do - maybe John could give me an overview the next time he's home - there'd be a meal in it for you!! ;-)

    Seriously, if you think it would be too much for me, tell me!!! I'd like to give it a shot, but I konw there is a lot to learn...

    Have fun Kamping!! You Krazy Kurtz's!

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  4. I love reading about your adventures. My, how much you are teaching your children. The best education in the world. I'll bet you'll be learning to make a lot of things!!1 I did not know they had cactus in Alabama. I loved it when we were in Arizona one winter and saw the desert ablaze with the blooming cactus.
    Susan

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