A Walk in the Country

I was talking to my dad on the phone the other day and he asked me what everything looked like right now.  The trees, flowers, river, etc.  You see, he is up in the freezing cold north and there is hardly any hint of Spring yet.  So, I've decided to put this post together for him so he can see how much everything has changed since he was here last.

Everyday Kevan and I try to take a walk to the bridge down the road (not to be confused with the bridge on our property).  We have not yet measured how far it is to get to the river from here, but I'm guessing it is a 1/2 mile or so.  We start out from our driveway and this is what we see.



As we walk down the road we always run into this doggie.  He does not like us passing his house.  He is so funny because he will not bark until we have reached his "parents" yard.  Then, he will bark until we pass.  EVERY time.  We have tried making friends, but he won't have it.  Also, there is no fence so he could approach us, but he doesn't.



While we walk down our road we see many trees and flowers.  I am not an expert on plants (as my mother-in-law knows well) so I cannot tell you the names.  But, I love to look at them! Here are a few pretty yellow flowers...



Purple flowers...



Flowering tree..



White flowering bush...



Tulips...



We have to walk up this hill on the way to the bridge.



As we get closer to the bridge we pass this beautiful old farmhouse.  We met the woman that lives here the other day.  She was a schoolteacher her whole life and the original farmhouse is from the late 1800's.  They have added on to it several times.  The main house (in the picture) is over 100 years old.  I love passing this house on the way to the bridge. 



This little guinea lives there too.  Isn't she cute?



Now, we've rounded the corner and are finally at the bridge.  Only one car can go over the bridge at a time.



When standing on the bridge here is a view to the left.



Here is the view to the right. You can see the neighbor's cows in the background.



I took a picture of some moss growing on the bridge. I thought this was a pretty cute picture.



As we walk every once in a while we will see a corn cob on the ground. This is from the farmer that lives down the road. Hopefully, one day during harvest time I will get a few pictures of him carrying his corn away. The little hopper trailers look like mining trailers. It is cute.



Lastly, just so you don't think everything is beautiful and romantic in the country. Here is a picture of something that we saw on our walk tonight. Something, I don't care to see again.  WORMS....lots of WORMS!  They may be caterpillars...but they sure look like worms to me!



If anyone knows the names of any of the flowers, trees or bushes I pictured above let me know.

Love you dad.  I can't wait to see you here again soon!

Hungry Hungry Cows!

Kevan and I drove over to his dad's farm tonight to check on the cows.  When we first drove up I noticed this big lump of black up on a hill near a cow.  I figured it must be a new calf.

While Kevan was putting air in the gator's tires I went through the gate and walked up to the hill to see if it was a new baby calf.  I was scared that it was dead.  It wasn't moving at all.  The mother was getting upset with me and I was a little scared of her so I decided to walk back and get into the gator to drive up there.  They recognize the gator since Kevan's dad drives it around the farm.

As we got closer I was convinced it was dead.  It still wasn't moving at all. 

Then, I noticed it blink. I was so happy.  The mama cow was not happy with us.  You can see here that she is screaming at us.

The mom started to nudge the baby and it finally stood up and walked away with her.

Then, it was time to feed the cows.  Kevan got on the tractor and drove over to the row of hay. 

He stuck the hay spike into one of the rolls of hay.  (That is a neighbor in the picture.  He came over to help us.)

Then, Kevan picked it up and drove it out into the pasture.

Then left it in the pasture for them.  They acted like they had never eaten.  They were HUNGRY!

There was little dog following us around the whole time.  I've never met this dog before so I'm guessing it was a neighbor's dog.  By the time we finished another neighbor's dog also came to say hello.  That is what happens when you are in the country.

Before we left we drove around the whole farm to check the fences.  We had really bad storms last night and wanted to check to make sure nothing fell onto the fence.  Here is a picture of the view from one of the hills we drove over.  That is the barn on the other side of the farm, where we fed the cows. The place where we took the picture is where we hope our next house is built someday.  So, that will be our view every morning.

The only bad part of this whole thing was the amount of manure that was splattered onto me from the wheels of the gator.  Oh, farm life!  Time to wash my clothes....

I'll leave you with the new baby picture...her eyelashes are so pretty.

Our Bridge on Mountain Creek

One of the things Kevan and I love to do is walk (or take the 4-wheeler) down to our bridge.  Yup, our property in Tennessee has a bridge.  A big cement bridge.  It seems that there used to be a road (many many years ago) that went through our current property.  Our neighbors have heard that the reason it stopped being used was because our pond developed over the road and was no longer accessible and the road was moved.  So, I guess I'm thankful for our pond too.  Otherwise there would be a big road going through our property. 

We have seen turtles, fish, frogs, otters and we've even seen evidence of beavers down at the creek.  Below is a picture of the bridge.  The neigbors own the property on the other side of the bridge and as you can see they have allowed everything to grow up to the bridge.  Our neighbor said that the bridge hasn't been used by traffic in over 60 years.

Here is a picture of Mountain Creek from August of last year.

Sunday we drove down to the creek to just sit, relax and listen.  We were told there are pretty big trout and bass in the creek, but we have only seen a few little fish here and there.

Anyway, each time we visit, the amount of debris that is up against the bridge becomes larger and larger.  Each time it rains garbage, trees, pvc pipes, etc is pushed down the creek and it becomes stuck at our bridge.  It is really sad.  Here is a picture from August of the debris.

Here is a picture from December, right after a heavy rain.

Lastly, here is a picture from this past weekend.  As you can see, it is getting worse and worse.  At some point we would like to start cleaning up some of the debris, but it is going to be a HUGE job and a dangerous job. 

Another view...

The clog is starting to cause erosion around the bridge.  So, if the debris isn't cleared out we may not have a way to the bridge soon.

Here is a video that will give you a better idea of how bad it is.  You can see the debris as well as the erosion in the video.

I guess we will try to conquer this once we finish the master bedroom, paint the barn, fix the leaks in the house....living on a farm seems to have never ending chores....I might be missing Florida...just a little.

Demolition of the Master Bedroom

Kevan, Kevan's dad and I started the demo work of tearing down the wall paneling and taking up the flooring in our master bedroom here in Tennessee. When you start looking behind the walls and under the carpet of a 1930's home you are bound to find something you were not expecting.  Unfortunately, I did not take a before picture of the bedroom, but here is a picture that shows the old paneling as well as the wall underneath.  Click the picture to make it bigger.

I'm sorry for the blurry picture, but I wasn't using my good camera.  As you can see from the picture we were very surprised when we removed the paneling and found a shiplap wall (sort of like tongue and groove). 

You can sort of see that the wall was wallpapered with old newspapers.  I was able to find a date on the newspaper that was 1913.  So, I am unsure if the house is older than 1930 or if they wallpapered with older newspapers.  We haven't decided what we are going to do yet.  We had planned to tear down the paneling and then drywall, but we didn't know that the wall would not reveal normal framing.  Also, we need insulation so we may have to do spray insulation between the boards.

The next surprise was that there were 2 layers of carpet and padding on the floor.  Under the carpet and padding we found tongue and groove quarter sawn oak flooring.  You can see the condition of the floor below.  The backing of the 1st layer of carpet has stuck to the flooring.  The floor seems to be in pretty good shape though.  If we can successfully remove the black backing and sand the floors they may turn out to be quite nice. 



We aren't sure if this is good news or bad news yet.  We'll keep you updated.  My body is so sore...who knew demo work would be so tiring.  I thought it was supposed to be the fun part.

Let there be light....

Kevan started working from home about 6 months ago.  He moved into our office and started to realize that even though there is an overhead light it was way too dark to work when the day is overcast or when he is working late.  He decided to install recessed lighting (or can lights).  So, one day he went to home depot and bought the supplies (4 can lights + supplies).  I was pretty surprised how easy it was (although, I wasn't the one doing all the work).

First, he measured the office and then he measured in the attic and then he measured somemore.  I came in and stared at it with him and made suggestions and then he measured somemore.  Then, we decided this was the best place for the first one so he taped up the template. 



He purchased this really cool hole saw kit that traps most of the dust and ceiling peices when you cut the hole for the ceiling.  We had the Klein version, but Amazon has one that is similar to give you an idea.



Here is what the ceiling looked like after he cut it with his hole saw.



He just used a razor knife to remove the remaining drywall.  As you can see from my floor....it doesn't catch everything.  Insulation fell through from the attic.



But, look how much dust/popcorn ceiling pieces were not on my floor.



Then, he went up in the attic and fed down a cable to me in the office.



He finished wiring the light, I handed him the clips and now the can is safely in the ceiling.



He then added the trim ring and the light bulb and we ended up with this.



We didn't like the bulb sticking out so we went back to the Home Improvement store and purchased a different trim ring that allowed the receptacle to mount differently in the can.  This way the light bulb goes all the way up into the can and I think it looks much better.



Now, his office has a lot more light and he will be able to see better when working.  Here you can see two in the picture, there are 4 total. (Also, pretend you don't see his messy desk and we know the fan is off-center...we have no idea what the previous owners were thinking)

Lastly, Kevan didn't want to use the same switch as the fan so that he could use one and not the other.  So, he also wired a new switch.  In his defense, it is perfectly straight, but his wife (the picture taker) was apparently leaning when she took the picture.  Also, it is a dimmer switch so he can dim the lights if they are too bright.

Now, I'm about to confess something that I'm very embarrassed of.  Are you ready?  This is what my hallway looks like when my husband is working on a home improvement project.

Now, I could be a naggy wife and nag him until it is put away, but I wait patiently for several a few weeks for him to finish the project and at some point he decides it is time and cleans it up.  Or, I warn him that someone is coming over.  At least he lines it all up on one side I guess so we can walk down the left side.  :o)  The clothes lying on the floor is his "outfit" he wears when he's up in the attic.  So, I guess it does fit in with the other tools/stuff on the floor.  Anyone know how to keep your husband organized while doing a home improvement project?  I need ideas that will help me keep my house clean, but not nag him to death.  I want to be able to sweep/vacuum my hall without having to go around everything.

My New Fashion Accessory

While Kevan and I were in Tennessee I started having pain in my foot whenever I would walk on it.   I thought it would go away so I tried my best to ignore it.  After a few weeks we came back to Florida and we went to an RV Show in Tampa.  I realized by the end of the day that I had something seriously wrong with my foot.  So, I finally broke down and went to a foot doctor.

Unfortunately, I came home with this....

I found out that I have a stress fracture on the arch of my foot and because I walked on it for 2 months I also have tendonitis.  I learned that when your body is in pain you should go to the doctor when it starts, not months after you've been in pain!

I've had my cast on for 2.5 weeks now.  Over these last couple of weeks I have come up with a pro and cons list of wearing a cast.  Let me say, the con list is FAR longer than the pro list.  When I was young I thought it would be so cool to break something and have to have a cast or crutches.  Let me tell you, "IT.IS.NOT.FUN"!  If you think it might be, read my list below:

Cons:

1. My foot/leg itches and I can't scratch it!!  It is awful!!
2. I don't like my new waddle.  I'm no longer level so I waddle around and I'm sure it looks pretty funny.
3. I can't shave my leg under my cast!  Ewwwwww!!
4. The cast material is VERY rough so it scrapes off my skin if my other leg rubs against it.  At night I have to put on 2 knit socks because I either scrape myself or Kevan's skin off during the night.  One sock I cut the toes off of so it would slide all the way on and then the other sock goes on the bottom (see pic below).
5. During the day (while working at my desk) I like to sit "Indian Style" in my chair....I can't do it now!  It is very frustrating and it is very hard to concentrate because I'm not in my comfortable work position.
6. I can't drive because it is my right foot.
7. My husband has to chauffeur me.  It is not good for my marriage.  I am a backseat driver and am totally a little scared of his driving.
8. I miss putting my jeans on in a normal fashion.  Now, it takes me about 4-5 minutes just to get them on and about 4-5 minutes to take them off.  Jeans are not made to maneuver around a cast.  They are not a very giving material.  But, I am very happy and blessed that I can even get them on.  I love my jeans!
9. I miss having two socks on and not having to stretch a HUGE knit sock over my cast in order to warm my toes that are sticking out the bottom.
10. I can't sleep because I am a stomach sleeper.  I can't lay on my stomach because I would have to twist my leg in order to lay it flat OR let my leg stick up in the air with my toes smashing into the mattress.  Even my sleep number bed can't help me with this one.
11. I can't walk long distances or for a long period of time. 
12. I am a bath person and I normally take a bath almost every night and read.  It is VERY hard to get in and out of a left-sided tub when you can't step into the tub to get in.  It is also really hard to get out.  Luckily, my husband built me a wooden bar so I can set my leg on it instead of it laying in the tub getting wet.  BUT, this doesn't help with getting in and out so I only take a bath about once a week now.
13. I can't use my ankle.  Do you know how often you use your ankle?  A LOT!  If I'm sitting in a chair usually my foot would be flush with the floor.  Nope.  Not with a cast.  It is in the permanent L position. 
14. Did I say....I can't drive and it is REALLY bad for my marriage.
15. I walked on the cast without my "special shoe" so the bottom of it is kind of cracked.  It makes cracking noises when I walk sometimes.
16. I'm constantly wanting to take my shoe off and then I realize it's a CAST!  It doesn't come off.

Pros:

1. I only have to shave one leg.  :o)  (see cons list #3 above)
2. I only have to wash 1/2 the number of socks I normally do since I can only wear 1 each day instead of 2.  :o)
3. I have a chauffeur (see cons list #6, 7, & 14 above).

Ok, so that is all I can come up with for the Pros list.  One cool thing I also want to mention is this really cool cast cover I purchased from Amazon.com.  I slip it on before I take a shower/bath and it leaves my cast completely dry.  It is pretty awesome.  It was only $13 and should last through the whole 6 weeks of my cast's life.  If you know someone with an arm/leg cast this is definately a wonderful gift!  Here is a pic of it on.

Here is a pic of my fancy knit sock(s) I wear to bed.  One down side to this is that my male kitty LOVES socks like this so he is always trying to play with it or bite it.  It is funny, but I'm scared I'm going to step on him and hurt him.  Isn't it cute though?  It's pink!