So the holidays came and went and were as enjoyable as ever with our two youngest boys home for the duration. I took them up to the property the week before Christmas to help me with a couple of chores. It was a bit chilly up there on Sandy Hill but we warmed up clearing the homestead site of concrete blocks and a stack of salvaged floor boards that might be reused in some future project. The boys 'played' on the tractor like they did as kids with their Tonka toys, picking up loads of mulch and driving around before dumping it and repeating the exercise all over again. We had an executive lunch of sandwiches and potato chips at the Independence Store, always a treat, listening to Mike tell us stories about how the place used to be a illicit drinking hole during Prohibition. It was evidently the place to hang out, complete with slot machines, poker games and some memorable fights. Must have have been a hell of a place on a Saturday night!
We've realized that there has been a huge change in our role up there in Sandy Hill. Instead of spending three or four days a week working on the property we are now more or less into a project management role which entails a weekly meeting with our builder to check on progress and answer any questions. The barn is nearing completion. The metal roof was put on in the first week of the New Year. Electrical, IT, plumbing and HVAC have all been installed and the interior walls are almost finished. A lot of time is being spent selecting lighting and plumbing fixtures and we now move on to choosing paint colors, bench top material, tiles, bath tubs and so on and so on. The list seems to be inexhaustible but we are so grateful to have our project manager to help navigate the seemingly endless list of suppliers and requirements.
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| The Independence Store |
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| The Barn Nearing Completion |
We've spent a couple of days pottering around. Nothing like the clean-up days of summer but it's so nice to be outside and doing things around the place. My partner is really getting into the local nature and is fast becoming an expert on the subject of local flora and fauna. When she first announced that she wanted to be a naturalist I totally got it wrong. OK, so we're not going to be prancing naked through the grass, that would be a naturist. Instead we're implementing a nature conservancy plan that we'll gradually put into effect over the next couple of years. (And when I say we I mean it as the Royal "we". My partner is fully in charge of this bit of property management.) Part of the plan is to encourage the return of bluebirds which are largely missing in this part of Texas despite being originally indigenous to the area.
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| Erecting a Bluebird House |
So we have erected several bluebird houses that will hopefully to attract nesting birds this spring and anticipate adding many more over the coming years. We've also started making a trail through the woods, picking up discarded junk (will it ever end?) and creating brush piles that will serve as hang-outs for small furry animals. We know we have deer on the land - we see hoof prints all over the place - so we will encourage them to keep on visiting our bit of paradise, perhaps putting out some deer feeders.
On a sad note, Jack Meeker, the Director of Miracle Farms and our dear neighbor, has decided to hang up his spurs. Jack is one of the world's gentlemen. A tall imposing figure, always wearing a cowboy hat and generally not without his spurs, he is every man's idea of a Texan. His gentle manners, his kindness and his friendship to us will always be fondly remembered. We wish him, his lovely wife and family the very best of luck in their new endeavours and we look forward to continuing our friendship. Meanwhile, Miracle Farms will move on to new horizons and we will hopefully find ways of increasing our involvment with this wonderful program for at-risk boys.
