prairieman

We have decided to try and complete foundation work (digging & pouring footers, and a concrete block wall stem wall) before the ground freezes. If we are really lucky, and early winter weather is mild, maybe – just maybe; we also get the concrete slabs poured by the end of the year. I’ll be satisfied if typical winter weather means ceasing our efforts after completing the stem wall. We are waiting on our AutoCad guy to complete detailed plans/drawings, so we can apply for a building permit. I’m out talking to contractors and material suppliers, getting bids and quotes.

Milestone reached with a fully functional septic system. The county will not issue a building permit, until we have a county septic installation permit – see previous post. A number of factors were in play, delaying our ability to get the permit. Thankfully, dry weather allowed Ron to get started a week later, and he completed the task on Monday.

While we wait for the building industry to recover, there are plenty of things to do until we commence actual home construction. We hired a septic system contractor in early July (with an 8 week lead time) and patiently waited to reach the top of his to-do list. Got a permit from the Brown County health dept. on August 27th. Weather permitting, Ron plans to begin installing our septic system on Tuesday Sept. 7th.

A picture of the rough driveway from St Rt 45. The COVID pandemic gave me the opportunity to retire earlier than planned which was certainly good news. No. wait… early retirement was (and still is) FABULOUS news. The bad news: Spring & Summer of 2021 found us staring at the reality of unprecedented residential building demand. Contractors so busy they won’t answer the phone, and worse: building material costs that were… ummmm – crazy, impressive, ridiculous, insane ? For us – it meant stepping back and wait to see if or when we might see prices and demand return to earth.

The old saying in real estate: “location, location, location”. That aphorism applies with our future residence. While we want to live away from Bloomington in a rural setting, we also want quick access to town. Having 230 feet of frontage on State Route 45 fulfills that need. This highway was a favorite of mine after getting my driver’s license so many years ago, and is typical of many other twisty, undulating ribbons of asphalt in southern Indiana. Trips to town and back, are certain to provide joy in the Ultimate Driving Machines.

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Oak-zilla

This beast of a black oak log was already on the ground when we purchased the property. Apparently the tree was not healthy, mostly dead and very close to the highway. After cutting it down, and hauling off the limbs, I guess they became bored, tired or lazy and rolled the 20 foot log back from the highway and left it. Thanks INDOT. Not.

From 2014 to April 2021, whenever I would walk around the property, would eventually find myself looking at this monster, wondering how the hell I would ever get rid of it.

It turned out to be very easy. When Kenny was nearly done piling up stumps, logs and limbs, he stopped his excavator to ask if I wanted him to haul off “Oak-zilla”. I said – YES please ! He replied saying it would need to be cut into shorter lengths for him to load onto a truck. Called my close friend Joe, asking if he had a chainsaw with a long bar/chain. He arrived shortly after my call and went to work.

A close friend recommended a local excavator, who we hired in April to remove a dozen trees and a number of dead stumps that were in the footprint of the buildings we intend to construct. Trees were pushed over and cut into 8-10 foot lengths. Stumps and limbs were piled neatly so all of it could be loaded into dump trucks and removed from the property. He also graded off the topsoil where the driveway path will be, bringing in 3 loads of base rock, to serve as the foundation for the driveway. Kenny did a great job for us, we are very pleased with the quality and low cost of his work. Next steps involve collecting documents to obtain a permit for the Septic system.

From our purchase in 2014 until I retired on May 1 2020, our Brown County property went dormant, patiently waiting for the eventual relocation from Wichita back to Bloomington. Over the years, whenever we were “back home again in Indiana” would take the time to drive out and visit. Thankfully, we have several very good friends who live close by, so we never worried about vandalism, squatters or other buffoonery. We sold our Wichita home in September 2020, and moved back to Bloomington into a leased home. I spent the winter of 2020-21, not doing much of anything. It felt great to finally relax after working so hard to get the Wichita home to a sellable condition, relocate our household 700 miles, and… to celebrate my retirement after 34 years with GE Aviation. I used the downtime to research all aspects of turning our rural property into a modest country estate with a home and workshop, to be prepared when Spring arrived.

On July 26th, 2014, Carole and I purchased 3.75 acres of ground in Brown County IN that included a vintage (and thoroughly dilapidated) mobile home. The property is situated on state route 45, 10 miles east of Bloomington IN. Approximately 1 acre is flat with 230 feet of highway frontage, the remainder of the ground is a steep downhill grade of old growth hardwood trees. The back property line abuts the Hoosier National Forest. Was perusing a detailed map of Brown County and discovered our specific location along highway 45 is known as: Howard Ridge, which seemed like an appropriate name for this blog.