No Work Is Getting Accomplished At The Homestead

I had another surgery last month, and I’m having difficulty from it. Sadly, I’m not getting any work accomplished at the homestead. I truly hope I can get up and going in the next few weeks. I really want to raise a good garden in 2020.

I'm Still Here

I'm still here.

Freedom Isn't Free

"Freedom is a violent blessing and independence, an explosive brilliance." ~ Rachel Peden

A Shocking Surprise At The Homestead

Three weeks ago, we took a little trip up to the Homestead. 


The road frontage to our Homestead is approximately 186 feet. The lay of the road frontage runs from steep to level (The level part joins our neighbor’s property). For some reason unknown to me, the former owner of this property took out a section of fence, between two posts, and made an entrance way into this property at the beginning of the steep part. I’m sure he didn’t have any problem driving his tractor up and down through this steep opening. It’s down driving in. Up driving out. And it is difficult on our pickup truck, and more so whenever our truck is fully loaded with a half-ton John Deere Lawn and Garden Tractor, weed eater, 15 gallons fuel, and other tools.

When my wife and I first purchased this property, it was being used for growing and harvesting hay. And by the time we were the true owners, it was overgrown with tall grass, huge weeds, and small saplings that averaged from 1-inch to 2-inch in diameter and 5-6 feet tall. It looked more like a jungle than a basic hayfield. One day I walked down to lower part, and when I started to walk back up to the pickup parked on top of the hill, I thought I would not make it back to the truck. I am a heart patient and also have COPD.  

I wasn’t sure how I would mow this overgrown jungle. It was too overgrown for my 15HP Murray Riding Mower to mow. It occurred to me to put an ad in the local newspaper seeking someone to bus- hog it. Fortunately, a young man answered my ad and said he would bush-hog it. He used a large International Tractor and a Batwing Bush-Hog and was finished in about an hour. This property is 3.89 acres, and most of it is steep/hilly. I paid the young man $200.00 per mowing, every two weeks. It was more that I could avoid. And after the first month, I asked him if he would be willing to bush-hog it just each month. He agreed he would.

In the meantime, I was able to purchase a new John Deere Lawn and Garden Tractor (2016). With the mower, my wife and I begin mowing immediately after the young man bush-hogged it. Little by little we were able to get it in shape, but only where our John Deere Mower could mow.

But it didn’t come easy. The bush-hog didn’t mow low, and in some places the tall grass was only knocked over. And those 1-2-inch saplings was rough on the mower blades, not to mention the many rocks I slammed into with the mower deck and blades. A thorn punctured one of the front tires. With an axe and a machete, I was able to cut down some of the sapling stubs the bush-hog had left behind. With an iron bar and a sledgehammer, I was able to dig up and break up some of the rocks that was damaging my mower.

Finally, I was able to mow all of it (3.89 acres) with the John Deere Lawn and Garden Tractor. Only by the grace of God have we been able to turn this piece of property into a beautiful 3.89 acres of green grass. The saplings are all gone. The weeds are all gone. We have hauled tons of rocks off of it. We no longer see snakes and field mice. It has taken us 4-years to accomplish all this.

During this time, probably 3-years ago, my wife and I planted some pears trees and apple trees.  We planted the pears trees first. Then later we planted the apples trees. I remember when we were planting the apple trees, I looked up and there stood our adjoining neighbor at the fence, on his property, just staring at us. I shut the weed eater off and spoke to him. He asked if we were going to week eat the entire property. I laughed and said “no”. I immediately walked to the top of the hill where he was standing. I took of my right work glove and extended my hand to him over the fence. He shook my hand.

I don’t think his handshake was sincere. Why? Because he immediately asked what we going to put on the property. I said a small cabin. The he wanted to know what kind of cabin. He then wanted to know what kind of work I did. As we talked, his persona seemed to change. He appeared to suddenly be angry about something. Then he said, “I tried to buy this property from Mavis, and she asked me a fortune for it.” I don’t remember if I revealed the money amount my wife and gave for it or not. I’m sure I didn’t, since I am hesitant to do so.

Anyway, I had been searching for the surveyor pins and had found only two (the one located at the walnut tree and the one located at the hackberry tree). There are five corners, and five pins. So, I asked him about the corner pin joining his property. His reply was short and snappy. “Get it surveyed!” That was the last time I talked to the guy.            

After my little chat with this not-so-friendly and unhelpful guy, I called the same surveyor who had surveyed this property back in 2002. I explained to him that I could not find three of corner pins. He started asking me several questions, which I didn’t think was inappropriate. I simply thought he was trying to find out which three pins I was talking about. He had a copy of the 2002 survey on file in his computer and gave me a date to meet him at the property.

My wife and I met the surveyor at the property. He seemed friendly enough. He only needed to show me where the three pins were. He set up his surveying equipment. Then he said we would all walk down to the bottom part of the property to find that corner pin, and then we would work back to the third pin.

1. He found that corner pin, quickly. It was/is located several feet over in the adjoining property which is being used for a cattle pasture. Without hesitation, he drove a surveyor stake beside the pin, and tied a surveyor tape to the stake.  

2. From the walnut tree, he was able to find the second pin, quickly. It was/is located about 6-feet over on us from the old fence line. Without hesitation, he drove a surveyor stake beside that pin and tied a surveyor tape to the stake.

Then he headed for his truck, while telling me “Now you know where your corners are.” I asked where the third pin was. He said, “It’s up there.” I asked if he would show me where it was. He said, “It’s right up there.” I asked, “Will you show me where it is.”

3. We walked together to the water meter belonging to the not-so-friendly neighbor. Behind the meter, he (surveyor) took his foot and scratched the grass back, and there was the pin. Then he said, “I will put a stake beside the pin if you want me to. But I don’t want trouble with the neighbor. His wife and I went to school together.” I agreed to not place a stake there. Note: This pin was (and hopefully still is) located about 3-feet behind the water meter, which gives me 156-feet of road frontage – and which also means that several feet of the not-so-friendly neighbor’s backyard belongs to us. His one, if not both, outside buildings are on us. 

I regret that we didn’t have a good camera to record the whole surveying job. Because it became crystal clear that the surveyor had notified the not-so-friendly neighbor and gave him heads up. In other words, the surveyor knew something the moment I first contacted him about re-surveying the property. That was his reason for all the questions.



 Now back to the trip we took to the Homestead three weeks ago and The Shocking Surprise. As usual, our adjoining neighbor had mowed his yard, and mowed all of the level part of our road frontage. He has been doing this since the day we purchased this property. And I have always wondered why he has kept doing this. It’s all clear to me now. He is trying to landlock my wife and me. He wanted this property long before we purchased it. He didn’t get it. He is now determined to run my wife and me off.

Here is why I know. I decided to contact the Magistrate and see if he would help me with some dirt to build a decent driveway into the property. I went a neighbor a nearby neighbor, and she didn’t know. Leastwise that’s what she told me. But she told me to go talk to another neighbor who lives further up the road from our property.   

Instead, I went to the Judge Executive Office and explained why I wanted to talk with the Magistrate. The two women there acted like they weren’t very interested in giving me the name of the Magistrate, but she/they did anyway.

Then I decided to go talk to the neighbor who lives further up the road from our property. He told me the road running by our property is a State road and said I should go talk to the Department of Transportation.

I went to the Department of Transportation, and some guy there with a bread told me I had to have a permit to build a driveway of any kind. He said it is a lengthy process. He gave some papers to fill out for the permit. He also made it clear to me that if I build a driveway without a permit, the State would send him down there and he would rip it out. Period! There’s something else he said that caught my attention. He said, “Your road frontage ends where the fence makes a bend.” I said, “No. My road frontage runs to the water meter.”

On my way back to the property, I stopped beside the road to get me a drink of water. While sitting there, the neighbor who lives further up the road from our property come by and stopped on the State road. He asked me what the State said. I told him what the guy told me. He just shook his head.

I brought the papers home and filled them out. I took them back the next week. It was about 10:30 am when I walked into the office at the Department of Transportation. The back door of the office going into the garage was open. There was no trucks or equipment in the garage. Instead, there were some couches and lazy-boy recliners lining the far wall. On those couches and recliners sit several men. The beardy guy was sitting in one of the recliners. He pulled himself up and come over and took the paper. He never gave me any proof to show that I had dropped off the paper. I don’t trust his word. Period!     

Are ALL these people in cahoots? I don’t know. Are ALL these people colluding or conspiring together secretly against my wife and me. I don’t know. But I do believe the not-so-friendly neighbor is. I believe the surveyor was/is. I believe the beardy-faced guy at the Department of Transportation is.  

 So, now, I don’t know what to do. My wife and I have worked hard to pay off the loan on this property and getting it cleared and cleaned up. Our hard work has not only improved the value of this Homestead, but also the value of the not-so-friendly neighbor’s property. And, now, the taxes on this Homestead will probably increase because of the improvements we have done. It’s disappointing to pay property tax (which includes $35.00 to the Fire Department), and now it appears we may be basically landlocked. Incidentally, there are no buildings on this property, but I am still paying $35.00 tax to the Fire Department. Somebody doesn’t want us to own this 3.89 acres. I believe it is the not-so-friendly neighbor who doesn’t want us here. He wanted this property. He didn’t get it, which was his fault. The first time I chatted with him over the fence, I knew that day that he was going to be trouble.    

The Farmer’s Creed

The Farmer’s Creed

I believe a person’s greatest possession is their dignity and that no 
calling bestows this more abundantly than farming.

I believe hard work and honest sweat are the building blocks of a person’s
character. 

I believe that farming, despite its hardships and disappointments, is the
most honest and honorable way a person can spend their days on this earth. 

I believe farming provides education for life and that no other occupation
teaches so much about birth, growth and maturity in such a variety of ways.

I believe many of the best things in life are free:  the splendor of a
sunrise; the rapture of wide-open spaces; the exhilarating sight of your
land greening each spring. 

I believe true happiness comes from watching your crops ripen in the field
and your children grow tall in the sun.

I believe my life will be measured ultimately by what I have done for my
fellow man. 

I believe in farming because it makes all this possible.

— Author Unknown

We Need Our Older People

I think an older person wrote these words, and posted it on https://www.askaprepper.com/

“You might be surprised to find that "older people" have more survivalist skills than you would imagine. For those of us who grew up listening to radio, using party line telephones, walking or riding a bike to school. Playing mumbley peg in the school yard with our pocket knives during recess in grade school, spending the entire day except for meal times outside in the woods or playing war, shooting bows and arrows and bb guns from six years old or 8 years old, with .22s at 10 or 12 and shotguns soon after, and revolvers and rifles at 15 or 16, growing victory gardens, minding the stove for hot water and a myriad of other chores and activities that people my kids age have no comprehension of. Older folks have knowledge you haven't dreamed of. Just read the posts of some of the older followers of this site. We may not have the energy or the strength of younger readers, but cunning and old age beat strength and youth hands down.”

Homemade Grass Killer

According to one writer, vinegar, Epsom salt, and dawn dishwashing soap works well as a grass killer. I don't know if it works on weeds.
Ingredients:
1 gallon of vinegar
1 ½ cups epsom salts
2 tablespoons dawn dishwashing soap
Directions:
Mix well. 

Farmette

I Been Thinking. It has been said: "Thinking is a good thing to do every once in a while. It brushes the cobwebs out of your hair."

So maybe I can turn this small acreage into a "Farmette." Although I don't live or work in the city, but a farmette may be more feasible for me to accomplish.

A farmette is defined as:

"A farmette is a small residential farm run by an owner who earns income from a source other than the farm. It is sometimes known as a yokelet or a farmlet. Farmette owners are typically city workers who want to own rural land without operating a full farm."

"A farmette often includes a large vegetable garden, the occasional barn, tractor, and even farm or domestic animals such as goats and cats. Farmetters usually rely on their tractor to plow or snow blow their driveways during the winter. Farmettes are usually around 50 acres. They can have a small hog pen a few chickens in a chicken coop or a kennel house for dogs."

I'm Still Here

I just want to write a few lines to let you know I am still here. We haven't gotten anything more done to the homestead. I am really hoping that we can get much accomplished this summer. Shortage of money is our main barrier. But we hope to get as much done as we can with the little money we have available.

Moniker

Before coming up with a name for our Homestead, I hadn’t given much thought about coming up with a moniker that would set our place apart from all the other places around us. I was mostly looking for a name that would fit us. And after many ideas for a name, I finally settled with One Horse Homestead. I got the idea from a song that has the words “One Horse Town” in it. One Horse Homestead fits us good, I think. Our homestead is small and insignificant, and we do all the work with one horse (an X570 John Deere Lawn and Garden Tractor).


One Horse Homestead fits our whole property. Maybe someday our Homestead will grow into something bigger, and we could still keep the moniker One Horse Homestead. I don’t expect to ever be fortunate enough to graduate up to a Farm or Ranch.

Alan Jackson - Little Man (Official Music Video) - YouTube

I remember walkin' 'round the court square sidewalk
Lookin' in windows at things I couldn't want
There's Johnson's hardware and Morgan's jewelry
And the ol' Lee king's apothecary
They ware the little man
The little man

I go back now and the stores are all empty
Except for an old coke sign from 1950
Boarded up like they never existed
Or renovated and called historic districts
There goes the little man
There goes the little man

Now the court square's just a set of streets
That the people go round but they seldom think
Bout the little man that built this town
Before the big money shut em down
And killed the little man
Oh the little man

He pumped your gas and he cleaned your glass
And one cold rainy night he fixed your flat
The new stores came where you do it yourself
You buy a lotto ticket and food off the shelf
Forget the little man
Forget about that little man

He hung on there for a few more years
But he couldn't sell slurpees
And he wouldn't sell beer
Now the bank rents the station
To a down the road
And sell velvet Elvis and
Second-hand clothes
There goes little man
There goes another little man

Now the court square's just a set of streets
That the people go round but they seldom think
Bout the little man that built this town
Before the big money shut em down
And killed the little man
Oh the little man

Now the stores are lined up in a concrete strip
You can buy the world with just one trip
And save a penny 'cause it's jumbo size
They don't even realize
They're killin' the little man
Oh the little man

Now the court square's just a set of streets
That the people go round but they seldom think
Bout the little man that built this town
Before the big money shut em down
And killed the little man
Oh the little man

It wasn't long when I was a child
An old black man came with his mule and his plow
He broke the ground where we grew our garden
Back before we'd all forgot about the little man
The little man
Long live the little man
God bless the little man

Songwriters: Alan Eugene Jackson

Little Man lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc

I remember walkin' 'round the court square sidewalk
Lookin' in windows at things I couldn't want
There's Johnson's hardware and Morgan's jewelry
And the ol' Lee king's apothecary
They ware the little man
The little man

I go back now and the stores are all empty
Except for an old coke sign from 1950
Boarded up like they never existed
Or renovated and called historic districts
There goes the little man
There goes the little man

Now the court square's just a set of streets
That the people go round but they seldom think
Bout the little man that built this town
Before the big money shut em down
And killed the little man
Oh the little man

He pumped your gas and he cleaned your glass
And one cold rainy night he fixed your flat
The new stores came where you do it yourself
You buy a lotto ticket and food off the shelf
Forget the little man
Forget about that little man

He hung on there for a few more years
But he couldn't sell slurpees
And he wouldn't sell beer
Now the bank rents the station
To a down the road
And sell velvet Elvis and
Second-hand clothes
There goes little man
There goes another little man

Now the court square's just a set of streets
That the people go round but they seldom think
Bout the little man that built this town
Before the big money shut em down
And killed the little man
Oh the little man

Now the stores are lined up in a concrete strip
You can buy the world with just one trip
And save a penny 'cause it's jumbo size
They don't even realize
They're killin' the little man
Oh the little man

Now the court square's just a set of streets
That the people go round but they seldom think
Bout the little man that built this town
Before the big money shut em down
And killed the little man
Oh the little man

It wasn't long when I was a child
An old black man came with his mule and his plow
He broke the ground where we grew our garden
Back before we'd all forgot about the little man
The little man
Long live the little man
God bless the little man

Songwriters: Alan Eugene Jackson

Little Man lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc

Stuck

 I mentioned in previous posts that we do not have the money to build this land into a working homestead just yet. We don’t live on this land yet. During the winter months we seldom visit this acreage. But we decided to visit it on March 2, 2019. I should have known better, but I pushed my luck anyway, when I decided to drive the truck to the far-back-end of the property. All went well, until I tried to turn the truck (GMC 1500) around. The truck got stuck in the water-soaked ground, and the more I tried to rock the truck the deeper all four wheels sank into the ground. Fortunately, I had the commonsense to stop trying to get the truck unstuck. If I had buried the wheels, it would surely have been much worse.


My wife and I walked to a nearby neighbor to ask for assistance. Before we got to his front porch, he (the young man) opened his front door and walked out and greeted us. I explained to him what happened and asked him if he could help us. Without hesitation, he said he would try.  He had a Toyota four-wheel drive pickup. I wasn’t sure his small truck would be able to do the job. But it did.

After he pulled us out, I offered to pay him. He would not take any money. He was a great blessing to my wife and me, more than he will ever know. It is difficult to find people like him these days who are willing to help.


I don’t know if it was the embarrassment, or what. I know I should not have driven into the homestead in the first place. It was very foolish of me. But, somehow, I feel traumatized by the experience. I really hope this hopeless feeling will soon fade. You see, I don’t have any family at all to turn to for help. My immediate family are all died. My wife’s family all live in the Philippines. And whenever an emergency arises, she and I are on our own. We don’t have anyone to turn to for help.


I sure do hope this rain slows down so the ground can start to dry out.


Thanks for reading my ramblings. Blessings…

Some People May Not Be Aware Of This

Here is why I created the two models I posted in my last post.

Clergy should be “the light of the world” and “the salt of the earth.” But sadly, many aren’t. Distrust among clergy is rising – and clergy approval ratings are decreasing. But when things like greed, gossip and outright slanderous and hurtful talk, and scheming takes place among clergy in backroom meetings, distrust is sure to follow. Such conduct is unbecoming of any clergy, and it certainly doesn’t stay in the backrooms. Slowly it seeps out, like how rain water finds its way into a small crevice. And little by little the slow seepage eventually reveals the damage. Roofs and ceilings can be repaired, but trust that has been betrayed can never be repaired. At best a patch may be applied, but a band aid cannot fix a gaping wound.

Gossip and other forms of sin, in any form, is a disgusting hobby. I like to engage in hobbies that don’t hurt others. I have some major health issues, but I still do manual labor. Of course, I'm limited in how much work I can do in a day. But I still do my best, and at the end of the day my body is  screaming for rest.  

Whatever is spoken in secret will, in due time, be revealed.

I borrowed this quote: “The tongue is a tool and compared to a gun. Alone they cause no problems but used by the wrong person can cause harm to many!”

I can't help but notice all the loudmouths who think they know everything. So, I decided to create two models that could make our culture better for us all.  Decide which of these models you feel you should start right now:  

I will not - gossip

I will not - listen to gossip

I will not - speak lies

I will not – listen to lies

I will not - look down on those less fortunate than me

I will not - take part in backroom shenanigans

I will not - seek to promote myself at the expense of somebody else

I will not - brownnose

I will not - think I am better than somebody else

I will not – be silent when I should speak

I will not – speak when I should be silent

I will not – force my opinion on others

I will not – covet what belongs to another

I will not – speak ill of the poor, no matter what caused their poverty

I will not – be a vehicle for the Devil to use…. PERIOD

 ******************************************************************

 I will stop – gossiping

I will stop – listening to gossip

I will stop – speaking lies

I will stop – listening to lies

I will stop – looking down on those less fortunate than me

I will stop – taking part in backroom shenanigans

I will stop – seeking to promote myself at the expense of somebody else

I will stop – brownnosing

I will stop – thinking I’m better than somebody else

I will stop – being silent when I should speak

I will stop – speaking when I should be silent

I will stop – forcing my opinion on others

I will stop – coveting what belongs to another

I will stop – speaking ill of the poor, no matter what caused their poverty

I will stop – being a vehicle for the Devil to use…. PERIOD

No Money - No Progress

When we first purchased this land, I had big hopes and ideas to turn it into a working homestead. But our lack of sufficient money is hindering my dream. Nothing of any value has ever come easy for me. Starting a homestead from scratch isn't easy, and it is costly. Right now I'm not sure how we will be able to come up with the money we need to build this land into a working homestead.