Today was exciting for us because it was inspection day! Heating systems, electrical, plumbing, and structural inspections were all completed, and we were able to follow the inspectors as they checked out the farm for stuff that we might overlook.
Now these guys have some specialized tools that make what they do about impossible unless you have the tools, and even though I thought I'd seen most ladders, I saw a really cool telescoping model today that sure caught my eye.
We got into town a bit early so we decided to tramp around the farm again as we had a couple hours to kill before meeting our inspectors. Upon pulling into the farm's drive, something looked "different". Couldn't quite put my finger on it to start with, but after walking around a bit, I could tell that some big equipment had pulled into the spot where I had left "my" Deere.
Danged if the Deere wasn't gone...Go to the very first post of this blog to read about Brian's first Deere. I'd had thoughts about that old Deere with the tree growing through the seat. It was ploppled up on blocks, one wheel off, one tire gone, and the wheel that was off was totally rusted through.
Yep, I had dreams of restoring the old Deere as I really enjoy mechanics, but I know that until the day that we take possession of the farm, anything out there that isn't fixed isn't mine. Now I admit that I wondered how I would move the Deere myself in the condition it was in, but it appears someone with equipment moving experience cut the tree down through the seat, and dragged the old Deere to a new resting place.
Only thing...I wish they would have taken the old rusty tractor wheel and tire too. I have a feeling they did me a big favor in the long run.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Saving Blackie?
We're just about packed up to hit the road for home inspections tomorrow. As soon as we heard we needed to be in Cambridge if we wanted to be present during the inspections, we made a reservation for motel and a rental car for this trip.
Now since you don't know yet, we've been pretty avid 4x4 explorers over the years, and have a modified Jeep that we usually tow behind the motor home. Blackie (our Jeeps name) is set up for just about any terrain, and while I wouldn't hesitate driving from Denver to Cambridge in it, the soft canvas top is noisy, and the ride is not exactly what you would call smooth. Not the most fun way to spend 5 or 6 hours...each way.
Nope...for longer trips like these 600 mile round trip jaunts from Denver, a rental car is our best option. I know that the rental car is saving a ton of wear and tear on Blackie. Those big mud tires would just as soon see dirt roads, and though the Jeep gets OK gas mileage, I'm sure I'll get just about double the MPG from our rental.
So you see, it only makes sense for us to rent a car to save the wear and tear on the Jeep. Or is it us and not wanting to bounce down the road, dog in the back of the Jeep sharing space with a suitcase, listening to the roar of the wind through the canvas top, and if it's really cold, the heater will just barely keep you warm?
I'm thinking the rental car is saving us.
Now since you don't know yet, we've been pretty avid 4x4 explorers over the years, and have a modified Jeep that we usually tow behind the motor home. Blackie (our Jeeps name) is set up for just about any terrain, and while I wouldn't hesitate driving from Denver to Cambridge in it, the soft canvas top is noisy, and the ride is not exactly what you would call smooth. Not the most fun way to spend 5 or 6 hours...each way.
Nope...for longer trips like these 600 mile round trip jaunts from Denver, a rental car is our best option. I know that the rental car is saving a ton of wear and tear on Blackie. Those big mud tires would just as soon see dirt roads, and though the Jeep gets OK gas mileage, I'm sure I'll get just about double the MPG from our rental.
So you see, it only makes sense for us to rent a car to save the wear and tear on the Jeep. Or is it us and not wanting to bounce down the road, dog in the back of the Jeep sharing space with a suitcase, listening to the roar of the wind through the canvas top, and if it's really cold, the heater will just barely keep you warm?
I'm thinking the rental car is saving us.
Roller Coasters
When I was younger, my favorite ride at the amusement park was the roller coaster. The high speeds, the ups, the downs, the sideways, the tunnel...what fun!
We got on a roller coaster ride again recently, but didn't know it. We were pretty concerned about our impending purchase of the farm due to some information we learned about in a rather unusual manner. This information seemed disturbing to all concerned, but given time to investigate, the "problem" can't be verified, and in fact is refuted by the primary principals, so YIPPIE KAI AY!...Deal Still On!
We know that things can and do come up with real estate transactions and until you've got the signed paperwork under your arm and the keys in your hand, there is no guarantee the deal will go through. The good news to us is that everyone involved feels confident that all is well, so we're moving full speed ahead. Come on closing day!
After thinking the farm deal might go south and us with it for the winter, we're back into hopeful anticipation mode. I had already thought about where I would store my new home improvement manual, so I'm thrilled that I possibly have an imminent reason to keep looking at it. We've rescheduled home inspections, and will be in Furnas county within 24 hours to learn as much as we can from the inspectors and heating contractor.
We've decided that we'll spend our first Christmas in front of the wood burning stove assuming we're Nebraska property owners then. We have many questions about how our home's appearance will end up both in and outside, but much of the fun of this move is the anticipation of what we think will be the best decision of our lives.
We just hope the roller coaster portion of this ride is about over.
We got on a roller coaster ride again recently, but didn't know it. We were pretty concerned about our impending purchase of the farm due to some information we learned about in a rather unusual manner. This information seemed disturbing to all concerned, but given time to investigate, the "problem" can't be verified, and in fact is refuted by the primary principals, so YIPPIE KAI AY!...Deal Still On!
We know that things can and do come up with real estate transactions and until you've got the signed paperwork under your arm and the keys in your hand, there is no guarantee the deal will go through. The good news to us is that everyone involved feels confident that all is well, so we're moving full speed ahead. Come on closing day!
After thinking the farm deal might go south and us with it for the winter, we're back into hopeful anticipation mode. I had already thought about where I would store my new home improvement manual, so I'm thrilled that I possibly have an imminent reason to keep looking at it. We've rescheduled home inspections, and will be in Furnas county within 24 hours to learn as much as we can from the inspectors and heating contractor.
We've decided that we'll spend our first Christmas in front of the wood burning stove assuming we're Nebraska property owners then. We have many questions about how our home's appearance will end up both in and outside, but much of the fun of this move is the anticipation of what we think will be the best decision of our lives.
We just hope the roller coaster portion of this ride is about over.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Bad Vibes!
Wow...my week always goes better when the Denver Bronco's win. Did I mention that they lost yesterday?
It's amazing how you find stuff out now and then. We've been in contact with a heating contractor in Cambridge about a problem with the farms heat pump that the seller disclosed. Since the owner already stated there was a problem, it was our responsibility for repairs assuming we end up taking possession of the property, so we were in the process of arranging to have the heating guys show up when the power is on at the farm to give us a firm estimate of the repair/replacement costs.
Today when we called to make final arrangements to meet him, we were greeted with news of some requested work on the farm that nobody locally seemed to know about. From the sounds of it, there may some legal issues blocking our purchase of the farm. I thank the fine folks at River Valley Services for cluing us in because nobody else had the information locally.
Now trying to find out official information has been totally impossible so far. We've contacted the sellers real estate agent, and she is contacting the seller, but it is pretty obvious to those of us involved that something is amiss, at least for the moment.
Right now, we could bail out on the contract and be done with it, or we can continue to hope that all goes well. There is a glimmer of hope, and we are fortunate that we are not selling a house to buy this one. We want the place but don't want any more headaches either.
What would you do?
As for us, we'll hang on and let it play out. We have canceled all further inspections until the legal issues over the property are resolved if they can be. We're hopeful that we will be continuing our blog, but I'm afraid there is an even money chance that we'll be searching for rural property somewhere else again in the near future.
It's amazing how you find stuff out now and then. We've been in contact with a heating contractor in Cambridge about a problem with the farms heat pump that the seller disclosed. Since the owner already stated there was a problem, it was our responsibility for repairs assuming we end up taking possession of the property, so we were in the process of arranging to have the heating guys show up when the power is on at the farm to give us a firm estimate of the repair/replacement costs.
Today when we called to make final arrangements to meet him, we were greeted with news of some requested work on the farm that nobody locally seemed to know about. From the sounds of it, there may some legal issues blocking our purchase of the farm. I thank the fine folks at River Valley Services for cluing us in because nobody else had the information locally.
Now trying to find out official information has been totally impossible so far. We've contacted the sellers real estate agent, and she is contacting the seller, but it is pretty obvious to those of us involved that something is amiss, at least for the moment.
Right now, we could bail out on the contract and be done with it, or we can continue to hope that all goes well. There is a glimmer of hope, and we are fortunate that we are not selling a house to buy this one. We want the place but don't want any more headaches either.
What would you do?
As for us, we'll hang on and let it play out. We have canceled all further inspections until the legal issues over the property are resolved if they can be. We're hopeful that we will be continuing our blog, but I'm afraid there is an even money chance that we'll be searching for rural property somewhere else again in the near future.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Football Fantasies
This has been a lousy weekend for my favorite football teams. Now even though I have called Colorado home for many years, my college football alliegence has remained with my Cornhuskers. My pro football team, unfortunately the way they are playing this year, is the Denver Broncos.
The Cornhuskers got beat by Colorado, and the Broncos got beat in overtime by the Chicago Bears. Now you should understand that I love football, and go through withdrawl at the end of the season, but this year has been, and continues to be, difficult for the football fan in me.
I find it interesting that people that are usually pessimistic can become complete optimists when it comes to their football teams. People try and make believe it's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game, but the reality is that it's only an entertaining game to a few fans. For most folks that watch football regularly, it's more than a game. It's a way to connect with others that share your joy and pain with the wins and losses. We stick together behind our teams, and revel in our comon bond using team spirit as an excuse. Some fans claim they "bleed" red and white, or orange and blue, or whatever the team colors are, but for the most part fans are good sports. Their coffee break discussions often drift to the last games outcome, and dinner table conversations often cover the pitfalls of the prevent defense or the teams future prospects without any real distaste for their opponents.
So I'll continue to have my football fantasies of the Cornhuskers winning the football National Championship...next year, the Denver Bronco's finding a way to sneak into the playoffs...this year, and the hope that the CU Buffalo's lose all the time.
The Cornhuskers got beat by Colorado, and the Broncos got beat in overtime by the Chicago Bears. Now you should understand that I love football, and go through withdrawl at the end of the season, but this year has been, and continues to be, difficult for the football fan in me.
I find it interesting that people that are usually pessimistic can become complete optimists when it comes to their football teams. People try and make believe it's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game, but the reality is that it's only an entertaining game to a few fans. For most folks that watch football regularly, it's more than a game. It's a way to connect with others that share your joy and pain with the wins and losses. We stick together behind our teams, and revel in our comon bond using team spirit as an excuse. Some fans claim they "bleed" red and white, or orange and blue, or whatever the team colors are, but for the most part fans are good sports. Their coffee break discussions often drift to the last games outcome, and dinner table conversations often cover the pitfalls of the prevent defense or the teams future prospects without any real distaste for their opponents.
So I'll continue to have my football fantasies of the Cornhuskers winning the football National Championship...next year, the Denver Bronco's finding a way to sneak into the playoffs...this year, and the hope that the CU Buffalo's lose all the time.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Learning Curves
We've got rental car reservations, and a room lined up at the Chief Motel in McCook so we can be present for the major home inspections. So far, we've had the septic pumped and inspected at our expense, and had an exterminator out looking for termites and whatever other pests might be lurking around the farm that we don't want.
Electricity will be turned on for the home inspection for several systems to be checked. Water well, pump, and plumbing won't work without power, and checking house wiring would be pretty tough without it too.
Now the heat pump that we understand has a problem needs power to operate too, and it would be impossible to get a repair estimate without it. I spoke to a local heating contractor briefly over the phone, and we'll meet him when the power is on so he can come up with a current estimate of repairs on the system.
My learning curve on heat pumps has been pretty steep as I want to be able to understand what I'm hearing, and not just be told what to do. This should be pretty interesting as I've found tons of information about these efficient heating and cooling systems, and feel like I could carry on an semi-intellegent conversation with someone about them.
Learning the basics about new or different technologies is a lot of fun for me. I enjoy finding out how things work, though the specifics sometimes are more than I want. This is just the first of many learning curves I'll be climbing. I've done plenty of home improvement projects over the years, but the farm will tax my abilities to the max. Sure hope I'm up for the challenge!
Electricity will be turned on for the home inspection for several systems to be checked. Water well, pump, and plumbing won't work without power, and checking house wiring would be pretty tough without it too.
Now the heat pump that we understand has a problem needs power to operate too, and it would be impossible to get a repair estimate without it. I spoke to a local heating contractor briefly over the phone, and we'll meet him when the power is on so he can come up with a current estimate of repairs on the system.
My learning curve on heat pumps has been pretty steep as I want to be able to understand what I'm hearing, and not just be told what to do. This should be pretty interesting as I've found tons of information about these efficient heating and cooling systems, and feel like I could carry on an semi-intellegent conversation with someone about them.
Learning the basics about new or different technologies is a lot of fun for me. I enjoy finding out how things work, though the specifics sometimes are more than I want. This is just the first of many learning curves I'll be climbing. I've done plenty of home improvement projects over the years, but the farm will tax my abilities to the max. Sure hope I'm up for the challenge!
Ag and Us
We haven't given a whole lot of thought about what our farming neighbors will do that may effect us on the farm. Those crops that are growing around us didn't just pop up by themselves, so obviously noise and dust from planting, weed control, and harvesting operations are expected.
Now lets see...if you harvest something, unless you consume it you have to transport it to your market, so I'd expect some heavy truck and farm equipment traffic. We're currently on a school bus and postal route for farms in more distant areas, so those farmers and their associated traffic will pass by. Ag producers provide habitat for deer, upland birds, and the like, so the annual pilgimage of hunters into the area may well be exciting too.
We have not seen the results of a test of the water on the farm yet, but I expect that some interesting assortment of Ag and industrial chemicals have leached into the ground water over the past 150 years or so, and we'll be filtering our water much the same as a town water well supply does. No blame... you can't change the past, and from what we've been reading, our Ag neighbors sound just as interested in clean water and a safe environment as we are.
As a city dweller, our neighbors real effect on our lives was superficial but seemed important because we delt with it daily. Were the neighbor kids screaming again, was the guy behind us testing his high horsepower boat engine at midnight, or are the guys in the rental house across the street having another wild party this Saturday night? I'm pretty sure that all the Ag associated activity I mentioned will generate a fraction of the daily traffic and noise than we had living in a relatively quiet city neighborhood.
Still, I think the actions of our AG neighbors will have much more impact on our immediate lives than our city neighbors ever did but most city dwellers wouldn't see it that way. Most of the things that bother city folk simply don't exist in the country. For one thing my new Nebraska neighbors care about the neighborhood as near as I can tell... I haven't seen any graffiti.
OK seriously, I've read some pretty interesting stuff written by Nebraska farmers about the environment, water, and ethanol that show thoughtful insight about sustainable land usage and energy policy. Local economies and the social fabric of the area is tied to Ag, and we can't wait to get settled in and meet our new neighbors. Beyond field operations, I can only speculate on how much impact our new Ag neighbors will have on our lives, but in reality, what they do around me effects you in SW Nebraska just as much.
So on those few days when my neighbors are plowing, spraying, harvesting, and whatever other farming operations are being performed, we'll just close up the windows and keep the dog inside. We had to do that almost daily in the city anyway when the neighbors were running amok.
Now lets see...if you harvest something, unless you consume it you have to transport it to your market, so I'd expect some heavy truck and farm equipment traffic. We're currently on a school bus and postal route for farms in more distant areas, so those farmers and their associated traffic will pass by. Ag producers provide habitat for deer, upland birds, and the like, so the annual pilgimage of hunters into the area may well be exciting too.
We have not seen the results of a test of the water on the farm yet, but I expect that some interesting assortment of Ag and industrial chemicals have leached into the ground water over the past 150 years or so, and we'll be filtering our water much the same as a town water well supply does. No blame... you can't change the past, and from what we've been reading, our Ag neighbors sound just as interested in clean water and a safe environment as we are.
As a city dweller, our neighbors real effect on our lives was superficial but seemed important because we delt with it daily. Were the neighbor kids screaming again, was the guy behind us testing his high horsepower boat engine at midnight, or are the guys in the rental house across the street having another wild party this Saturday night? I'm pretty sure that all the Ag associated activity I mentioned will generate a fraction of the daily traffic and noise than we had living in a relatively quiet city neighborhood.
Still, I think the actions of our AG neighbors will have much more impact on our immediate lives than our city neighbors ever did but most city dwellers wouldn't see it that way. Most of the things that bother city folk simply don't exist in the country. For one thing my new Nebraska neighbors care about the neighborhood as near as I can tell... I haven't seen any graffiti.
OK seriously, I've read some pretty interesting stuff written by Nebraska farmers about the environment, water, and ethanol that show thoughtful insight about sustainable land usage and energy policy. Local economies and the social fabric of the area is tied to Ag, and we can't wait to get settled in and meet our new neighbors. Beyond field operations, I can only speculate on how much impact our new Ag neighbors will have on our lives, but in reality, what they do around me effects you in SW Nebraska just as much.
So on those few days when my neighbors are plowing, spraying, harvesting, and whatever other farming operations are being performed, we'll just close up the windows and keep the dog inside. We had to do that almost daily in the city anyway when the neighbors were running amok.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
The Friend Of My Friends
I read someplace that we get 4 or 5 true friends in life. Sure, we get to meet a lot of people, and though we become friendly with different folks, true friends are few and far between. I think us pet lovers have an advantage in the friendship department though, as we develop a special, different kind of relationship with our pets than people do towards one another. It's hard to explain, but pet lovers know exactly what I mean.
Yesterday I learned that my friends friend passed on. Shadow was a great mutt. Paul loved telling stories about how she loved to keep cats out of the yard, and we got to know her well as Paul and Betty never went anywhere without her. We camped and went 4 wheeling with Paul, Betty, and Shadow many times over the years, and I enjoyed watching Shadow put our Springer, and in later years our Golden in their place whenever they were together. Paul built a place for Shadow to ride along on our 4x4 adventures, and Shadow saw some country few of you can even imagine on some of these trips.
Camping with Paul and Betty in the future won't be quite the same for us without Shadow. I'm saddened for my friends, because I know how they felt about their black and tan mutt that wanted little more than a pat on the head, and treat passed discretely under the table.
So long Shadow.
Yesterday I learned that my friends friend passed on. Shadow was a great mutt. Paul loved telling stories about how she loved to keep cats out of the yard, and we got to know her well as Paul and Betty never went anywhere without her. We camped and went 4 wheeling with Paul, Betty, and Shadow many times over the years, and I enjoyed watching Shadow put our Springer, and in later years our Golden in their place whenever they were together. Paul built a place for Shadow to ride along on our 4x4 adventures, and Shadow saw some country few of you can even imagine on some of these trips.
Camping with Paul and Betty in the future won't be quite the same for us without Shadow. I'm saddened for my friends, because I know how they felt about their black and tan mutt that wanted little more than a pat on the head, and treat passed discretely under the table.
So long Shadow.
Black Friday - Bah Humbug!
I recall seeing a sign someplace in town that said "Come Shop On The Bricks In McCook", or something like that. Now since I was driving through an unfamiliar town, I was paying a bit closer attention to traffic than I was to the billboards, but obviously the ad worked on me enough that I remember that there are brick streets in McCook in at least the downtown shopping area. If you are just starting to read this blog, we're newcomers buying property near Cambridge, and are not familiar with McCook yet.
What brings this to mind is that in the Thanksgiving edition of the Denver Post, the advertising sections alone weigh over 4 pounds, and that doesn't count the ads that obscure the news on almost all but the front page.
Yep, must be Black Friday. The term given to the biggest retail shopping day of the year... the day after Thanksgiving. I've read that a good many retail stores rely on the this one days sales to make or break their business.
I imagine most of you country and town folk get to miss out on some of the "excitement" of Black Friday, but city folk have lots of opportunities. Like going to bed REAL early and getting up at 11PM so you can get to the Moonlight Madness Sale at the outlet stores on the outskirts of town. This is probably the best time to shop, because the real drama starts at 4AM when the first store opens for it's"Early Bird Special" sale. The next Early Bird Special - EBS from here on - starts at 5AM just a couple miles down the road, so after running around like a chicken with it's head cut off (I've seen this and know it to be true!), it's back into the car to the 5AM EBS. Better hurry though because the next EBS is just around the corner at 5:30AM. Not much in the 5:30 EBS, but the 6AM EBS promises to be the best of all! Don't forget, the ad for the sale said "Supplies Are Limited". Oh yeah...not one of the above mentioned stores opens before 10AM other than the Christmas shopping season and a few other special shopping occasions.
Unless you have shopped this time of year in the city, you have no idea just how impersonal it can be. Well maybe you can get an idea if you've seen the evening news footage of people fighting over merchandise...if you haven't seen it yet, stand by for tomorrow night's news, there is likely to be something about a fight someplace. People seldom smile, sales clerks are frazzled, and what should be part of the joy of giving is quickly forgotten.
Now I suppose some of you have the shopping gene necessary to deal with Black Friday but me...I say bah humbug! Now shoppin' on the bricks in McCook might be OK, but Black Friday is the one day in the city I won't go shopping.
Do you blame me?
What brings this to mind is that in the Thanksgiving edition of the Denver Post, the advertising sections alone weigh over 4 pounds, and that doesn't count the ads that obscure the news on almost all but the front page.
Yep, must be Black Friday. The term given to the biggest retail shopping day of the year... the day after Thanksgiving. I've read that a good many retail stores rely on the this one days sales to make or break their business.
I imagine most of you country and town folk get to miss out on some of the "excitement" of Black Friday, but city folk have lots of opportunities. Like going to bed REAL early and getting up at 11PM so you can get to the Moonlight Madness Sale at the outlet stores on the outskirts of town. This is probably the best time to shop, because the real drama starts at 4AM when the first store opens for it's"Early Bird Special" sale. The next Early Bird Special - EBS from here on - starts at 5AM just a couple miles down the road, so after running around like a chicken with it's head cut off (I've seen this and know it to be true!), it's back into the car to the 5AM EBS. Better hurry though because the next EBS is just around the corner at 5:30AM. Not much in the 5:30 EBS, but the 6AM EBS promises to be the best of all! Don't forget, the ad for the sale said "Supplies Are Limited". Oh yeah...not one of the above mentioned stores opens before 10AM other than the Christmas shopping season and a few other special shopping occasions.
Unless you have shopped this time of year in the city, you have no idea just how impersonal it can be. Well maybe you can get an idea if you've seen the evening news footage of people fighting over merchandise...if you haven't seen it yet, stand by for tomorrow night's news, there is likely to be something about a fight someplace. People seldom smile, sales clerks are frazzled, and what should be part of the joy of giving is quickly forgotten.
Now I suppose some of you have the shopping gene necessary to deal with Black Friday but me...I say bah humbug! Now shoppin' on the bricks in McCook might be OK, but Black Friday is the one day in the city I won't go shopping.
Do you blame me?
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
The 1st Thanksgiving Was In June
Ah Thanksgiving! The food, the family, the fun. Tomorrow is the big day, and I got to wondering about the history of Thanksgiving. Here is what I found...The following (using the original wording) is considered to be the first official proclamation of our current holiday. I found this public document on the US Department of State official website.
Charlestown, Massachusetts
June 20, 1676
"The Holy God having by a long and Continual Series of his Afflictive dispensations in and by the present Warr with the Heathen Natives of this land, written and brought to pass bitter things against his own Covenant people in this wilderness, yet so that we evidently discern that in the midst of his judgements he hath remembered mercy, having remembered his Footstool in the day of his sore displeasure against us for our sins, with many singular Intimations of his Fatherly Compassion, and regard; reserving many of our Towns from Desolation Threatened, and attempted by the Enemy, and giving us especially of late with many of our Confederates many signal Advantages against them, without such Disadvantage to ourselves as formerly we have been sensible of, if it be the Lord's mercy that we are not consumed, It certainly bespeaks our positive Thankfulness, when our Enemies are in any measure disappointed or destroyed; and fearing the Lord should take notice under so many Intimations of his returning mercy, we should be found an Insensible people, as not standing before Him with Thanksgiving, as well as lading him with our Complaints in the time of pressing Afflictions:
The Council has thought meet to appoint and set apart the 29th day of this instant June, as a day of Solemn Thanksgiving and praise to God for such his Goodness and Favour, many Particulars of which mercy might be Instanced, but we doubt not those who are sensible of God's Afflictions, have been as diligent to espy him returning to us; and that the Lord may behold us as a People offering Praise and thereby glorifying Him; the Council doth commend it to the Respective Ministers, Elders and people of this Jurisdiction; Solemnly and seriously to keep the same Beseeching that being perswaded by the mercies of God we may all, even this whole people offer up our bodies and soulds as a living and acceptable Service unto God by Jesus Christ."
This also shows to me that even if religion isn't your thing, historically there's no denying that the our forefathers thought it to be pretty important.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Ridin' The Fence
In the compartmentalized lifestyle of the city, it's easy to let someone else do part of your thinking for you. For example, water along the front range of the Rockies in Colorado is a big issue with the tremendous growth the area is experiencing. Folks can read about the issue in the local papers, listen to talk radio about the subject, and even take adult education classes on the topic. Unfortunately, most city folk get their news and information spoon fed to them. The kids seemed chained to their Play Station video games, while their parents are in another room watching Brian Williams on the evening news. Newspaper readership is down, TV viewing is up, and few people are concerned about water issues, or much else for that matter outside their compartmentalized lives...somebody will take care of the problem for them...it's been that way in the city for a long time right?
As we anxiously await the finalization of our purchase of the farm, we've spent a fair amount of time learning more about local issues that impact the area, and WOW, you have some biggies around here. Water, ethanol, the economy, and taxes... OH My!
Being informed and involved with community matters is important. But right now, we're at the start of the learning curve and the opposing views on the things that matter to southwestern Nebraska are pretty far apart from an outsiders point of view.
Here's an example... It's obvious to me that ethanol and local economies are going to be tied together for the foreseeable future. I've also read some horror stories about water use, production, storage, and fire associated with ethanol production. I can tell this is a divisive issue, but guess what? For the first time in a long time, I feel like I can straddle the fence on the issues.
I don't know where the fence straddling analogy came from, but many politicians get accused of riding fences, and that's usually a bad thing. By not taking a fixed position, some politicians (none in southwestern Nebraska I'm sure) hope to avoid alienating their constituents and therefore get, or stay elected to public office.
Now politics is something I'll do my best to avoid, but when it comes to southwestern Nebraska issues, I'll be sitting on the fence for awhile too. My excuse though is that I'm so uninformed that I don't know what I don't know...yet.
As we anxiously await the finalization of our purchase of the farm, we've spent a fair amount of time learning more about local issues that impact the area, and WOW, you have some biggies around here. Water, ethanol, the economy, and taxes... OH My!
Being informed and involved with community matters is important. But right now, we're at the start of the learning curve and the opposing views on the things that matter to southwestern Nebraska are pretty far apart from an outsiders point of view.
Here's an example... It's obvious to me that ethanol and local economies are going to be tied together for the foreseeable future. I've also read some horror stories about water use, production, storage, and fire associated with ethanol production. I can tell this is a divisive issue, but guess what? For the first time in a long time, I feel like I can straddle the fence on the issues.
I don't know where the fence straddling analogy came from, but many politicians get accused of riding fences, and that's usually a bad thing. By not taking a fixed position, some politicians (none in southwestern Nebraska I'm sure) hope to avoid alienating their constituents and therefore get, or stay elected to public office.
Now politics is something I'll do my best to avoid, but when it comes to southwestern Nebraska issues, I'll be sitting on the fence for awhile too. My excuse though is that I'm so uninformed that I don't know what I don't know...yet.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Localisms
We love maps. We've spent many hours examining topographic and recreation maps. We have a GPS that interfaces with mapping software on a laptop computer to tell exactly where we are in unfamiliar territory, and we have links saved as our favorites on our computer to several online map sources.
I find it interesting that agriculture has been using GPS longer than just about anyone else, but that's not the point today...sorry I digress.
Yep...maps are great. You get official road designations, place names and the like, and they have always been helpful for us to describe how to get to a specific location.
Now in my past life, I worked in the Colorado foothills as a telephone repairman, and often our service orders had directions instead of an address. You know..."take the road along Clear Creek from highway 34 past the 3rd big tree on the right..." type directions. I like to call directions like this, and other terms that have been developed by the local populace localisms.
I thought I'd come up with a spiffy new term, but I decided to see if it is an actual word and sure enough...
Localism
1. A phrase or pronunciation that is peculiar to a particular locality
2. Sectionalism: a partiality for some particular place
Heck, I thought I'd come up with some spiffy terminology, but I suppose I read it somewhere and I've slept since then and don't have the foggiest idea where I learned about localisms but...
Localisms are usually colorful, descriptive, and often don't mean a darn thing to anyone outside the communtiy. The best example that I know of is the Minnesota term "Uff Da". Every Minnesotan I've asked where the term came from can't tell me, but they can tell me what it means to them. I've been places where the localisms sounded more like a secret code than anything else.
So I'm looking forward to learning the localisms of southwestern Nebraska. I like localisms.
I find it interesting that agriculture has been using GPS longer than just about anyone else, but that's not the point today...sorry I digress.
Yep...maps are great. You get official road designations, place names and the like, and they have always been helpful for us to describe how to get to a specific location.
Now in my past life, I worked in the Colorado foothills as a telephone repairman, and often our service orders had directions instead of an address. You know..."take the road along Clear Creek from highway 34 past the 3rd big tree on the right..." type directions. I like to call directions like this, and other terms that have been developed by the local populace localisms.
I thought I'd come up with a spiffy new term, but I decided to see if it is an actual word and sure enough...
Localism
1. A phrase or pronunciation that is peculiar to a particular locality
2. Sectionalism: a partiality for some particular place
Heck, I thought I'd come up with some spiffy terminology, but I suppose I read it somewhere and I've slept since then and don't have the foggiest idea where I learned about localisms but...
Localisms are usually colorful, descriptive, and often don't mean a darn thing to anyone outside the communtiy. The best example that I know of is the Minnesota term "Uff Da". Every Minnesotan I've asked where the term came from can't tell me, but they can tell me what it means to them. I've been places where the localisms sounded more like a secret code than anything else.
So I'm looking forward to learning the localisms of southwestern Nebraska. I like localisms.
Defining a City Slicker
I was about 10 years old the very first time I heard the term "city slicker". We were visiting my grandparents in Ewing and I was next door at my buddy Leon's house. Now Leon was really the only kid I ever got to know in Ewing, and every time we were in town, I couldn't wait to get over to Leon's so we could play.
I don't recall now how the term came out, but Leon called me a city slicker. It was the only time in my life I've been called that, and at the time, I recall thinking it was not PC (see my PC blog below) and something undesirable and to be avoided in a small town.
Jump forward 45+ years. Here we are, outsiders moving to a small town. The local folks don't have a clue about the who, what, where, when, and why of Brian & Margie. They may learn through the grapevine that some city folk are buying the old Wagner Place, and perhaps some of them will stumble on these blog entries and learn something about us that way.
Yep...we're city folk all right, but we were raised by people that grew up on the farm. We were taught that the most important possession you have is your word. We have a special love of nature and the outdoors, and though we lived in the city, we worked hard at our jobs and take pride in our property.
So what is a city slicker? Only your definition matters, but we hope you find us to be much more than what Leon was hinting at 45 years ago.
I don't recall now how the term came out, but Leon called me a city slicker. It was the only time in my life I've been called that, and at the time, I recall thinking it was not PC (see my PC blog below) and something undesirable and to be avoided in a small town.
Jump forward 45+ years. Here we are, outsiders moving to a small town. The local folks don't have a clue about the who, what, where, when, and why of Brian & Margie. They may learn through the grapevine that some city folk are buying the old Wagner Place, and perhaps some of them will stumble on these blog entries and learn something about us that way.
Yep...we're city folk all right, but we were raised by people that grew up on the farm. We were taught that the most important possession you have is your word. We have a special love of nature and the outdoors, and though we lived in the city, we worked hard at our jobs and take pride in our property.
So what is a city slicker? Only your definition matters, but we hope you find us to be much more than what Leon was hinting at 45 years ago.
Living Out Of A Post Office Box
During the last 5 years, we've traveled and lived full time in our RV. Now you might wonder how we paid our bills and received mail. It's rather amazing, but you can become a South Dakota resident simply by renting a public or commercial mailbox, obtaining a drivers license using the mailbox address, and registering and getting your vehicles titled in SD. For us, the analogy we like to use is that we moved from a 1800 square foot house into a 180 cubic inch mailbox.
Now the last statement above isn't exactly true since our motor home is actually around 350 square feet, but what we really did was trade space for time. Since we didn't have any home responsibilities, keeping Gozer (the name we chose for our motor home - from the movie Ghostbusters) and Blackie (our Jeeps name) running has been pretty much our required tasks. Our "house" may have been small, but the ground that has been under it has been something to behold.
We decided to rent a commercial mailbox because they offer personal mail forwarding services. When we got to an area we planned to stay for a couple weeks, we called our mailbox forwarding service and they would send our mail "General Delivery" to the local post office. This worked out great for us as we set up automatic electronic payment for all our recurring bills like vehicle insurance, road service (if you own a large motor home and travel much, you probably want this service), satellite Internet and TV, and of course we had income deposited automatically too, so we didn't need a local bank, just an ATM.
Living out of a mailbox offered some pretty cool perks. We camped along the Colorado River in Utah's canyon country, slept where WWII troops trained for desert combat in the Arizona desert, and overlooked the Badlands of South Dakota. We drove to Alaska along the Alcan Highway, and have seen whales breaking surface. We've camped in the shadow of tall mountains, near deep canyons, beautiful lakes, and rushing streams.
So you see, there is something to be said for living out of a post office box. By our choice of a rather remotely located property, I guess we subconsciously chose to continue living out of a mailbox in spirit anyway, away from crowds, sameness, and sprawl.
Maybe we're modern day hermits.
Now the last statement above isn't exactly true since our motor home is actually around 350 square feet, but what we really did was trade space for time. Since we didn't have any home responsibilities, keeping Gozer (the name we chose for our motor home - from the movie Ghostbusters) and Blackie (our Jeeps name) running has been pretty much our required tasks. Our "house" may have been small, but the ground that has been under it has been something to behold.
We decided to rent a commercial mailbox because they offer personal mail forwarding services. When we got to an area we planned to stay for a couple weeks, we called our mailbox forwarding service and they would send our mail "General Delivery" to the local post office. This worked out great for us as we set up automatic electronic payment for all our recurring bills like vehicle insurance, road service (if you own a large motor home and travel much, you probably want this service), satellite Internet and TV, and of course we had income deposited automatically too, so we didn't need a local bank, just an ATM.
Living out of a mailbox offered some pretty cool perks. We camped along the Colorado River in Utah's canyon country, slept where WWII troops trained for desert combat in the Arizona desert, and overlooked the Badlands of South Dakota. We drove to Alaska along the Alcan Highway, and have seen whales breaking surface. We've camped in the shadow of tall mountains, near deep canyons, beautiful lakes, and rushing streams.
So you see, there is something to be said for living out of a post office box. By our choice of a rather remotely located property, I guess we subconsciously chose to continue living out of a mailbox in spirit anyway, away from crowds, sameness, and sprawl.
Maybe we're modern day hermits.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Concrete Ships??
When we were liquidating our possessions in anticipation of hitting the road full time, we sold a book that I know will be needed on the farm. As I mentioned in an earlier post, this isn't our dream home...yet. To transform it, I'll need a bit of help, so I dropped into a large Denver area bookstore and picked up a home improvement manual. Now if you have not seen one of these books, they provide detailed information about just about every phase of home renovation and construction.
As I was thumbing through chapters from plumbing to masonry, in the concrete section of the Creative Homeowner Home Repair and Improvement book, I came across a picture of a grounded ship sticking out of the water with the following caption... "Don't feel too bad if your concrete patio is sinking. The S.S. Atlantis is an entire concrete ship that's sinking, off the coast of Cape May Point, NJ. Built as an experiment during WWI....". The caption goes on to describe how it failed because of weight...duh!
Just kidding about the "duh" part as new technologies have plenty of flubs before success, but a concrete ship? Not only were these ships used during WWI, but they were used during WWII as well! You can read more about this and other concrete ships at:
http://www.concreteships.org/
As I was thumbing through chapters from plumbing to masonry, in the concrete section of the Creative Homeowner Home Repair and Improvement book, I came across a picture of a grounded ship sticking out of the water with the following caption... "Don't feel too bad if your concrete patio is sinking. The S.S. Atlantis is an entire concrete ship that's sinking, off the coast of Cape May Point, NJ. Built as an experiment during WWI....". The caption goes on to describe how it failed because of weight...duh!
Just kidding about the "duh" part as new technologies have plenty of flubs before success, but a concrete ship? Not only were these ships used during WWI, but they were used during WWII as well! You can read more about this and other concrete ships at:
http://www.concreteships.org/
The Fun Starts & A Pat On The Back
First the pat on the back... It doesn't matter how our house purchase contracts got sent to the wrong zip code inadvertently, but what does matter is that it got fixed...FAST! It's our understanding that the US Postal Service is responsible for helping with a quick resolution to the misdirected mail, and though we don't know any of you that helped get the documents to the seller in a timely manner and returned...We Thank You!
That brings us the fun part.
Now that we've got signed contracts, we can go ahead and get home inspections scheduled. Most of these inspections will be handled by the title company, but we agreed to talk to local experts about two issues. We understand that the house heat pump has a problem that I would like to talk to service people directly about, and I want the septic pumped at my expense and a professional opinion on the systems condition.
The power has been turned off, so we're sending a check to cover turning on power for home inspections to Twin Valleys PPD. I feel pretty ignorant about scheduling something like a temporary power turn-on, but I wrote what I think is a pretty descriptive letter of what is happening, explained that I don't know what to do, and asked "What's Next?"
We also learned that we get to have our blog hosted by the McCook Daily Gazette, and we'll be migrating most of this blogs content over there in the coming weeks. The Gazette hosted blog will ultimately become a copy of this blog, but in case I tick somebody off there and they pull the plug on us, we will still have a copy available.
Another pat on the back...
The sellers real estate agent, Diane Hoffman of Gateway Real Estate of McCook has been wonderful to deal with so far, and I told her that she is earning my 5 star recommendation. Though she works for the seller, we feel like she is working for us. She contacted the proper folks in the Cambridge town leadership and got us permission to stay in the town operated RV park for more than the posted 3 day limit. Thanks Diane!
That brings us the fun part.
Now that we've got signed contracts, we can go ahead and get home inspections scheduled. Most of these inspections will be handled by the title company, but we agreed to talk to local experts about two issues. We understand that the house heat pump has a problem that I would like to talk to service people directly about, and I want the septic pumped at my expense and a professional opinion on the systems condition.
The power has been turned off, so we're sending a check to cover turning on power for home inspections to Twin Valleys PPD. I feel pretty ignorant about scheduling something like a temporary power turn-on, but I wrote what I think is a pretty descriptive letter of what is happening, explained that I don't know what to do, and asked "What's Next?"
We also learned that we get to have our blog hosted by the McCook Daily Gazette, and we'll be migrating most of this blogs content over there in the coming weeks. The Gazette hosted blog will ultimately become a copy of this blog, but in case I tick somebody off there and they pull the plug on us, we will still have a copy available.
Another pat on the back...
The sellers real estate agent, Diane Hoffman of Gateway Real Estate of McCook has been wonderful to deal with so far, and I told her that she is earning my 5 star recommendation. Though she works for the seller, we feel like she is working for us. She contacted the proper folks in the Cambridge town leadership and got us permission to stay in the town operated RV park for more than the posted 3 day limit. Thanks Diane!
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Political Correctness
PC = Politically Correct
A term flashed around the city quite often is "PC". It's become a catch-all phrase to cover a host of verbal or written indiscretions that might offend someone. To be PC nowadays, you say a person of Spanish decent is Latino, and a Black person is that...not Negro or other slang terms....That's the PC way to say things according to whoever makes up the rules. I've actually had required corporate training on this stuff.
I'm not considered in a racial minority, but I firmly believe in embracing diversity as I think that is much of the foundation that this great country was built on. My folks taught me everyone is created equal, and I sure don't want to offend anyone by the careless use of terminology.
BUT...when PC-edness goes over the top, I'm pretty sure we're making the right choice on where we're choosing to live. I read several different web sites for news and entertainment, and the Yahoo headline this morning was...
"No more 'ho ho ho' - Santa's are told to say "ha ha ha" instead of "ho ho ho" so they don't offend women."
I don't know about you, but when my grand kids (if I ever have any) come to the farm and we go into town to see Santa, I sure hope he BELLERS "HO! HO! HO!"
And another thing...is it OK to say Merry Christmas instead of Happy Hollidays? I love the meaning behind "Merry Christmas", and if my saying that offends you, then I don't think you get it when it comes to American liberty and freedom.
To hell with being "PC" on these two items in my book! Are we moving to a place with some common sense to go with PC? We're counting on it!
A term flashed around the city quite often is "PC". It's become a catch-all phrase to cover a host of verbal or written indiscretions that might offend someone. To be PC nowadays, you say a person of Spanish decent is Latino, and a Black person is that...not Negro or other slang terms....That's the PC way to say things according to whoever makes up the rules. I've actually had required corporate training on this stuff.
I'm not considered in a racial minority, but I firmly believe in embracing diversity as I think that is much of the foundation that this great country was built on. My folks taught me everyone is created equal, and I sure don't want to offend anyone by the careless use of terminology.
BUT...when PC-edness goes over the top, I'm pretty sure we're making the right choice on where we're choosing to live. I read several different web sites for news and entertainment, and the Yahoo headline this morning was...
"No more 'ho ho ho' - Santa's are told to say "ha ha ha" instead of "ho ho ho" so they don't offend women."
I don't know about you, but when my grand kids (if I ever have any) come to the farm and we go into town to see Santa, I sure hope he BELLERS "HO! HO! HO!"
And another thing...is it OK to say Merry Christmas instead of Happy Hollidays? I love the meaning behind "Merry Christmas", and if my saying that offends you, then I don't think you get it when it comes to American liberty and freedom.
To hell with being "PC" on these two items in my book! Are we moving to a place with some common sense to go with PC? We're counting on it!
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
The Importance Of Email - One Man's Perspective
We're pretty high tech savvy, though these new cell phones with text messaging, Internet access, MP3, and picture taking ability have features we don't need or want. Now while we don't need them, I can see how a lot of folks could use them. Technology marches on.
When I was a kid in Omaha, the comic section of the World Herald had Dick Tracy as it's #1 cartoon. Dick was way ahead of the curve when it came to high tech. His two-way wrist radio, later to be a wrist worn TV phone is almost a reality over 40 years later with the new miniature IPod, Razr, IPhone, or whatever the actual names are of these miniature devices. Now I admit Dick may not have been from Earth...his girlfriend was the Moon Maid if I remember right, but today high tech communication is part of daily life for most of us. The science fiction of only a short time ago is now reality.
So what's our point?
If you care, most of us city folk have become pretty dependent on high tech. We'd have a hard time getting by without the Internet because we use it as a library to the world. Personally, email is our #1 source of communication, but from our limited experience using email in Nebraska, many folks are slow checking their electronic mailbox or don't at all. Makes me wonder why you would advertise an email address and then not check it regularly. You would be better served providing only a phone number, if you ignore email, we figure you don't want our business.
You might wonder how we find email addresses in rural areas. You may not be aware that your town has a web site with business listings, but I am. I know how to use the Internet as a search tool for finding out information about just about anything, including rather obscure information such as the depth of your town wells. (Cambridge I discovered has 2 wells 65 feet deep for example).
Now I know if you never get emails, or all you get seems to be junk mail, it's easy to forget to check your electronic mailbox. But if you are in business and don't constantly check your email, you WILL lose out on business, and competition that does answer their email may run you out of town in the long run.
Consider this...Our experience in Nebraska so far is that, state run offices do a good job of replying to email, churches are the worst, and MOST (not all) companies we've written have provided slow or no response at all!
Mr. business man and community members, if you don't want business from outside your community, one little way to help is ignore your email or don't answer it in a timely manner. It may seem like a small thing, but if you choose this route, your prospective customers may go somewhere else for products and services...we did.
When I was a kid in Omaha, the comic section of the World Herald had Dick Tracy as it's #1 cartoon. Dick was way ahead of the curve when it came to high tech. His two-way wrist radio, later to be a wrist worn TV phone is almost a reality over 40 years later with the new miniature IPod, Razr, IPhone, or whatever the actual names are of these miniature devices. Now I admit Dick may not have been from Earth...his girlfriend was the Moon Maid if I remember right, but today high tech communication is part of daily life for most of us. The science fiction of only a short time ago is now reality.
So what's our point?
If you care, most of us city folk have become pretty dependent on high tech. We'd have a hard time getting by without the Internet because we use it as a library to the world. Personally, email is our #1 source of communication, but from our limited experience using email in Nebraska, many folks are slow checking their electronic mailbox or don't at all. Makes me wonder why you would advertise an email address and then not check it regularly. You would be better served providing only a phone number, if you ignore email, we figure you don't want our business.
You might wonder how we find email addresses in rural areas. You may not be aware that your town has a web site with business listings, but I am. I know how to use the Internet as a search tool for finding out information about just about anything, including rather obscure information such as the depth of your town wells. (Cambridge I discovered has 2 wells 65 feet deep for example).
Now I know if you never get emails, or all you get seems to be junk mail, it's easy to forget to check your electronic mailbox. But if you are in business and don't constantly check your email, you WILL lose out on business, and competition that does answer their email may run you out of town in the long run.
Consider this...Our experience in Nebraska so far is that, state run offices do a good job of replying to email, churches are the worst, and MOST (not all) companies we've written have provided slow or no response at all!
Mr. business man and community members, if you don't want business from outside your community, one little way to help is ignore your email or don't answer it in a timely manner. It may seem like a small thing, but if you choose this route, your prospective customers may go somewhere else for products and services...we did.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Anticipation - Part 1
Today was our daughters 24th birthday, and her first opportunity to see the photos of the farm we've taken so far. We had a great time trying to describe what she was looking at from time to time, and we found it easier to show a Google Earth image, and then point to the photo as that gave her a pretty good idea what she was looking at. She started making plans to spend Christmas with us on the farm, and I think she liked what she saw in the photos for the most part.
Today was also a day of waiting for something exciting to happen with our purchase of the farm. Being from the city, we're experiencing a slightly different buying experience than our previous city transactions. City folk don't talk about making a deal without a signed contract and a check to back it up. Our farm deal was worked out over the phone, partly because the seller is out of the area I imagine. If he had been local, I suppose it might have been the same scenario as a city transaction.
So we're in anticipation mode at the moment waiting for the seller to sign and return contracts so we can get on with scheduling several home inspections. This is quite a different feeling for us as we're ready and excited to take possession of the farm, and we're still 5 weeks away.
Transition Note:
After driving around the Denver area for a couple days, two things got emphasized we will NOT miss about living in a city...
1. Rush Hour
2. Traffic Lights
Today was also a day of waiting for something exciting to happen with our purchase of the farm. Being from the city, we're experiencing a slightly different buying experience than our previous city transactions. City folk don't talk about making a deal without a signed contract and a check to back it up. Our farm deal was worked out over the phone, partly because the seller is out of the area I imagine. If he had been local, I suppose it might have been the same scenario as a city transaction.
So we're in anticipation mode at the moment waiting for the seller to sign and return contracts so we can get on with scheduling several home inspections. This is quite a different feeling for us as we're ready and excited to take possession of the farm, and we're still 5 weeks away.
Transition Note:
After driving around the Denver area for a couple days, two things got emphasized we will NOT miss about living in a city...
1. Rush Hour
2. Traffic Lights
Monday, November 12, 2007
The Leading Edge
Have you seen the movie "Dances With Wolves"? The main character John Dunbar (Dances With Wolves), is asked by the indians "how many" white's are coming, and his response was "Like the stars".
We think the "Boomers" are coming this time, and they may change your way of life.
A couple weeks ago, we saw on the news that the first "official" boomer (The first person born after midnight January 1, 1946) has applied for Social Security. One heck of a lot of boomers live in cities, and many of those city folk are just like us...they want to live someplace where the pace of life is slower than the high pressure lives they are accustomed to in the cities.
Now we're not clairvoyant, fortune tellers, or in any way prognosticators of the future, but I believe we are on the leading edge of another era of population migration. We've read a lot about the outward migration of rural America, but in some parts of the country, the outward migration has ceased, and rural population growth is outpacing local communities abilities to provide necessary services.
One good part of this migration for rural America I think is that most of these folks bring with them financial resources, and are not looking for work in most cases. Many will come with the idea of starting a home based business, and with the Internet, satellite and cellular communications, and "to your door" package delivery and pickup, a viable home based economy might just be possible.
Jobs will automatically follow to support these new residents, and with population growth comes construction of course. But there will be problems too. New residents may demand city services the cost of which will be passed on to all residents. Politics as usual for the area could be turned upside down, and crime and related law enforcement issues could follow. Expanded health care for an aging population will likely be needed too.
With quick growth comes quick problems. Communities can lose their identities with the influx of large numbers of people that may or may not share the same values as established area residents. Poor growth planning, or underestimating the speed of growth might lead to the loss of what you want your community to be. You can see where rural areas just 10 years ago along the front range of the Rockies in Colorado are now checkerboard housing developments with neighbors stacked on top of each other.
We hope we have the same set of values and desires for our new community as the long time residents. We picked this area because there seems to be limited development and growth. We've seen explosive growth in many places we've traveled, and the results are usually sprawl, sameness, and loss of community...all things we hope our new area communities in southwest Nebraska can find a way to avoid.
We think the "Boomers" are coming this time, and they may change your way of life.
A couple weeks ago, we saw on the news that the first "official" boomer (The first person born after midnight January 1, 1946) has applied for Social Security. One heck of a lot of boomers live in cities, and many of those city folk are just like us...they want to live someplace where the pace of life is slower than the high pressure lives they are accustomed to in the cities.
Now we're not clairvoyant, fortune tellers, or in any way prognosticators of the future, but I believe we are on the leading edge of another era of population migration. We've read a lot about the outward migration of rural America, but in some parts of the country, the outward migration has ceased, and rural population growth is outpacing local communities abilities to provide necessary services.
One good part of this migration for rural America I think is that most of these folks bring with them financial resources, and are not looking for work in most cases. Many will come with the idea of starting a home based business, and with the Internet, satellite and cellular communications, and "to your door" package delivery and pickup, a viable home based economy might just be possible.
Jobs will automatically follow to support these new residents, and with population growth comes construction of course. But there will be problems too. New residents may demand city services the cost of which will be passed on to all residents. Politics as usual for the area could be turned upside down, and crime and related law enforcement issues could follow. Expanded health care for an aging population will likely be needed too.
With quick growth comes quick problems. Communities can lose their identities with the influx of large numbers of people that may or may not share the same values as established area residents. Poor growth planning, or underestimating the speed of growth might lead to the loss of what you want your community to be. You can see where rural areas just 10 years ago along the front range of the Rockies in Colorado are now checkerboard housing developments with neighbors stacked on top of each other.
We hope we have the same set of values and desires for our new community as the long time residents. We picked this area because there seems to be limited development and growth. We've seen explosive growth in many places we've traveled, and the results are usually sprawl, sameness, and loss of community...all things we hope our new area communities in southwest Nebraska can find a way to avoid.
Trees & Tractors
News of our impending purchase of the farm is spreading quickly among our friends and family. Margie's Dad and brother were deer hunting in Minnesota when the news broke, and they decided to swing by to see just what we got ourselves into on their way back to Colorado. Brother-in-law got to meet some of Nebraska's finest north of McCook on his way, and will be making his contribution to the public coffers.
After visiting the farm...
Dad's quote - "You sure got a lot of work in front of you"
Brothers quote - "Cool Place! I love the tractor"
Now you need to understand that Margie's Dad is a work-a-holic...a seemingly boundless source of energy. He loves to cut and trim trees, and can quickly see that we probably have a lifetime supply of firewood, a boatload of brush to take care of, and outbuildings to do something with.
Brother-in-law thinks power tools...he showed up today with the tractor trader magazine. Wow...some of this power Ag stuff costs BIG bucks.
I can just see myself...Oliver Wendell Douglas (the city farmer from Green Acres TV show) bouncing across the field on my tractor. HA!
After visiting the farm...
Dad's quote - "You sure got a lot of work in front of you"
Brothers quote - "Cool Place! I love the tractor"
Now you need to understand that Margie's Dad is a work-a-holic...a seemingly boundless source of energy. He loves to cut and trim trees, and can quickly see that we probably have a lifetime supply of firewood, a boatload of brush to take care of, and outbuildings to do something with.
Brother-in-law thinks power tools...he showed up today with the tractor trader magazine. Wow...some of this power Ag stuff costs BIG bucks.
I can just see myself...Oliver Wendell Douglas (the city farmer from Green Acres TV show) bouncing across the field on my tractor. HA!
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Veterans Day - Remembering Brian's Dad
Two years ago today my Dad passed away. He was born near a place called Venus, Nebraska February 21, 1916. The Venus store is where the name came from, but it was located a short distance northeast of Orchard along highway 20 in the northeastern part of the state.
He grew up on a dryland farm without electricity or indoor plumbing, and wood stoves and ice houses were the way things were heated and kept cold. The family didn't have much, and Dad mentioned putting cardboard in his shoes to extend their life. He rode a Shetland Pony to the school 3 miles away as a boy, went off to the Grand Island Business College, joined the Army and served during WWII, married my Mom, and worked as a railway mail clerk sorting mail on the California Zephyr between Omaha & Cheyenne Wyoming. When the Postal Service ceased mail service via rail, Dad was transferred to Denver where he retired several years later. Mom and Dad ended up moving to Washington state where Mom still resides.
Somewhere in there, I came into their lives. Dad taught me to fish, hunt, a special love of the outdoors, honesty, and to respect others and their property. We hiked, camped, and traveled throughout the USA and Canada, and I now know just how lucky I was as a kid to get to see and experience what many never get the chance to. Dad's railway mail job had him out of town several days a month, but he always made up for it when he was home. He taught me to use a hammer, saw and level, and I know these skills will come in very handy in the near future.
Thanks for everything Dad...you are as much a part of our buying the farm as anyone. I suppose you're up there smiling (you know) wondering when our minds took the walk off the map and decided to buy the farm.
He grew up on a dryland farm without electricity or indoor plumbing, and wood stoves and ice houses were the way things were heated and kept cold. The family didn't have much, and Dad mentioned putting cardboard in his shoes to extend their life. He rode a Shetland Pony to the school 3 miles away as a boy, went off to the Grand Island Business College, joined the Army and served during WWII, married my Mom, and worked as a railway mail clerk sorting mail on the California Zephyr between Omaha & Cheyenne Wyoming. When the Postal Service ceased mail service via rail, Dad was transferred to Denver where he retired several years later. Mom and Dad ended up moving to Washington state where Mom still resides.
Somewhere in there, I came into their lives. Dad taught me to fish, hunt, a special love of the outdoors, honesty, and to respect others and their property. We hiked, camped, and traveled throughout the USA and Canada, and I now know just how lucky I was as a kid to get to see and experience what many never get the chance to. Dad's railway mail job had him out of town several days a month, but he always made up for it when he was home. He taught me to use a hammer, saw and level, and I know these skills will come in very handy in the near future.
Thanks for everything Dad...you are as much a part of our buying the farm as anyone. I suppose you're up there smiling (you know) wondering when our minds took the walk off the map and decided to buy the farm.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Sand Burrs
While tramping around inspecting the farm prior to making an offer to purchase the property, our Golden Retreiver Casey found the sand burrs. Now I remember these little buggers from being a kid visiting my grandparents in Holt county, and as most people already know, you don't want them sticking you very badly...they sting. Unfortuntely our dogs fur seems to be one of the dang things favorite targets.
Margie was emailing family details of our propective purchase, and mentioned that we will need to try and spray for the sand burrs so the dog doesn't get covered constantly. Brian's native Nebraska aunt Wilma replyed..."You don't get rid of them, you avoid them".
I hope a natural or chemical cure can be found to make a major dent in the sand burr population on the farm. I've noticed a few folks use Zoysia grass (I think that's it), and I know it's drought tollerant and would probably choke out the little devils... Any other suggestions?
Margie was emailing family details of our propective purchase, and mentioned that we will need to try and spray for the sand burrs so the dog doesn't get covered constantly. Brian's native Nebraska aunt Wilma replyed..."You don't get rid of them, you avoid them".
I hope a natural or chemical cure can be found to make a major dent in the sand burr population on the farm. I've noticed a few folks use Zoysia grass (I think that's it), and I know it's drought tollerant and would probably choke out the little devils... Any other suggestions?
How we found "The Farm"
OK...so we're internet junkies. To us, it's the most useful tool available for finding current information about anything. We started looking at rural property early this year using real estate web sites. This gave us the opportunity to look at a large number of property listings across several states.
We had a good idea what we wanted, and what states we were willing to look at, but finding the diamond in the rough took hundreds of hours spent in front of the computer looking at a wide range of property listings. After a couple property inspections that were less than our vision of dream property, we saw this picture and the following description ...
This 4 bedroom home located on 5 +/-acres offers a heat pump, central air, newer septic, RO system, roof, and gutter. Outbuildings include a barn, open front carport, and grain bin. If you have been wanting to experience country living, check this one out.
Well...it sounded perfect, and the listing gave directions to the property. I used Google Earth to get an idea of what to expect from the country side. The 3D capability made it possible to virtually fly over the entire Mineral Creek area, and spot the property for a glimpse of what we might find.
If you have not used Google Earth and have a high speed internet connection, you can find your house, neighborhood or look down on just about everywhere in the world. The following picture is a Google Earth image of our country paradise.
So that's how we located our country home...hereinafter refered to in this blog as "The Farm". I know it is NOT a farm, but it's located in farm country, it is our blog, and we'll call it what we want to thank you very much. Consider it our contribution to freedom of speech.
We had a good idea what we wanted, and what states we were willing to look at, but finding the diamond in the rough took hundreds of hours spent in front of the computer looking at a wide range of property listings. After a couple property inspections that were less than our vision of dream property, we saw this picture and the following description ...
This 4 bedroom home located on 5 +/-acres offers a heat pump, central air, newer septic, RO system, roof, and gutter. Outbuildings include a barn, open front carport, and grain bin. If you have been wanting to experience country living, check this one out.
Well...it sounded perfect, and the listing gave directions to the property. I used Google Earth to get an idea of what to expect from the country side. The 3D capability made it possible to virtually fly over the entire Mineral Creek area, and spot the property for a glimpse of what we might find.
If you have not used Google Earth and have a high speed internet connection, you can find your house, neighborhood or look down on just about everywhere in the world. The following picture is a Google Earth image of our country paradise.
So that's how we located our country home...hereinafter refered to in this blog as "The Farm". I know it is NOT a farm, but it's located in farm country, it is our blog, and we'll call it what we want to thank you very much. Consider it our contribution to freedom of speech.
Getting From There To Here...
We've got a few days before excitement really starts for us, but here is a little background...
During the last 5 years of full time RV living, we seldom stayed in an RV park. We prefered to boondock (dispersed camping- camping outside a developed campground) for extended periods of time. We considered our motor home to be our 1 bedroom portable cabin.
We equiped our rig with hundreds of watts of solar panels, deep cycle 6 volt batteries hooked to a powerful inverter for 110 volt AC power, satellite internet and TV, large fresh and waste water tanks, backup generator, and a sense of adventure that took us to places that our motor home maybe should not have been...but that's a whole different story. We can stay for a couple weeks anywhere without need of water, electric, or dump station.
We know that we crave solitude, and frankly, that's not readily available anymore on public lands. There are more and more folk looking for recreation on public lands, so it's starting to get crowded. Private land ownership can be the answer for folks like us seeking solitude, and many people gravitate towads the mini ranchette trying to find it. Please don't get me wrong, but to us, the common 5 and 10 acre ranchette is much like living in the suburbs, only with a very large yard.
Nope...what we needed was an old farm house that the surrounding crop lands had been sold off, maybe with some outbuildings. A view would be nice, not too far from a good grocery store, pizza and a gas station... sounded like a reasonable place to start looking for.
Next up...How we found this particular "diamond in the rough".
During the last 5 years of full time RV living, we seldom stayed in an RV park. We prefered to boondock (dispersed camping- camping outside a developed campground) for extended periods of time. We considered our motor home to be our 1 bedroom portable cabin.
We equiped our rig with hundreds of watts of solar panels, deep cycle 6 volt batteries hooked to a powerful inverter for 110 volt AC power, satellite internet and TV, large fresh and waste water tanks, backup generator, and a sense of adventure that took us to places that our motor home maybe should not have been...but that's a whole different story. We can stay for a couple weeks anywhere without need of water, electric, or dump station.
We know that we crave solitude, and frankly, that's not readily available anymore on public lands. There are more and more folk looking for recreation on public lands, so it's starting to get crowded. Private land ownership can be the answer for folks like us seeking solitude, and many people gravitate towads the mini ranchette trying to find it. Please don't get me wrong, but to us, the common 5 and 10 acre ranchette is much like living in the suburbs, only with a very large yard.
Nope...what we needed was an old farm house that the surrounding crop lands had been sold off, maybe with some outbuildings. A view would be nice, not too far from a good grocery store, pizza and a gas station... sounded like a reasonable place to start looking for.
Next up...How we found this particular "diamond in the rough".
What Was Brian Thinking?
Howdy!
What have we done? Why have we done it? How does it feel? Where do we go from here?
Well...Here we go!
We've lived in cities our whole lives...except for the last 5 that have been spent living and traveling full time in our motor home. Yesterday, us city folk bought the farm. Well sorta...
We're not farmers nor do we want to be, but we crave what we think the country offers, like a quiet, relaxed lifestyle where people mean what they say, not what they want you to think. We worked high technology jobs in Colorado and had a pretty nice house in the suburbs. We never got to know any of our neighbors well, hated the traffic, disliked city noise and pollution, spent our weekends in the Colorado high country trying to escape the rat race of the city, and found it harder and harder to get away for some solitude.
Bang! Step back 5 years or so... Retired and separated from working lives, we sold our house and everything in it and moved into our motor home. We've traveled throughout the western US, Canada, and into Alaska. We've followed the seasons, and have visited many areas repeatedly and have seen the unbridled growth throughout the west. We've been constantly looking for the "perfect" place to settle down. A place where we can be comfortable and not live in a 5 acre "ranchette", gated, or covenants controlled community.
Bang! Yesterday...we made an offer on a 5 acre former hog operation in a windbreak near Cambridge NE, and it was ACCEPTED! The property has been neglected for quite a while and the outbuildings need "help!". We're surrounded by fields, and we can't see a single neighbor. We're on top of a hill, and can see distant farms, and the Medicine Creek valley is in sight.
We didn't expect to find what we think will be our dream home, and it's a LONG way from being that. You have to have an interesting sense of "vision" to imagine this farm property as being someones dream home, but we've got the time and determination to make it exactly what we want...we think we've got a great start!
We've got home inspections to go through, cold weather coming on, and decisions to make about spending winter in Nebraska, or heading for warmer winter weather and starting our country transition in the spring. We own no furniture or appliances, and only what fits in a large motor home as our starting point for this move...
I guess Brian got his first Deere yesterday...
What have we done? Why have we done it? How does it feel? Where do we go from here?
Well...Here we go!
We've lived in cities our whole lives...except for the last 5 that have been spent living and traveling full time in our motor home. Yesterday, us city folk bought the farm. Well sorta...
We're not farmers nor do we want to be, but we crave what we think the country offers, like a quiet, relaxed lifestyle where people mean what they say, not what they want you to think. We worked high technology jobs in Colorado and had a pretty nice house in the suburbs. We never got to know any of our neighbors well, hated the traffic, disliked city noise and pollution, spent our weekends in the Colorado high country trying to escape the rat race of the city, and found it harder and harder to get away for some solitude.
Bang! Step back 5 years or so... Retired and separated from working lives, we sold our house and everything in it and moved into our motor home. We've traveled throughout the western US, Canada, and into Alaska. We've followed the seasons, and have visited many areas repeatedly and have seen the unbridled growth throughout the west. We've been constantly looking for the "perfect" place to settle down. A place where we can be comfortable and not live in a 5 acre "ranchette", gated, or covenants controlled community.
Bang! Yesterday...we made an offer on a 5 acre former hog operation in a windbreak near Cambridge NE, and it was ACCEPTED! The property has been neglected for quite a while and the outbuildings need "help!". We're surrounded by fields, and we can't see a single neighbor. We're on top of a hill, and can see distant farms, and the Medicine Creek valley is in sight.
We didn't expect to find what we think will be our dream home, and it's a LONG way from being that. You have to have an interesting sense of "vision" to imagine this farm property as being someones dream home, but we've got the time and determination to make it exactly what we want...we think we've got a great start!
We've got home inspections to go through, cold weather coming on, and decisions to make about spending winter in Nebraska, or heading for warmer winter weather and starting our country transition in the spring. We own no furniture or appliances, and only what fits in a large motor home as our starting point for this move...
I guess Brian got his first Deere yesterday...
She thinks my tractor's sexy?? What a gal!!!
Should be interesting!
You can help! We welcome any and all suggestions to help us make this transition. What are we overlooking? What would you do? Why would you do it? Let us know, and thanks for following along with the City Slickers.
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