Building Fence

Today Michelle, Gavin and I went up to the property and built 1/4 mile of barbed wire fence. Most of the posts were there; wooden. We were able to stretch the wire and staple it to the posts. We drove several metal T posts too where the wooden ones were missing, making sure there's a post about every 10 feet.

Driving T Posts

3 out of 4 strands so far.

The tract is deep, running 1/2 mile deep by about 800 feet wide. Most of it was fenced, except the north west portion as seen in the satellite image below, which is what we built today.

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The weather was awesome for most of the morning, but ended up nice and humid when the sun came out in the afternoon.

We left McKinney at 8 and arrived in Hugo by 10, somehow avoiding all of the rain. 

Radar as we headed up north.

Every time we pass through Trenton, Texas on our way to the property I laugh. Today I finally stopped for a picture. In case you didn't know what east Texas is like, here's a prime example. Three pretty maids in a row.

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As soon as we arrived, we went to work right away. 

Michelle and Gavin working hard.

Along the fence row we snacked on blackberries and persimmons. 

So sweet!

Deer love these too!

About a month ago, Michelle and I built the gate at the entrance to the property and what will eventually be the driveway to the cabin.

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And that's where we are now. We measured the approach to the gate to make sure our shipping container will make the turn, which will be the next step. 

Until next time...

Getting Started

Michelle asked me to set up a blog to document our newest journey and we're inviting you to follow along...

About a month ago, Michelle and I finally located a property to purchase. We'd been looking for a while. Our original plan was to purchase property in Arizona back in 2015 when we decided to move out of Dallas. Sparse private land and very restrictive building codes killed that idea quickly. Thankfully, we've since made it back home and found exactly what we've been looking for.

The biggest lesson we've learned over our many adventures has been about how important balance is in life. Years ago I studied Buddhism and learned of the Buddhist Dharma Wheel and how balance is a key to element of a happy life. When you figure out how to apply this symbolic idea to your own life it truly does bring peace and happiness. We now easily balance our work, play, income, debt, friends and family as equally as possible and have never been happier.

Part of our reason for moving out of Dallas was to be in an opposite place. More outdoors, smaller, slower. But moving from Downtown Dallas to the high dessert of Arizona swung the pendulum too far. What we've accomplished now is the balance we were missing. We live on the far north edge of the Metroplex, with all of the conveniences imaginable just minutes to our south, and all of the lakes, rivers and prairies of northeast Texas/southeast Oklahoma minutes to our north. And now we own 40 acres of heaven, where soon we will have a place to retreat and get away from it all, for a while, then return to daily life and all of the opportunities our home town offers. Balance.

First thing we have is about .25 mile of fence to build on the northwest side. Then we're having a 40' shipping container delivered in the next few weeks to hold building materials. We plan to add an electrical meter loop in August to have power. Then the building will begin, scheduled to be finished by next spring. Of course we plan to build it ourselves. The cabin will be about 700 square feet  with 450 on the first floor and a 300 square foot loft, comfortably sleeping 6.

We will also have an RV hookup for additional guests, an outdoor all wood burning kitchen and much more. You can't see it on the map below, but Lake Hugo's beach is 15 minutes away.

The Property Location (Yellow Rectangle)

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The land was owned by an older gentleman who recently passed away. His heirs live in California and did not have a use for the property. Luckily, we do! 

Cabin Plan

There will be some modifications to this plan. 

1. The actual cabin will be a mirror image of this plan. 2. The kitchen will be slightly redesigned with a door leading to a wrapped around side porch. The side porch will be screened.

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Look forward to seeing many more photos, stories and even how to's as we progress!