What it takes to bring an old homestead back

[neillarson]

My wife and I bought 15 acres of pasture and pecan groves that had been used strictly for hay for over 25 years. No one really knows how long the homestead has been gone. This is our retirement home even though I will go back to work sometime next spring consulting part time to keep the toy money coming in. Or maybe I will have to perfect that infamous question, "would you like frys with that".

The pecan groves were severely overgrown, there was no water, sewage, electric, phone or internet on the property and only Water was available at the road. About 20 very large pecan trees, 2 small ponds and it seems like hundreds of mixed oak, cedar, pine, wild lemon and maple trees along with trees that I have no idea what they are. I also have 28 acres with an 18 acre pond of my BILs to manage. The cost in tools and useful toys has been amazing. Luckily a 1978 MF 175 with a 6" bush hog came with the property. I have bought a Yamaha Grizzly 700, A lifted Yamaha G29 Golf Cart, a garden tractor, a Husqvarna Zero Turn 54" mower, a large Chipper Shredder, a hand full of chainsaws, lopers, pitch forks, shovels and rakes and a 5X8 Utility Trailer. I also use regularly my BILs 6X18 Utility Trailer, his Kioti 4WD tractor with Front end loader and box blade and assorted tools I don't yet have. I have done some welding to pay him back for that. I also have had 6 loads of wash gravel dropped and I spread it for a drive way and parking pad. 6 Loads of dirt to build a pad for a new Manufactured home to sit on. Of course we bought the home, appliances, new living room, bedroom and dining room furniture plus all the toys (ATVs and Guns I didn't have in Illinois due to space and silly ass gun laws, yes I am a democrat AND a shooter, lol).

For the last 6 weeks we have been living in our RV and clearing the pecan groves, 2 done, 1 part way done and the biggest one just started. We also cut back the underbrush 12 to 18 feet all the way around the property. Removed 100 feet or so of pointless barbwire and fence poles, pulled about 1700 lbs of scrap metal out of the woods from where the previous owner tossed broken farm implements. In the process, I flat tore up the old 6 foot bush hog and am now looking for a 7 to 8 footer. Can't count the number of time I have sharpened all the chainsaws and probably will have to change a couple out soon.

Tomorrow finally the pad will be done and the first part of the house will be in place. Friday the other 2 parts will arrive and over the weekend and Monday and Tuesday it will get finished. We hope to see the sewage treatment plant go in on Wednesday along with the water lines run. The following Monday, the Power Company Engineer and our electrician will meet to determine where the service pole will go and soon after it will attached to the grid and the electrician will hook up the house. After that it is inspection time and then finally we can move in.

A heck of a lot more work and money that I expected but I will die right here so it is all good. The shop will be going in next, still finalizing what I am going to do. Still have a tractor shed to build and the carport roof and supports, but the end is in sight.

If you have never done this and plan to, triple the physical effort you think you will need and add 50% to the dollars you need to spend. But at least it is fun and beats the hell out of catching the 5:45AM train every day to go to Chicago and getting home about 6:30PM. And the hard works is helping me shed some weight, 2 pants sizes and 1 shirt size so far. So soon I will just be an obnoxious ass instead of an obnoxious fat ass. Hmmmm, doubt it.

[Duuuuuuuude]

Sounds like fun!


I know quite a few people in this area that have done or are in the process of what you are doing now. Lots of land purchased in far removed locations...no water, no sewer, no phone, eventually they get power. Just some land, tons of trees, and a pad for their rv.

I kinda like that idea.

[neillarson]

It really is beautiful and peaceful. It will give me a nice place to come back to after my part time Gigs that will probably be mainly in Chicago, Baltimore, Dallas, LA, Atlanta and New York.

The people are really welcoming and would give you the shirt off their back though they haven't quite figured out my religious leanings. Those that have are tolerant for the most part and still invite me to church :-)

I have started customizing ATV trailers and have a lot of people waiting for me to work on theirs after hunting season. Making custom racks for deer sized coolers, gas can and tool box racks, customized tie downs. As soon as my shop is done, a plasma cutter and a new TIG rig is coming home. Got a tubing bender and a tubing roller, hydraulic press and a medium sized break for decent prices. Hopefully I can do enough of that along with bumpers for these old yotas that seem to live forever here, to keep me busy so maybe only have to take a couple gigs a year.

[braceysdad]

Nice... We need to do some fossil hunting soon

[hank the crank]

Glad you are doing this. There is a lot of satisfaction in work you do on your own place. However, a word to the wise, in my experience, if you build a shop or building it won't be big enough. They fill up before you finish em.

[jhtoy]

Reading your post really made me smile.I have been maintaining the 40 acre family farm since I was a fetus.I am the youngest of 4 and the only boy,Dad kept trying till he had a boy to help him on the farm.As soon as my legs were long enough to reach the pedals on the tractor I was plowing fields.My dad passed in 99 so it is just my mom there now.I live a few miles away so I spend all my free time there taking care of the place.The work never ends,between all the mowing and maintnance of a 200 year old farm house,along with maintaining all the equipment.We rent the fields to a local farmer and my mom got a HEALTHY check from the state for farmland preservation,and a nice tax break.Owning a big chunk of property is a ton of work but it is very gratifying.There is nothing quite like running a tractor across a field on a beautiful summer morning,it gets in your blood.Good luck with your place and have a cold one on me the next time your sitting on the back porch admiring all of your hard work!

[Harley]

Sounds like a great piece of land. Take any pictures?

[neillarson]

Originally Posted by hank the crank

Glad you are doing this. There is a lot of satisfaction in work you do on your own place. However, a word to the wise, in my experience, if you build a shop or building it won't be big enough. They fill up before you finish em.

Lol, I know the feeling. I am looking at a 24x32 with 2 garage doors on the 24' end facing the road, divided into half. The other end will have a man door on each side with 2 windows facing the house and 2 more facing the pasture. The 2 12'X16' bays will be for working on the toys and metal work. The other side will have an office space, reloading bench, ham radio bench with test equipment, soldering and battery charging stations and finally an RC building bench with shelves for all my scalers and boats.

[neillarson]

Originally Posted by braceysdad

Nice... We need to do some fossil hunting soon

For sure. It will have to be after we finish the building but sounds like fun.

[neillarson]

Originally Posted by Harley

Sounds like a great piece of land. Take any pictures?

These are from before we started and just we we started. I will take some more tomorrow.

[neillarson]

Couple more recent.

[dezfan]

Sweet!

Looks like there is plenty of room to do some shooting!

[neillarson]

Originally Posted by dezfan

Sweet!

Looks like there is plenty of room to do some shooting!

Oh yeah. I think one of the pics shows one of our shooting houses. Even though I don't hunt, my BIL has killed a number of deer from there. Lots of turkey and deer around. I am planting a plot of corn to bring more in and adding a bird garden to attract the song birds.

[JeremyH]

A liberal buddhist that lives in Mississippi and shoots guns.......that's an interesting combination.

[neillarson]

Originally Posted by JeremyH

A liberal buddhist that lives in Mississippi and shoots guns.......that's an interesting combination.

Lol, that's for sure. I even like ARs and AKs.

[JeremyH]

So, really what you are saying is that if you ever saw Diane Feinstein in person, you'd hug her, then punch her in the face?

[neillarson]

Originally Posted by JeremyH

So, really what you are saying is that if you ever saw Diane Feinstein in person, you'd hug her, then punch her in the face?

Yes but I would do the same to Anne Coulter. Then watch my karma go to shit.

[viper6171]

looks like a very nice place , maybe one of these years i can do something similar

[braceysdad]

Originally Posted by neillarson

For sure. It will have to be after we finish the building but sounds like fun.

Maybe the ms river will be as low next year as it was this past summer... You'll poo bricks!

[neillarson]

Originally Posted by braceysdad

Maybe the ms river will be as low next year as it was this past summer... You'll poo bricks!

Keep in mind, I am an old man with replaced knees. So gotta go slow.