Flooded Pastures

Both the middle and lower pastures are flooded this day. This was shot on April 25, 2011. This was taken from Jim's back porch, and you can see his fenced-in backyard. Ricky enjoys their yard when he goes to visit Mindy & Lil'Bit. The water has been in these pastures before, and even higher than this, so we weren't too surprised at this. Shoal Creek runs along our property, and when it gets out of its banks, the pastures get watered!

Day 4

Day 4 (yesterday) was the end of the basement excavation! He finished by about noon, and then it puckered up and rained in the afternoon. We were thankful that the basement digging was done. Next another guy will bring a backhoe and dig a long trench so Sam can put in a "drain to daylight". Rain forecast for today (Day 5) but so far, things are looking like no rain for a while, and hopefully we can get this trench opened and shut today.

Day 3

Day 3 of the excavation went well. He has a large part of the basement dug but more to go. Sure looks like rain tomorrow--80% chance! Maybe we will all get a day off? This photo is looking to the north.

Day 2

Today is April 19. The basement is beginning to take shape now. You can see the green pasture beyond the dirt piles. Looks like more work tomorrow. So far no rain!

GROUNDBREAKING DAY!

Today is April 18, 2011. Our bulldozer arrived bright and early, and we caught the first moments of activity. We are hoping that we have a few days without rain, although rain is in our forecast all week. After many months of planning (actually, probably about 3 years now) we are actually starting. I'm calling this house "Walnut Springs" because there are many walnut trees on the property, and there are several springs that run year-round.

The Day Before the BIG DAY

The Day Before the BIG DAY we spent some time doing some last minute cleanup. Sam and Jim pulled down a couple of dead trees to add to the woodpile, and they helped dig up some daffodils that were in the middle of the construction site. We are ready for the bulldozer to arrive and get started!

Welcome to Walnut Springs!

Welcome to Walnut Springs! So far, there isn't much to see. But in time we will have more photos and video for you as we make progress building our house. We've spent the past few months getting settled here in Missouri, and doing various things to prepare the site.