The Homestead Act

 Lots of things happening at the Homestead Act.

That's what we have been calling it lately.  We are kind of acting like we are homesteading, with .75 of an acre, which is probably all we can handle at our age.  We wanted to homestead, but it wasn't really in the cards.  However, we are doing it to a certain extent, and we wanted a name that nods to it being a homestead, but not a real homestead.  So....Homestead Act.  Catchy?  Not sure.  Comment your opinions. 

On Monday, 5/6, Bryan took a load of broken-down boxes to the transfer station. (once again, we don't have a county landfill or a dump.  It all gets trucked somewhere.)  He loaded it in the car because they charge less, and he didn't want to have to cover the load.  Seen below.  You can see we have unpacked a lot!

On Tuesday 5/7, we went to Hill City, Minnesota, almost 4 hours away from Park Falls, to pick up a rototiller,   We bought it on Facebook for about a quarter of the price for a new one.  We lucked out because the gentleman had a few trailers too!  So we bought one from him for $50.  We came back with both the rototiller and the wagon.  

The drive was amazing.  First of all, we weren't hauling that giant trailer that made us feel every bump 6 times over!  Second of all, it's beautiful country.  I could go on and on about the North Woods and the Wisconsin farm land areas.  (I didn't take pictures.  I get too distracted with the camera and miss enjoying the scenery, so I don't get the shots I should!)  Dozens of kinds of trees in varying stages of leafing out, creating myriad shades of green.  And when the woods opens up to farmland, acres and acres and miles and miles of green grass for the cattle, historic barns in varying stages of viability, giant old farm houses, and silos.  Most barns are sound and solid and as picturesque as the day they were built, but others have fallen on hard times, anywhere from missing a few boards with crackling paint, to being reduced to a stone-outlined, historic ruin for the archaeologists.  I had a hard time knowing which way to swivel my head to look, and definitely got a sore neck.  

It started to pour rain when we were almost to Hill City.  The poor guy we bought the tiller and trailer from (not poor monetarily, but poor in convenience) had a real mud slog on his hands, so I stayed in the truck.  Bryan was a muddy mess by the time he and the guy loaded the equipment.  And we headed straight back for a lunch at Hardy's in Superior, and on home.   

The view, even on a rainy day, of Duluth as you come in from the south, was crazy amazing!  We have been to Duluth a couple times, but never coming in on I35. You can see the entire St Louis Bay of Lake Superior, with all it's bridges into Wisconsin.  You come down a pretty steep hill.  I took a few pictures, but they don't do it justice.        

 

That's the wide view of the bay, then the closer-up picture of the bridge, then the bridge as we went over it.  Giant bridges are really cool, and I never get enough of them.  

I took pictures of the stuff in the pickup once we got home, because I wasn't getting out into the mud to do it when we loaded.  

Thursday, 5/8, Bryan of course, unloaded the tiller and trailer.  We used the old solid board ramps that Bryan's dad had, and you cabin building participants will recognize.  Then we finished assembling my new office suite!  Ikea has nothing on Wayfair!  Those instructions were difficult.  At one point, we had to completely disassemble what we had done to redo it so it matched the pictures.  It was kind of nuts, but Bryan got it done.  

That's our Bry, laying down on the job, because furniture assembly is hard!

The finished results.  I love them!  They look great and I have a lot of storage.  And with the door closed on my craft closet, it will be professional enough to have coaching sessions in.  Curtains just arrived, but not the rods, so we wait for that.  

Thursday 5/9, Bryan worked on collecting the leaves.  We know a good share have blown away, but man, there was a lot in the north side yard, enough for a pickup load.  

I had to laugh when Bryan was collecting the leaves with his picker-upper attached to the tractor.  I was sitting at my desk, and all I could really see was the top of the porch railing with the side yard beyond.  He was driving his tractor around, and I could see his head, roving and bobbling around disembodied along the porch railing, like some video game.  It was hilarious.  I tried to get a video, but he didn't come back.  It was the cutest thing I've seen in a while.      

We still have the back yard to do, and under the back deck.  We will do the yard, but the porch will have to wait until we get a Super Sucker 9000 to get them out.  Here's pictures of those leaves, plus Bry's new wagon!

Again, pictures don't do it justice.  Those leaf-drifts you see are almost knee deep!  Autumn will be fun around here! 

Today, Bryan took the first load of leaves to the transfer station, and is getting a part for the dishwasher/disposal installation, and I'm writing the blog!  It's too wet to rototill yet.  

So you see, we've had quite a week.  We are still very much enamored with our new place, and not just the home but the community as well.  Thank you for reading, and please share and comment!