Preparing the Land

We traveled a lot to the Pacific Northwest and continued to do so during this pre-building phase. We almost always stayed with Butch's parents in their basement. Joe and Sharon never realized what they were getting into when they offered to help us. 

SEPTEMBER 2022

There was always something that Butch felt needed to be done at the land. Many trees had been knocked over to build a road and to clear for the well. Although the logs were neatly piled up, the slash was not. If left uncovered over the rainy winter, it would never burn well. So it had to be covered with a huge tarp and tied down. 

This was also the trip Butch decided he had to have a chain saw. You can't cut up slash to make it fit under a tarp if you don't have a chain saw! It's also the trip Butch discovered how to break a new chain saw. Then he figured it out how to get it back to working order.

JANUARY 2023

Butch and I went again to Washington in January. We did a house switch with Gavin, Ranae's son. He flew to Texas and we flew to Washington and stayed in each other's houses. So I got to spend much of my time that January with Ranae, which is always delightful. Butch got to burn slash with help from his nephew, Lachlan.

The neighbor, Kevin, came to help move piles of slash to the burn pile with his tractor. And a very helpful suggestion from cousin Tracy made the fire light fast and burn quickly. Butch was a happy camper being able to play with fire all day for a week.

I have to share Gavin's misfortune however. He caught COVID on the flight to Texas and he was sick, sick, sick with no one there to bring him soup. I'm so sorry, Gavin.

MARCH 2023

We traveled again during spring break. At the land, we watched them clear the area where our house would go. This is what it looked like back in December 2018, before there was a even a well. Charlotte once remarked that it was a jungle.

Then, in March, they started knocking down trees.

It was pretty cool watching the excavator operator, Shane, push down the trees. But it was a little sad too. I like trees, especially since I lived in Redwood country. But now my husband and I had become the destroyers of trees to build our house. I felt pretty selfish to be willing to kill all those trees for a place to live. Don't laugh, it is something I had to work through, but I think I got past that part okay.

With many of the trees gone, the water collected on the cleared ground and made a swampy, muddy mess. Even so, Butch and Shane marked out the edges of the foundation. This is the northwest corner of the house where the kitchen will be. 

We started to worry about all the water. But eventually it dried up by our next trip to Wellcroft.

We were not there to see it, but in May they built the forms for the foundation. And they dug a trench from the electric box across the street to the east to bring electricity to our property. We didn't know it at the time, but it would take three months for Puget Sound Energy to get around to connecting us up!!!

Looking west. Foundation & trench.

Looking north. Second layer of foundation.

Looking west again. The trench at the well.

MAY 2023

When the foundation was prepared, the support footings were also poured. Gavin took great photos to send to us so we could see the progress. This is the view looking to the west at the front of the house. You can see the garage opening on the right (north side).

It was driving Butch crazy not to be there and see the progress himself. But we were very busy getting ready to move two places at once.