Work on the Ranch

    We have been working hard at the house. We finally started to lay rock for our patio. Stephen was up in the air about the final size the patio would be but we finally decided on the 12x40. We spent an entire day laying rock. We only finished an 8x12 so we have so much more work to do. My legs were sore for three days from the lifting, bending, digging and shifting of the rocks to make them just perfect. I have to let my legs recover before starting the next section but we have to build the patio up to 5 times as big so I am hoping that we can do a bit more on the next run.
     Since we were waiting to work rock again we decided to install a small seating area where we could enjoy a drink. We concreted it in so it looks really nice. The first night we had it up our friend, David, came out with his cousin and we enjoyed some wine and good conversation.
      Yesterday we got up to a crisp 43 degrees. Stephen went hunting and saw a fresh rub but nothing else. Then we started planting trees. We planted an ash, pecan, and six elms around the house. We then went down to the shop and planted eight peach trees near our water tank. We want to plant at least seven more.
      Today we are going to start setting post for fencing. We have to keep the deer out of the orchard if we want to keep any peaches for ourselves. We will be planting a garden in the spring so we are going to start preparing the soil for that as well. I am loving the improvements we have made. It is so nice to be able to create something from your own hands and call it home!

Getting Ready For A Big Job

    We have been collecting rocks for over a month and we now have a huge pile. We went to El Paso today and bought the materials to start on our front patio which will be made with the rocks. The patio will be 11 feet by 40 feet and will be a closed in screened shelter. The 350 foot trout stream we are building will run under it at one end so I am very excited to get started on this.
    Tomorrow morning we will start tearing up the soil with the auger to make it easy to just press in the rocks and level them. We are mixing the dirt with portland. Once the portland is mixed and the rocks are in place we will wash it all in, solidifying the portland and holding the rocks permanently in place.
    I will be sure to add pictures once we get started. I think it is going to be amazing!