After a hectic year bringing in utilities and developing our site, we're ready for a break. This year we've set our sights a little further afield!
You might think installing a well pump is a job for the professionals, but we did it ourselves and added some very cool extra capability!
We were so nervous about drilling a well. Would we hit water? How deep would we have to go? How much would it cost? There's only one way to find out....
We've well and truly broken ground now, hitting some major milestones but also breaking some things along the way.
We visited the Rockler store in Salem, NH to pick up some exciting new tools - a Sawstop Jobsite Table Saw and Dewalt DW735X planer.
We built a 4x8ft log cabin-esque raised garden bed from nothing but spruce logs - perfect for starting our Hügelkultur garden!
We continue to make progress with clearing the site, found time to make our first ever homemade maple syrup and traded for some fresh local eggs.
Yes, it's March. And we're in Vermont. And it might have only been 45°F (7°C) on Monday evening but that didn't stop us having our first campfire of 2022.
We needed a way to hold a bulk bag open while we filled it with wood chips using our wood chipper - check out our simple DIY solution!
Just 2 weeks before we return to Vermont to start construction, we finally have all the permits we need to clear trees and break ground!
Before we can start any development work, we need a Zoning Permit from the local town - and we're excited to share that ours has been approved!
After waiting more than 5 months, we've finally received confirmation of our Current Use Exemption - a huge milestone in our property development!
More than 7 months after closing on our property, we finally have our Wastewater Permit - but what exactly are we going to be building?
We're in a race against time to mill the pine logs for our solar kiln and get them stacked and stickered before we leave Vermont for winter.
Find our why we decided to build a solar kiln to dry green, rough sawn lumber, and how we built a crazy strong floor assembly for our portable solar kiln.
After assembling our brand new Woodland Mills HM126 Woodlander XL sawmill, we couldn't wait to mill our first log to make stickers, cants and saw horses!
After waiting more than 3 months, our Woodland Mills saw mill finally arrived! It took us about 2 days to get it assembled, but now we're ready to start milling!
We turned the trees cleared from our driveway construction into enough firewood for a LOT of campfires using a chainsaw, homemade sawbuck and hydraulic log splitter.
Less than 48 hours after seeing a For Sale sign at the side of the road, we had bought a 20ft equipment trailer!
Having great neighbors is really important to us, and our new neighbors threw us an amazing welcome party as we spent our first weekend in the RV on our own land.
