Work Trip in July

 After a lot of hard work (by Chris, not me), the fence is finally done!  Chris spent 9 days in Oregon in early July to work on the lot.  He had big plans for the trip:

• Finish the fence around 11 acres
• Hang the gates
• Install the well pump
• Connect the well to the new tank

The primary task was to complete the fence.  On prior trips, we had put up the fence along the north side and the east side of cleared area.  The path along the south side was a tougher challenge because of the slope and the curves.  More H-braces had to be installed to navigate the path.  The west side was the last to be fenced.

To this point, none of the gates had been installed in the fence.  Two large gates had to be placed along the road and man gates were places in other areas.  This completed the fence!

The second task was to finish the well setup.  The well is an artisian well, which means that it has enough pressure to free flow when it is uncovered.  This is a bit of a problem since the well pump has to have wires attached for power.  Chris had to find a way to seal the well several feet below the cap.  He found a product that is installed several feet down to seal the water line and which has the wiring pre-run through it.

After connecting the wiring and dropping the well pump, the sealer is sunk in the well.  A hole for the water outlet is below the sealer.  The pipe for the water outlet has to be run to the tank a couple of feet below ground.  The same trench is used to hold the wiring that runs from the shed to the well.  This wiring is used to power the well pump.

 

Well with cap

This is the new storage tank.

Water tank

Chris did a great job on this trip.  By the end of it, the fence was done and the well was setup for use.  We do not have plans on another trip to Oregon in the near future.  Even without us there, preparation activities will take place.  This fall we will have the land fertilized and a cover crop planted.  It will then be ready for the first planting in February or March of next year!

May 24 - 28

We took another trip to Oregon at the end of May.  Chris planned to install the solar setup for the well and work on the fence.  I helped...a little :-)

We opted to drive up for this trip so that we could pickup the solar panel in Mt. Shasta, California.  We drove to Reno and stayed over night and then headed up to Mt. Shasta.  From there, we continued on to Carlton, Oregon.  The best part of the drive was southern Oregon.  It was absolutely beautiful!  I cannot wait to see it again.

The shed was completed a few days before we arrived.  It is a small 24'x24' building that will house the tractor and some attachments.  Chris designed the solar setup that would require a panel on the roof, 2 batteries, and a circuit panel.  He assembled some of it at home, but had to do the final work at the lot.  The solar panel will power the well pump, the tank pump, and the lights in the shed.

The land clearing had progressed since our last visit.  The 11 acres was cleared and ready for stick picking.

Oregon is so pretty!