March 2020 – Primm & Property

Posted on March 29, 2020 by Emily

Day 161

I’m starting to think we actually live in Portland, Oregon, not Nashville, Tennessee, with the number of rainy days we’ve had the last few months.

This weekend, however, we’ve had two lovely, dry, and mostly sunny days. Let’s hope this trend continues into next week and for the next few months so they can grade the spot for the house, pour the basement, and frame the house without further delay (ha!). Word is that the earthwork guy is showing up rain or shine this week. We shall see…

I have many pictures that look like this. I’m looking forward to having pictures from this angle that have a house in them.

Back to the nice weather this weekend. Friends of ours that live very near our current house were taking out some landscaping that had become too much to manage. They generously offered us some boxwoods and azaleas so we went over to help dig them up and then headed out to the property.

We planted them in the two front property corners so they would be out of the way during construction. Once the house is complete, it is likely we will transplant them to the landscaping beds, but for now they are anchoring the front of the property.

The landscape architect, carefully placing the shrubs while I document from a safe distance.

Though it appears they are practicing proper social distancing, the reason for their spacing has more to do with ease of mowing than a health risk.

Aren’t they cute?!

Here’s how they look from the future front porch. Josh had to limb up the tree a little bit more so construction vehicles can maneuver.

My phone camera is not doing this justice at all, and the orange septic field fencing really isn’t helping, but this is one of many beautiful “volunteer” dogwoods along the edge of the property.

This past Christmas, we asked for contributions to our landscaping fund along with the gift giver’s favorite tree, shrub, or plant. Now that the weather has turned a corner, we are excited to start planning for more planting around the property!

Posted on March 15, 2020March 15, 2020 by Emily

Day 147

Well, we’ve owned the property nearly 5 months now and all we have to show for it is some temporary orange fencing around the septic fields.

Oh, and we also have some animal planet worthy trail camera footage.

To be fair, we have been doing a lot behind the scenes so that when things do start, they can move efficiently. I have selected and specified nearly every detail in the house down to the door hardware. We may even be ready to order the windows next week!

The things that excite you when you’re an adult…

Also exciting is the fact that the earthwork guys should be there this week to start moving dirt, especially given all that has happened here in the last couple of weeks. Since my last post, we’ve had another 47 inches of rain, a devastating tornado that came within a mile of our current house in Nashville, and coronavirus hysteria has set in.

Regarding the tornado: Many people around us have lost their homes and businesses, which certainly puts into perspective how lucky we are to be safe and to have a roof over our heads. The night of the tornado, we had just minutes to wake up and realize what was happening, grab the cat, and get into the basement as the tornado passed us. The large trees in our backyard were swaying back and forth 30 feet, but thankfully, we were spared any damage.

Though I was ready to nix the basement in the new house for budgetary reasons, now I am really glad Josh insisted we have one. The homes near us that were destroyed were almost identical to our current house. All of them had basements and everyone in those houses survived because of that. Pretty much everything above grade was flattened. I still get chills thinking about it and I know that compared to what these people are going through, being delayed in building my new home while I have a perfectly intact home is really not a big deal. So, we are prepared to be patient and to help however we can.

Next topic: coronavirus. We are self-quarantining as best we can. I will be working from home and avoiding as many meetings as possible. I have requested that Josh work from home for the foreseeable future, too. His company did a trial run Friday and as far as I’m concerned, it went extremely well. It seemed to me he got a lot done and was able to eat a proper lunch. Let’s keep it up!

Thankfully, the population density around our new property is so low that the chance of running into another human being while onsite, or within 5 miles, is next to nothing. With these statistics in mind, we ventured out earlier today to check up on things.

Earlier this week, during his meeting with the contractor and the earthwork guy, Josh determined that the tree directly in front of where the house will sit is actually a pecan tree. Now, I was pretty sure that we had decided to eliminate this tree (and plant many others in its honor) due to the fact that it would be smack dab in the middle of the parking pad and be far too close to the house for comfort. Well, evidently my landscape architect of a husband has had a change of heart and as of now we are trying our darnedest to save this tree.

He limbed up the tree with his chain saw. Here he is surveying his work.

While he was doing this and dragging the large cut limbs away, I was reviewing the trail camera footage in the comfort of the truck.

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Pardon the glare, but these people are well past the highly visible “no trespassing” signs on the trees to their right and left.

One of these folks was also observed on camera several days prior, scoping things out. It’s going to be awkward if these people are our neighbors…

Screen Shot 2020-03-15 at 3.43.15 PM Not sure who this was past our Fort Knox gate, but if he/she wants to leave his/her truck for us to use, that would be super in exchange for trespassing. Thanks.

Then there was a rogue group of turkeys fanning their tail feathers…

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So, I know I’m partial, but I think this is the cutest shot, with my husband, Josh (middle), the earthwork guy (left), and our builder (right), all walking along as dudes discussing moving dirt like it’s no big deal.

I’d like you to know that Josh is extremely proud that “earthwork guy” is now a part of my vocabulary.

Posted on March 1, 2020March 1, 2020 by Emily

DAY 133

Well, a lot has happened in the last 3 weeks:

We got our building permit! After the “plan review fee”, the “privilege tax”, the “educational impact fee”, and a handful of other absurd fees, I’m pretty sure we’ve paid for a county employee’s annual salary in order to obtain our permit.
It has rained approximately 67″ this February, which has put everyone in construction behind and has delayed us breaking ground until the earthwork guys catch up. Patiently waiting…..
I had surgery and Josh has been buried in his Finance class so we hadn’t been able to go for a site visit until yesterday.
Our neighbor’s barn is nearly finished. Our construction envy is growing by the minute.
The critters have come out in full force! We had a record 60 videos on the trail camera this time, which is about 5X as many as we’ve had before.

Neighbor’s barn. Maybe one day there will be a structure on our property, too. Not jealous or anything.

Focusing on our wildlife for now.

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I think this is an owl on the ground to the right of the trees. Josh agreed with my assessment for once.

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Up close and personal with Bambi.

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Practicing for her real ID picture.

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Turkey invasion!

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House cat makes an appearance.

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Turkeys are back for the first recorded snow since we’ve had the camera!

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Our resident black squirrel with white-tipped tail dashing by on a sunny day. I can’t wait for Bu (our indoor house cat) to lay his eyes on this guy. He’s going to lose his mind.

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Evidently our neighbors believe in free-range horses. Exhibit A.

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Exhibit B.

Remind me to look into a property fence…

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Pretty blue bird on the ground below the trees. Looked very busy.

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Cute little bunny! Another creature for Bu to go nuts over from his indoor perch.

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And finally, more snow! It didn’t snow at all at our current house on the other side of town. I can’t wait to be in the new house and watch it snow this time next year.

Patiently waiting…..