Hello from the White Mountains

[Ozarks hillbilly]

Hello and welcome from the Mo Ozarks

 

[Doreena]

You have some big challenges ahead. I live in rural Maine about 30 min from the white mountains. Single woman. Did quite a bit of my own work, but was lucky enough to get a modular home. Good luck!

 

[winds-of-change]

Welcome from Oklahoma by way of Illinois.

I believe in you and your ability to get your projects done. It’s a lot of work but I think you are well on your way to getting it done.

 

[Unsure]

Thanks for the warm welcome. I got a lot done today on what I’m calling my hillbillly garden. Trying not to spend money on anything except dirt. Using fallen trees for raised beds. It a little crazy, but it’s almost done!

You have some big challenges ahead. I live in rural Maine about 30 min from the white mountains. Single woman. Did quite a bit of my own work, but was lucky enough to get a modular home. Good luck!

Thanks Doreena, sounds like you know exactly what kind of environment I’m facing.

Hello and welcome from the Mo Ozarks

Well Ozarks hillbilly, I’m jealous. That’s a place sacred to my heart. I grew up with summers on the current river (or even better, if we could find a spot, on sinkin’ creek where the water was warmer). I check Zillow about every day to see what’s for sale there. Not a lot usually! My all time ‘happy moment’ is snorkeling in a spot on the creek and just watching the little fish swim by. I can still hear the sound of the sand and rocks underwater as they get jostled by my hands as I crawl my way around the banks to look at stuff, seriously wonderful memories.

 

[LadyLocust]

Welcome aboard

 

[Dave V]

Welcome from Florida!
I wonder if leaving the existing pond liner in place might provide a smoother base (for a new liner) rather than ripping it out? Also, if you fill those dips with brush and then cover it with soil, it might actually create a place for some critters you might not want to provide shelter for. You probably don't own a chipper/shredder at this point but filling the dips with shredded branches (rather than loose branches) would probably do the trick. Make sure you're wearing heavy work gloves when you're working with all that brush because I imagine there could be some hefty snakes hanging out?!
It sounds like you've done a ton of work already and at this rate, you'll have a cool cabin shortly.
If there's a clearing nearby, maybe you can eventually do some ground mounted solar and even have some AC for when it gets hot and humid? Solar is getting crazy cheap, if you do it all yourself!
Dave

 

[Canon29]

Thanks for the welcome Canon29. The mountains here seem to humble a lot of people. Never lived somewhere that seems to kill so many hikers/adventurers, and I’ve lived a lot of places. I’m glad my son will grow up in the woods here, as we border the national forest and he can just take off, but a little nervous too, if he decides he wants to start exploring some of the wilder areas around here. At least I know he’ll come out of it with some respect for the power of the mountains, because the search helicopters often take a path over our house when heading up to search for people who are lost, and he’s seen that a few times already and read about the deaths afterwards. Pretty sobering.

As long as you prepare him, God will take care of the rest. You're providing him with opportunities I would have killed for- and those challenges will set him apart from his peer. Your son is blessed immeasurably- good on ya fella. There is no better place in New England imho.

 

[Unsure]

As long as you prepare him, God will take care of the rest. You're providing him with opportunities I would have killed for- and those challenges will set him apart from his peer. Your son is blessed immeasurably- good on ya fella. There is no better place in New England imho.

Thanks Canon29, New Hampshire is definitely built differently than the rest of New England and I am praying it maintains its Live Free or Die motto for a long time because some of the folks around here really take it to heart, which is beautiful to see. I’m hoping that rubs off on my son also.
(Also, I’m not a fella, although I wish I could have the arm strength of a fella sometimes, as mine are killing me from moving stuff around the garden all day yesterday!)

Welcome from Florida!
I wonder if leaving the existing pond liner in place might provide a smoother base (for a new liner) rather than ripping it out? Also, if you fill those dips with brush and then cover it with soil, it might actually create a place for some critters you might not want to provide shelter for. You probably don't own a chipper/shredder at this point but filling the dips with shredded branches (rather than loose branches) would probably do the trick. Make sure you're wearing heavy work gloves when you're working with all that brush because I imagine there could be some hefty snakes hanging out?!
It sounds like you've done a ton of work already and at this rate, you'll have a cool cabin shortly.
If there's a clearing nearby, maybe you can eventually do some ground mounted solar and even have some AC for when it gets hot and humid? Solar is getting crazy cheap, if you do it all yourself!
Dave

Dave, you might be right about the liner. I was out there and looking at the bank, and wherever the liner is bunched up and gone, it looks like there might be more debris and plant life. So the liner is probably keeping some sections under control. I’ll just try and get the bunched up parts out first, and clear the shoreline of a lot of the trees and brush. It’s just that sometimes I hate seeing that liner in such a beautiful spot and I start thinking I’d rather be staring at an open shallow frog pond or even a empty pond than an old plastic liner with a foot or two of water over part of it. Maybe I’ll take some recent pics of it today and make a post and maybe someone will have an idea.

Also I wish I had a chipper! I’ve got so many brush piles, out in the woods, I might have enough wood chips to do most of the dips. I just took down a bunch of evergreen saplings and bushes from the backyard to make room for a garden, and was going to put the branches in the dips, but maybe I’ll just do an experiment with one dip, and put the rest of the brush into yet another brush pile.

And it would be great to do solar. I see some of the houses on Zillow that are sold being powered by solar and it’s impressive. I’m waiting for one to go on sale near me so I can go to the open house and check out how they set it up