No Way Out?

While I've never been a big winter person and sometimes feel rather trapped it was slightly disappointing coming to the realization we will probably never be able to escape the Midwest winters for long but having made that decision I am now seeing new possibilities for "embracing" the winter.  Nothing prettier than a walk in the woods after a fresh batch of snow, taking ATV's for a ride through the drifts, getting back to skiing which is a short drive away, and maybe even taking up some ice fishing!

We haven't even closed on our lot and have had welcomes extended to us from several people at Apple Canyon which further enforces that we made the right choice.  Got a cool calendar today in the mail from our friends featuring pictures from Apple Canyon so I can scan them and will periodically feature a photo.

Find the Pins

One thing before closing on a property and certainly before you build is to make sure you understand exactly where the property pins are.  These are usually a metal spike driven just below the surface of the ground at the (4) corners of the property.  Our last house we built I was able to find (3) but the 4th I could not locate.  It was the one in the front yard by the street.  Since the sidewalk stopped right at our property line I just assumed the contractors putting in the sidewalk accidentally knocked it out.  So I used the edge of the sidewalk as the 4th point.  You know what they say about making assumptions don't you?  Well a couple of years later when we were selling the house the pin was discovered about 2 feet inside of where I had assumed it was.  Luckily our house was still in far enough from the property line but the irrigation line we had installed was not.  It was 2 feet onto the other owners property.  About $400 later we had the problem corrected.  

When you take on a project like this you are going to make mistakes.  Don't let that scare you off.  There are lots of people out there willing to help if you just ask.  Kelsey asked me one time where I learned to do all the little things I can do.  That answer is simple.  I tried, screwed up most in some fashion, and ultimately learned the wrong way and the right way.  My favorite quote of all time is "the wise man learns from his mistakes and the fool is destined to repeat himself".

I promise I will share the successes and failures as I go in hopes someone reading this might learn from my mistakes and and find that road to "wisdom" a little shorter path.