Jonathan’s Mindless Blog

Well I tempted the readers in the last post that there was some big news coming and, to sum it up, I’ve sold my house!  I’ve been wanting to get out of it for a few months now, before that pesky adjustable rate mortgage adjusts and before any other large life-changing events take place, and now, it’s done!  I had no idea just how stressful it really is selling a house.  Fortunately, there were no realtors involved and it didn’t even go on the market, I just sold it as-is.  It took what seemed like forever to get all my stuff boxed up and moved to storage, but I did finish with the help of family and friends and now it feels as though a huge weight is lifted from my shoulders.  Not only that, but now I’m closer to my farm and don’t have to make the drive to town during off hours.  I hope for everyone who is selling real estate that it goes as well or better than mine did!

I was able to take a little vacation this summer to Colorado Springs, CO! It was on the heels of a company trip to Cisco Networkers in Anaheim, CA. I took a few more days and got to go see Tom & Corinna and Hollis and chill for a few days, then Tom & I went camping for a few days and did some really cool hiking from Farish Recreational area to Rampart Reservoir and another day to Stanley Reservoir. The area is beautiful and the weather was great. The temperatures were in the low 80’s(F) humidity was very low, and the sun was out almost the entire time; at night it was cool enough that a fire was a very welcome thing. We were hiking at an average elevation of about 8600 feet, and I really didn’t have a problem with it, even on the day we did over 10 miles! I was pretty happy with that considering my recent illness. Now I’m back in town and super busy getting ready for lots of change! I was able to get some awesome pictures of Pike’s Peak on the last day we were camping; it was morning and the clouds had cleared just for me! Hopefully after next Thursday I’ll have more big news… how’s that for a teaser?

I’ve been doing some work around the house to try to get it in good shape cosmetically, but I’ve also been doing some work at the farm.  I’ve got a new tractor and bush hog that I’ve been using to cut down the back fields, well actually we’re going to cut all the fields instead of haying them this spring so that the fall cutting will be better.  It took about 5.5 hours to cut the back field with my 6′ hog, and that was me learning how stuff works and going really slow to miss all of the stumps and limbs that were around.  I’m getting more comfortable and used to how the tractor reacts to stuff and more familiar with the patterns of working the gears, clutch, lift and driving all at the same time.  It was pretty cool yesterday, I was watched like a hawk… by a hawk most of the time I was on the tractor.  There were two turkeys, one on either side of the field, when I would come around they would run back into the woods, then be back out by the time I got around the field again!

After I was finished, we rode back and I was impressed with how good it looked after it was all cut down.  I think that if it stays cut down this year and next and maybe reseed this fall, next fall it will be ready to be cut for hay, or grazed.  Oh, this is field #5 of 5 and the hardest one to get to.  I’ll start refering to the fields by number since that’s the only real way to keep it clear in my head.  Beginning next week, the rest of the fields will get cut.  I can also see a 10′ bush hog in my future to cut down on the time necessary to cut all this stuff!  Pictures coming soon!

I have realized one of my very large life dreams.  We have purchased 60 acres of land in Joelton.  This is not just any land either, I’ve looked for over two years for some usable property where I could one day build a house and have a decent size farm.  I was thinking more along the lines of 20 to 30 acres, but God orchestrated it so that I could have more than I even dreamed of.  It’s rectangular in shape, about 680 feet wide and almost .8 miles deep.  It has 3 creeks, 2 springs, a pond, about 40 acres of fenced fields that currently have horses on them and about 20 acres of woods.  The fields are mostly flat, to gently rolling, and the woods have slopes that face all four directions (N, S, E and W).  It’s sloped to get up into the property, and after about 100 yards in, the road is no longer visible.  The neighbors on one side have huge houses and very large yards and the neighbors on the other side have fenced fields that look like they are used for hay.  The largeness of it all is still sinking in and I think it will be a long time before I fully comprehend the awesomeness of it, but in the meantime I’m going to enjoy hanging out on my own place where the dogs can run themselves silly!

It’s been a long time since I’ve written anything here… don’t know exactly why, mostly just haven’t wanted to share.  There have been no big trips or significant picture-taking forays, so I didn’t see the need to update anything.  Life is good and I have nothing to complain about!  I totally meant to excuse myself from any leadership roles with the neighborhood association this year, but wasn’t able to bring myself to leave it.  This year I’m the Co-Chairperson and the Housing Director; so much for gaining that time back for myself.
I’ve just finished doing my taxes for 2k6 and just wanted to let everyone know that an owner occupied duplex is the only way to go for tax savings, well that and operating a business.  Unfortunately, Uncle Sam loves the single people way too much.