Adding Things I Love to the Property
Last week I was the first Sunday of the month … my Sunday off the property. I was jones-ing to go but had things that needed to be handled where I currently live so managed to keep myself there. I woke up this Sunday excited, like a kid, to get back “home” to Freedom Acres. And with the time change I have an extra hour of light now. By now it very much lives for me like Freedom Acres is home and my currently place I stay is some temporary alternative reality. I bounced along the expressway and the hour and forty-five minute drive seemed to fly by. As I pulled up to the gate at the property I could feel myself just melt into the pine trees that greeted me.
In the truck was a group of sculptures that I couldn’t wait to place in their new spots. This week I had a few tasks to complete but mostly it was going to be about getting things I love onto the property. I drove first off to the other smaller single 10′ gate on the limestone road. I had two more signs to place on that gate … a No Trespassing sign and a Warning 24 hr Video Surveillance sign just as I had place on the other two gates. Since I had learned how to use the wire and crimping tool when I was last here the job went really fast and I was now done with signage for now.
As I was finishing the job, out of the corner of my eye, I saw several trees nearby that were covered with common greenbriar vines. If you have been following along you know I have a commitment to get those vines off all my oak trees. They literally have taken over the property before I bought it and have been methodically killing off trees for years. They gotta go!! I decided that before I went to play I would attack more of the vines around that fence area. The job requires that I cut them at the ground and then cut them in sections as they run up the trees and then untangle them from the trees and bring the whole mess down to the ground. The whole time avoiding the sharp thorns they use to grab onto the trees and branches and protect themselves from me LOL.
It is a slow, hot job today as the sun is out and was shining through in that area. I also know that this work will not kill them off completely it will just free the trees up for now and buy me some time to really deal with them when I am living on the property and can handle them better. They have an extreme rhizome network underground so I will need to eventually cut through that and destroy the whole root system. A lot of work for a later date. I managed to clear off about 10 trees in the immediate area. IT took several hours and I must admit I was proud of myself when I could see the trees vine free. It always feels like they start breathing again once the vines are removed and no longer sucking the life out of them. I was also pretty happy that I seem to be learning as I came away injury free for the first time. I am usually pretty ripped up by the thorns after a clearing session like this.
Now I was onward to play!!! I hopped in the Jeep and Gracie and I made it over to the garden area first. I checked the Rainwater Collection tank. It is holding it’s own and all is good! We are in the “drought” season here in Florida … quite funny actually since it just means it rains less not that it is actually dry. I also checked out our little “random” garden where Loren and I had tried some light planting with native Seminole pumpkins. Unfortunately it was now a complete fail.
When I was here two weeks ago it the little plants that originally popped up were very sun burnt and had been being munched on by some creatures. This week there wasn’t a single piece of green left above the surface. Loren and I talked about the lessons we learned including the environment we plant in (shade, sun, etc.), some chicken wire or something to protect the plants from creatures and the need for me to be living on the property to water and take care of anything we plant.
Now for the fun for the day. It was time for me to get the sculptures I had in the back of truck! I had decided that even though I couldn’t live on the property yet, or even bring my “belongings” to the property until I had an official Certificate of Occupancy, I could begin to bring some things I found that I loved to the property. I envisioned various sculptures in different materials that get to live on Freedom Acres. I could imagine faeries in among the trees and women goddesses gracing the open spaces and moving sculptures interacting with the wind.
First I went to the garden area. I found a beautiful metal heart stake that the artist customized for me with the word FREEDOM on it. I placed it near little patch of young turkey oak trees that are standing inside the garden. She belonged there! I put her in the ground and stood back and admired how perfectly she sat in the fall/winter leaves.
Next I moved over to the other side of the garden area near where I had some supplies under the trees. There was this perfect little patch of saw palmettos near there. That was where I set up my beautiful blue/green glazed clay birdbath. I love the birds on the property and keep thinking about them and just knew I needed to start letting them know I cared about them. So what better way then to give them the first of perhaps several birdbaths for them to frolic in and drink from. I also purchased a solar pump fountain device that I could sit in the birdbath to give it some life to attract them. Again I stood back and felt the calmness of the fountain spray as the solar worked and it began spraying. Perfect!!
I had 2 more sculptures for this trip (I have several more being shipped to me still) so I went back to the home area to place these. The first of these was a small woman buddhist meditator. She gets to sit by the logs near the firepit so she can join me and inspire me as I sit still in my Adirondack chair with the sound of the wind and the chimes in the background. Gracie and I sat with her for a while … we both have a new chill partner now.
Finally I put together and installed a kinetic wind sculpture in front of the woods area across from the “house” and the firepit. The silver and green painted spirals spin in opposite directions as the wind blows creating an illusion of the movement pulsing in and out as a heartbeat. It was like Freedom Acres heartbeat was being displayed from it. I went back to my Adirondack chair and spent the next 30 minutes breathing in and out with it, accompanied by Gracie and our new chill meditating friend … the chimes continuing to make soft sounds as the wind moved. In all the months and weeks I had been coming to the property in the last 14+ months I think this is the longest I have just sat and immersed myself in the sounds and movement of the property. I am usually working and rushing around to get things done … this moment was exquisite. I ended my day this way and then collected my stuff and Gracie and I headed out.
I posted videos, on the Freedom Acres YouTube Channel, of the rainwater collection tank weekly update again along with the Seminole Pumpkin patch fail update. I also posted videos of the all my new things I love on the property so you can see them all in their new home. Of course, there is a short exciting end of the day report with Gracie as a part of it. Feel free check it all out by clicking HERE. Also, feel free to subscribe and you can get notified when new videos go up! 🙂
We are now entering mid March. Last week Nair and I submitted drawings to the county with siding on the shipping container container. They came back saying they approved 3 sides of it but still wanted something more on the back side. Seems the back side, even though it now had siding and absolutely no corrugated metal showing was still not “residential” looking enough for them. Now the guessing games got to start again about WHAT else they wanted since they won’t tell us. I was, frankly, ready to explode. Nair saved the day by calling the county and for the first time actually got who she was calling on the phone. She decided to start small and ask direct yes or no questions. “If we put a window on the back side will that be enough?” After consulting up the management line the answer came back …. “YES”.
So I contacted the shipping container designer/manufacturer and asked if he could put a single window on the back side, exact opposite of the “bedroom” window on the front. We agreed to use the same size as on the front because he had those in stock so there would not need to be special ordering. He would do it. I told him to wait on my thumbs up just in case the county decided they STILL wanted something else. Nair got the info to the architectural draftsman and he will draw it into the plans and we will, this coming week, submit it again for pre-approval before we get the architects signature and resubmit it into the permitting portal again. Movement again. I pray that by the end of the week that it will be completely pre-approved so we can keep moving. Again …. we’ll see! LOL
This week I will be continuing to search for heirloom seeds for both spring and summer planting (coz I don’t really know what season I will finally be on the property). I will also continue to learn about permaculture. I am praying for country answers this week. I just keep praying and chatting with the Universe. No doubt time will march forward and I will be back next week ready to play again!
NOTE: For anyone interested in the artist who created my heart stake here is the links: I get no commission on this … just sharing when I find great things:
LilBearandLavender
Personalized Heart in the Garden Rusted Heart
