A Month Later

Okie Dokie … there have been so many cool things happening and I have expanded my arsenal of tools and definitely my skills!! This crazy woman is figuring things out!!
Let’s start with the trip to the property … I live an hour & 45 mins south of the property. I work Mon – Sat so Sunday is the only only day I can go there. So Sundays look like this:  I get up, load the tools into the car (NOTE: I drive a Mazda Miata … so imagine me filling the tiny trunk with a great big tool bag and then putting everything else that is too long or big into the passenger seat with the top down & it hanging out.  Got the whole picture??? Stop laughing!!!).  By the time I get there I only have several hours to work because I need to load up again & do the drive back before it gets too dark.

Each trip I have added new things to the accomplish the game.  The game is to clear a foot path caddy-corner from the SW corner of the property to the NE corner of the property.  I need to be able to 1) see more of the property and 2) I need to get a better idea of where I want to build my dwelling.  The property is not heavily wooded but there are lots of saplings, young trees and brush and weeds all along what looks like sandy ground.  Where it is located in Florida it has a combination of more northern trees (Southern Live Oaks, Turkey Oaks & Sand Pines) & southern plants (Saw Palmettos & Mule Palms).  There is also a lot of brush like Sand Heath, creeper weed type vines, sledge plants, invasive grasses, etc. Bottom line is I need to clear the path!

1st clearing trip I started with a machete & several sizes of loppers in week 1.  It was slow moving.  My wimpy little arms were getting tired, I wasn’t able to clear things completely  and I knew there had to be a faster better way.

The 2nd trip I came more prepared. I had added a 12″ chainsaw, a heavy duty weed wacker with a brush cutter attachment & lots of gear. Now I had knee high boots (my snake fear brought this on), couple of different kinds of gloves, eye goggles, a forester helmet with shield & ear protection.  OK, I looked funny – I know – like this suited up weirdo with little arms sticking out.  Oh, let’s not forget that I had on long sleeves & long pants to protect me from buggies & ticks (UGH) & a baseball cap (worn backwards so the bill protected my neck … could I just mention that I NEVER have used a baseball cap in my life – I have this tiny head & no matter how small the cap is I look like an absolute kid trying to dress up like her daddy). I moved through things faster but was very clear that I wasn’t physically capable of a lot.

I would get about 20 minutes and need to put things down so I could stop vibrating & to rest my arms … pretty ridiculous … but that is how it would go.  I was also carrying the tools all in an enormous back pack which I had to keep moving from work spot to work spot.  Even Gracie, at 3 1/2 lbs, began to feel heavy. But, I still got about 2x as much done as I had on the last trip.  That brush cutter alone was amazing at how much it could handle … taking out not just brush but unwanted small saplings too. I needed to figure out a way to carry things better though.

3rd trip was amazing.  I got this gorilla cart that has all terrain wheels and away I went. Everything in the cart (including Gracie, who slept most of the time while I worked). I was able to move along at a much faster clip and my arms and shoulders were freed up and not taxed so I could last longer.  I now covered 3x as much as I had from the last trip. I was onto something. All along I have marked my path with orange flagging tape.  When I was making my way back I was so damn proud of myself as I followed the path back. Three times a charm!  I even took a video on the way back.

I can’t wait for this coming Sunday!  Now I get to continue and get faster and stronger.  I will also show up with a tripod & iPhone holder so I can capture some of me working … coz well … why not??? I just know if those other folks in YouTube have me watching them then perhaps someone can get something from watching me. Besides this craziness needs to be documented, if nothing else just so I can watch a year from now, sitting in my new home, and LMFAO.  I think in 3 – 4 more trips I will be at that NE corner!!!