Tubing, Trash and County Permit Movement

It was going to be a beautiful day today on Freedom Acres with promises to get up into the upper 70s and the sun shining.  I couldn’t wait to get there.  I zipped along and before I knew it I was entering the gate!  The sun was shining and the skies were clear.  It was still in the 60s, as it was early in the day.  But, I knew I was going to get the work done I wanted to do and even get a few moments to relax on the property.
As usual, I drove first to the garden area to check the Rainwater Collection tank. It continues to remain full from week to week.  This is the “drought” season here in Florida but with all the crazy storms happening across the country and the northeast we are getting more rain than usual.  Thank Goodness.  Last time I was here I had brought a short piece of BPA free, food grade tubing to try to figure out what size I needed to connect to the output valves of the tank.  The tank was made outside of the US so no US size hose would fit the valves.  The manufacturing company of the tank sent me a link to the size of tubing they said I needed but it was a little big for the valves.  During the week I ordered another smaller size tube and some different hose clamps.
I went about the work to try the new tubing.  Amazing how something that seems like it would be so easy and fast wasn’t. LOL. It’s not like I can just run back and forth to the store since the property is so far away from where I live.  So this kind of trial and error testing takes a while. I finally got the smaller diameter tube on the container valve … it was about 30 minutes of working it over the ridges of the valve because I couldn’t warm the tubing and had no grease to help the process.  Finally, I got it on far enough to hold tightly. I then worked the other end of the smaller tube into the other short larger diameter tube and then put a hose clamp on that connection to hold it tight and hopefully watertight.
Now it was time to try it out. It worked!! WhoooooooooooooHooooooooooo!!  Water flowed through both 10′ tubes without a hit and there was only a tiny drip at the valve connection which I temporarily fixed by twisting it a little.
I walked over to the little random garden, made from tree branches, that Loren and I built two weeks ago, when we were here, and planted Seminole Pumpkin seeds in. Even though I was excited to see if anything had happened I was not getting my hopes up.  As I approached the branch outlined rectangle of the little garden I saw this little glimpse of green.  I got closer and giggles and shouting began to fly out of my mouth. There were several little green leaves popping up, from the ground.   I got down on the ground and looked at each of them, in their little unfurling states.   They were so cute. A few of them still had a part of the seed shell still on them … they ere still coming out a little at a time.
I was soooooooo excited.  We have Seminole Pumpkins growing.  Loren choose them as they are Florida natives so the theory was that if they came up then they would be OK, with very little human intervention, here on the property. Sure enough a few had broken ground and now we will get to see how it goes.  I snapped photos, took a video and admired them.  I finally brought multiple pitchers of water from the rainwater collection tank and watered the whole garden thoroughly, talking to the little beings as I did.
Between now and next week I will order much longer tubing to lead from the rainwater collection tank and hopefully next week I can connect it all up and be able to water the little Seminole Pumpkins easier from the tank.
I was really very satisfied already for the progress today and I had another job to do so I finally left the green kids and headed over to the home area.  My other job for the day was to collect the trash off the final piece of the property that I hadn’t finished.  I parked the Athie, the Jeep, and put Gracie in her sling bag so she could go with me as I hunted for trash.  The sun was full blast, by this point, so I took off Gracie’s sweater and my sweatshirts.  I grabbed a garbage bag, my long extended tree trimmer and away Gracie and I went.
I was moving slow today and I was allowing myself to stay that way.  I just wanted to be on the property and experience it as I went today vs working so hard and manic like.  On my way to the final area of the property with trash on it I stopped multiple times just to listen or look at light coming through the trees or admire some new growth I had not seen before.  This week there were a ton of clusters of mushrooms that were growing on lots of the dead trees.  These fungi, it seems, are toxic so I won’t be collecting any but they were really pretty with rings of tan and white on them.
I ended up spending a few hours collecting trash in that final area of the property.  It was just more of the same plastic bottles, aluminum cans and styrofoam containers.  I filled another two big 55 gal bags and it was DONE!  WhooooooooooooooHooooooo!  Months of trash collecting finally finished. Good work, Kym!!
For my final task for the day I set about moving several large tree branches that had broken off and fallen onto the winding path and on the fence, etc. In the process I got involved cutting down thorny greenbriar vines again.  Those vines have been a part of most visits to the property as they grow like crazy and wrap themselves up trees and around branches throughout the property.  It is described as a perennial weed and not labeled as invasive but you’d never suspect that it isn’t looking at the amount of it on the property. 
I have, this whole time, thought the greenbriar is part of what has killed so many of the trees on the property.  I finally googled it this past week and indeed they can disfigure and kill trees by impeding the growth and function of the vascular system that runs up and down the tree’s trunk just below the bark.  They wrap themselves pulling down and twisting branches down. 
Seems they are a hardy bully with an extensive underground rhizome tuber system.  It explains why they are everywhere and how my cutting them down may make them grow more not less as they continue to propagate. They produce berries which help feed birds and other wildlife so they do contribute to the eco-system. but then in turn the birds drop the seeds and the circle keeps going.  For now I am just continuing to cut the down to the ground and cutting them off the trees as high as I can to hopefully free the trees up some. I know now that I will need to find a chemical free answer to this problem because it isn’t going to go away on it’s own.
I posted videos, on the Freedom Acres YouTube Channel, of the rainwater collection tank weekly update again along with my tubing trials update, and the Seminole Pumpkin patch update with the new little green leaves popping up, 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 February. Last week I had a breakthrough with the county as I got a response to a call and email I personally sent.  We are, at least, now in dialog.  I found out the storage shipping container has finally been approved which is great.  Now I am just trying to get clarity, after vague references to the residential shipping container needing “residential characteristics” has left us stuck without answers. It seems simple to me … just tell me what you will approve and I will do it but I am not very good at playing guessing games and having to do and redo drawings, architect sign-offs and then finding out something else is needed.
This week I will keep doubling down on trying to get clarity and if all else fails we will just keep playing trial and error by submitting what it “seems” like they are asking for. I will be back at the property in next week and we might have some new updates by then! I am definitely continuing my spiritual growth through learning patience and inner peace. 
Since this is Valentine’s Day week … Gracie and I and all the beings at Freedom Acres wishes you a week of self love, as I really believe that is the foundation of any other kind of love! Love yourself UP!! As always I am sending Love, Joy and Freedom to you all til I come back!