The Secret Is Finally Out

For the last couple of weeks I've been intentionally keeping a secret.

Not because I wanted to be mysterious.

Well... maybe just a little.

Mostly because my partner hadn't seen what I'd been working on yet, and I wanted her first look to be in person.

Now that she's seen it...

I can finally let the cat out of the bag.

If you've noticed that my recent blogs have been a little vague, now you'll understand why.

I've spent the last couple of weeks completely redesigning our little campground around the motorhome.

It all started with one simple decision.

Move the camper.

When we first arrived back in April, the motorhome sat out in the field near the old stone wall.

After returning from Florida on July 3rd, I decided to move it farther out into the field while still staying close enough to plug into the electrical pedestal.

It sounds simple.

It wasn't.

Moving the motorhome meant disconnecting everything.

Water.

Power.

The fire pit.

The plants.

The garden.

Furniture.

Every hose.

Every cord.

Everything.

Then it all had to be rebuilt in a completely different location.

Just moving camp took the better part of two days.

Looking back...

It was absolutely worth it.

Instead of parking on the driveway, we now have what actually feels like our own little yard.

I know that sounds funny considering we're sitting on eighty acres.

Technically the whole property is our yard.

But having a defined outdoor living space somehow makes it feel much more like home.

There was one problem I wasn't expecting.

Before I moved the camper, we'd lost power inside the motorhome twice for no apparent reason.

After moving everything into its new location, it started happening even more often.

So I started troubleshooting.

I checked the motorhome.

I checked the Hughes Watchdog.

I checked the wiring.

I even started questioning whether one of the air conditioners was causing the problem.

Little by little I eliminated every possibility until there was really only one thing left.

The fifty amp breaker panel.

I called my electrician, and after testing everything we confirmed the culprit was a failing breaker inside the pedestal.

Rather than replacing just the breaker, we replaced the entire fifty amp electrical box.

For the last several days everything has worked exactly as it should.

After chasing that mystery for weeks, it's nice to finally stop wondering if the power is going to disappear every time we turn something on.

Once the camper was in its new location, I completely redesigned the water system.

Instead of splitting multiple hoses up near the well, I now run one main supply line all the way to camp.

There it splits into four separate lines.

One supplies fresh water to the motorhome.

One feeds the black tank flush.

One supplies the garden sprinkler.

And one runs to my outdoor sink.

Well...

It will.

Right now that line is temporarily disconnected.

Because...

I bought a swimming pool.

Completely on impulse.

An eighteen foot inflatable pool.

Four feet deep.

And let me tell you...

Setting that thing up was an adventure all by itself.

The instructions tell you to add just enough water to cover the bottom before stretching every wrinkle out of the liner.

That sounds great...

Unless you're setting it up on a slight slope.

One side filled faster than the other.

By the time I got one side smoothed out, the opposite side still hadn't caught up.

Eventually it got late.

I figured I'd let it continue filling overnight and deal with the wrinkles in the morning.

Bad idea.

By morning there was already too much water to move anything.

So...

The wrinkles stayed.

Honestly...

I'm okay with that.

The pool took nearly four days to fill from our well.

Then I made another mistake.

I hadn't fully inflated the top ring before the water reached maximum level.

One side overflowed and dumped a considerable amount of water onto the ground.

Which meant...

More waiting.

Eventually it filled completely.

I added chlorine.

Started the pump.

Bought a reversible solar cover.

Black on one side.

Silver on the other.

I chose black, hoping it would help warm the water.

I also bought a screened enclosure so I can enjoy the pool without donating myself to every mosquito in Schoharie County.

Ironically...

I still haven't gone swimming.

Maybe the August heat will finally convince me.

To help define the space, I installed new string lights.

That project took a couple of tries.

The first version looked...

Let's just call it "creative."

I originally installed only one post on each side of the yard.

One wasn't perfectly straight, the lights sagged unevenly, and the whole thing just looked...

Janky.

The next morning I pulled everything back apart.

I drove to the lumber yard, bought two more four by four posts, and installed two posts on each side instead.

What a difference.

Now the lights frame the yard beautifully and really define the space after dark.

Plus, I added one of those laser lights that looks like a million lightning bugs.

One of my favorite finishing touches had nothing to do with construction.

For Father's Day, my sons gave me a beautiful hammock.

Once the yard was finally taking shape, I found the perfect place to hang it beneath the trees.

It didn't stay empty for very long.

Wyatt immediately decided it looked like his hammock too.

He climbed right up beside me, curled up, and settled in as if we'd been relaxing there together for years.

Seeing him so content made me realize we'd finally created exactly what I had envisioned.

Not just another campsite.

A place that feels peaceful.

A place to slow down.

A place to enjoy.

Another finishing touch was adding flowers.

I hung eight baskets filled with bright red tubular flowers.

Not just because they look beautiful.

Because hummingbirds love them.

Hopefully they'll become another stop on their daily rounds.

Speaking of birds...

The garden has been changing almost every day.

The grapes developed a little fungus, so I treated everything with neem oil.

Within twenty four hours they already looked healthier.

Now the grape clusters are filling out nicely, and we're excited to see them ripen.

Our blueberry bushes have been a mixed story.

The bushes we planted near camp became an all you can eat buffet for the local blue jays. So they got a bird net cover today.

The older blueberry bushes that were already here when we bought the property, however, are absolutely loaded.

The peaches...

Not so lucky.

We started with about twelve.

Then ten.

Then eight.

Then three.

We drove into town planning to buy something to protect the remaining fruit.

By the time we got home...

The deer had finished the job.

Hopefully next year we'll win that battle.

The strawberries by camp look fantastic.

The strawberries in the main garden...

Not nearly as impressive.

The peppers continue to thrive.

The onions look great.

The cucumbers are finally beginning to produce.

The pumpkins keep trying despite something constantly nibbling on them.

And after what felt like forever...

The corn has finally taken off over the last several days.

I'm really hoping we'll start harvesting vegetables before long.

Of course...

Wyatt always supervises all adventures.

and Life at Memory Lane wouldn't be complete without another mower repair.

After returning from Florida, the grass had grown two to three feet in places.

While trying to catch back up, I shredded the mower deck belt.

Rather than waiting for someone else to fix it, I bought the belt and replaced it myself.

Success.

Or so I thought.

Today I finally headed back out to finish mowing.

I cleaned up around camp.

The bunkhouse.

The main house.

The lawn.

Then I started working my way into the orchard.

Two rows later...

The mower quit again.

Fortunately this time it wasn't another belt.

After getting it back to the workshop and lifting it onto the jack, I found a broken tension spring.

The replacement has already been ordered.

Hopefully it'll arrive soon.

Otherwise...

It may finally be time to start shopping for a compact tractor with a larger mower.

Over the last several days something else has made the property look completely different.

The sky.

Everything has taken on a strange yellow tint.

Almost like someone turned the entire world into an old sepia photograph.

The cause isn't local.

It's smoke drifting down from the Canadian wildfires.

The air even carries a faint smoky smell.

It's beautiful in a strange sort of way.

But also a reminder of just how far those fires reach.

Tonight I tried something new.

Instead of buying hummingbird nectar, I made my own.

It's cooling in the refrigerator as I write this.

Tomorrow morning all of the feeders will get fresh homemade nectar.

Hopefully our little visitors approve.

Looking back over the last couple of weeks...

It's amazing how much has changed.

The camper has a new home.

The electrical system is finally reliable.

The water system is simpler.

The lights are glowing.

The hammock is hanging.

The flowers are blooming.

The pool is waiting.

The gardens are growing.

The birds are visiting.

And Memory Lane feels a little more like home than it did just a few weeks ago.

That's really what this project has always been about.

Not building the perfect place.

Building a place where we can slow down, enjoy the little moments, and make memories that will last a lifetime.

~ Making Memories