the bumbleshack is coming! the bumbleshack is coming!

my new wood pile

my new wood pile

A few months ago, hubby and I mailed off a $5,000 check to our tiny house builder, Joe Everson at Tennessee Tiny Homes. Since then, we have mailed off a few more checks, whittling away at our retirement fund. Joe has sent us pictures of our adorable little shack as he was building it. With each set of pictures, our excitement has grown. And tomorrow, we will get to see the Bumbleshack in person!!!!

I filled this wheelbarrow at least 12 times from one patio area!

I filled this wheelbarrow at least 12 times from one patio area!

We spent last weekend getting the yard ready. It was super difficult to select a spot to put the tiny house. We had two options. One option was already level, and it would be super easy to park the house there…but it would block our view of the river from the main house. Boo. The other spot had a big hole in the middle of it that needed to be filled in, and one corner rises in elevation a little. But it is a lovely spot underneath the oak trees in the shade right next to the dock, jacuzzi and hammock. And it doesn’t block our view of the river.

found this little froggie hangin' out in the rainwater that has accumulated in the tire I plan to use in my veggie garden

found this little froggie hangin’ out in the rainwater that has accumulated in the old tire I plan to use in my veggie garden

So hubby and I slaved away this past weekend. He uses the motorized tools to mow and weed eat our half acre lot, and I take care of all the yard work that must be done by hand….weed pulling, gathering of oak tree branches, breaking them up into firewood piles (we have lots of firewood!), maintaining the compost pile and lawn waste, and the most difficult job of all, bamboo hacking. I love bamboo, but it is coming up in places we don’t want it, like underneath our deck! I filled my wheelbarrow 12 times with leaves that I added to the compost pile from just one patio area. That’s a lot of leaves! But we feel great because the yard looks damn good now. I can’t wait to have a 1 to 3 acre mostly wooded, no upkeep, natural, permaculture “yard”.

old kindling pile = new bee habitat

old kindling pile = new bee habitat

I know the garden will be a lot of work, but I don’t mind that kind of work. I disturbed so many habitats this weekend! There were a TON of worms underneath the leaves that had accumulated on the patio. They had been rained on and started turning to compost right there on the patio. The bamboo “forest” in our yard is right next to this patio, and lots of birds frequent it…a pair of cardinals, lots of blue jays and some woodpeckers too. I realized that they had been eating the worms who were living in the leaves! I felt terrible breaking up this dynamic. But I moved the leaves and the worms to the compost pile so they may continue to do their good deeds there. Sorry birdies 🙁

I also discovered that some bumble bees had built a nest inside my kindling pile. Cool!!! I was moving the wood pile to another spot in the yard, and all of a sudden several bees flew out. So now I need to put a small fence around it to designate it a bee habitat. I think I will have my oldest daughter paint a wooden sign for it. Summer art project! I still haven’t identified the species yet. I couldn’t get a still picture because they were moving too fast, so I took a video. I want to upload it to Bumble Bee Watch, but they are only set up for still photos. I need to email them to see if I can send them my video.

future view from the bumbleshack :-)

future view from the bumbleshack…just a little more work to do…like fixing that crooked electrical box! 🙂

Hubby purchased several landscaping timbers that he is going to bolt together today to make a 10×24 ft frame for the tiny house parking spot. Once the house is in place, we will mulch the area to keep the weeds down…and for decorative purposes. I will post pictures on our Facebook page once it is finished. By the way, I post a lot more on our Facebook page, so go like it!

Anyway, the Bumbleshack arrives tomorrow!!! We plan to take a video of its arrival, and once it is all set up we will take another video of Joe Everson, our builder, giving a tour.  We will post the videos on our Facebook page, so go check them out when you get a chance. 🙂

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