Hide Site/Bug Out Location Construction, Part 6

[Sammconn]

Did this really happen? I haven't seen any pics yet......LOL!

I know you’re down and out.

But.
Please tell us you’ve retrieved it.

And some pics.

Or was this the day you went downhill. Pardon the pun.

[Bob Smith]

I sure hope he got it back on dry land and running again. If not he will really be sick.

[JR]

He is already sick, hopefully its out for less headaches.

[Flyin6]

Ya, so all went well with recovering the machine
I had to choose to put it into the water because it was in danger of tipping over and I hadn't yet mentally gotten to the point that I was going to have to get the track hoe to save the day. Just on the other side of that "downhill" track is a drop off that would have added three more feet of water and killed the Kubota

[Flyin6]

I had to hastily dig out an access through this small hill of boulders, then rig a heavy chain around the equalizing beam on the lift arms of the SVL-97. With that done it was easy-peasy, almost a non event

[Flyin6]

Muddy water made it into the engine bay and the cab about a foot deep. I drained and air dried it for a day before using it again. When I did, it started and ran just like it had never attempted to get qualified as a submarine!

[Flyin6]

This stage of digging is just nasty. Gooey crap and rocks is all I am getting up, but I am nearing completion

And just look at the size of rocks I am having to deal with!

[Flyin6]

You can see the thing coming into its final shape. I will connect the part I am digging now to the area just to its front, maybe 2 hours of digging and 8 hours of carting the mess off and that pond will be done!

I plan to leave the mini island in the middle to provide cover for fish.

It is currently down 4-5 feet. The autumn rains will fill that in just days if anything like past years

[Flyin6]

And the "amphitheater came in nicely. I'm just going to allow this to "grass-over"

[Flyin6]

The balance of the dirt will finish off a "creepy" ramp I am building that goes to below the earthen wall I have built. It's maybe 35-40 feet down to the bottom. That will connect to a trail I have yet to build that will take one over to the other side of the property. I own another piece over on the next hill that is 5-10 acres that I have never set foot on. Ought to be a good pristine area, where I was thinking of cutting out the scrub and make a natural field and get KY dept. of wildlife to release quail

[Flyin6]

Next up, concrete in the barn. I opted for a 40X30 pad, 6" thick with 1/2" rebar tied on 24" centers.

That all started with using the freshly dried out Kubota to spread a bunch of gravel

[Flyin6]

The gravel was compacted after leveling, then the crete was poured into the space.

It cured enough to saw-cut and seal already

[JR]

Glad the 97 is OK, you?

That bucket is a big as the 97, non issue is right.

Pond looks good, get it to clear out and go fishing.

Crete, I can only hope!!

[stlaser]

I’d love to see an aerial view of the property to kind of get a sense of it. Maybe you don’t want that posted but it may help us understand better.

[Flyin6]

Today, just starting to recover from that "Cold" I had or whatever it was, I carried down all the overhead lighting and had almost 400 gallons of red diesel delivered. Farm exempt gas (I applied for and got a tax number from Kentucky) was $2.58/gal today.

That should be enough fuel to see me through all the cold months back into next spring/summer, especially considering that track hoe will not see nearly as much dirt time as it has recently

[Flyin6]

Glad the 97 is OK, you?

That bucket is a big as the 97, non issue is right.

Pond looks good, get it to clear out and go fishing.

Crete, I can only hope!!

I still have a grass carp or two alive in there, so the green stuff will get eaten. The mud settles out over time. I'll say that by spring the water will be clear and if the Pre-Ranger gets his way, will be stocked with Crappie, Bass, catfish, a couple carp, and bluegill. Give it a year and you'll be able to catch your evening meal there.

[Flyin6]

I’d love to see an aerial view of the property to kind of get a sense of it. Maybe you don’t want that posted but it may help us understand better.

Mine is the one in magenta
The parcel I am refereeing to is the box located off to the east

The pic is old, well before I made the many changes you have read about here

[JR]

I like the layout. Do you have access out to the south parcel? Your normal is to the northeast if I see right.

[Flyin6]

Access is overland, somehow through that impossible tangle of a forest there

Ah, wait a minute...I own a forest killing cutter head and a compact track loader!!

So, yea, I can get to it!!!!!  ;-)

[stlaser]

I’d love to see an aerial view of the property to kind of get a sense of it. Maybe you don’t want that posted but it may help us understand better.

Mine is the one in magenta
The parcel I am refereeing to is the box located off to the east

The pic is old, well before I made the many changes you have read about here

Thanks Boss, was hoping for drone pics like JR does occasionally to give us updates and see all the work / progress being done.

[Flyin6]

I’d love to see an aerial view of the property to kind of get a sense of it. Maybe you don’t want that posted but it may help us understand better.

Mine is the one in magenta
The parcel I am refereeing to is the box located off to the east

The pic is old, well before I made the many changes you have read about here

Thanks Boss, was hoping for drone pics like JR does occasionally to give us updates and see all the work / progress being done.

Copy that
Need to buy a drone!


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[JR]

Get the Mavic Air 2, love mine. The anify is not that good.

Think Costco has em.

[Flyin6]

Get the Mavic Air 2, love mine. The anify is not that good.

Think Costco has em.

How much?


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[JR]

About $400 used, $700 new. I use a tablet for mine but you can use a phone or some of their TX have a screen built it.

Solid drone, great video and pics. You can set parameters and it does what you say, then hit return to home and don't think about it.

https://www.dji.com/uk/mavic-air-2

[Sammconn]

Glad you're feeling better and the kub is ok.

Lots going on there this year.
Glad to see good progress.

CM chief.

[Flyin6]

Glad you're feeling better and the kub is ok.

Lots going on there this year.
Glad to see good progress.

CM chief.

Roger that
CM


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[Flyin6]

So I/We Charlie-Mike'd

In this next installment I hired Mark (I'm his uncle) a up and coming electrician to install the meter base and electrical service all the way to the panel.

It was rough for sure. He was recovering from Covid and I am still recovering from this upper respiratory infection (tested Covid: Negative) In short we both were not at the top of our game to be sure. Couple that with a hot/high humidity day with very little breeze and we had all the ingredients for a disaster right out of the chock blocks.

But I (nor he, apparently) do not walk away from a challenge so off to the races it was.

Here is the beginning of the layout going onto the bare walls shown:

[Flyin6]

Why are my pics sideways???

Anyway, while he got busy outside, I hung a couple of outlet boxes overhead and began pulling some wire

BTW, I just paid $238 for 250 feet of 12-3. The last time I bought it, I think I was about $100 less!

[Flyin6]

The first order of business was to get the mast of 2.5" Galvanized steel pipe installed.

[JR]

You camera is sick,,,,,,,,,,,

[Flyin6]

He does this sort of thing for a living, but never-the-less used the power company supplied installation guidelines as a blueprint for building up this service system.

The heat was so bad and we were sweating so much that the only thing we could do to mitigate was to take shifts in the tractor with the AC on. It was bad. I drank six bottles of water in less than an hour and a half, and realized I was in a bit of trouble. I had a racing heart, got dizzy a bunch, nausea and zero energy, all signs of heat exhaustion. The cold thing I have had had really taken a toll that I did not fully appreciate

[Flyin6]

We (mostly he) just pushed through it. The Kub came in handy once again as a handy work platform.

At this point he has pulled the service cable through and divided it at the connection head. The mast is shown with the cable stay installed and ready for the power guys.

[Flyin6]

Those meter base connections are no fun. It is a will of God thing to bend the cables into their lug mounts, but easy to tighten down once there. He applied the ever-slippery, get-in-your-ear lube that should never be used when insects are landing on your head and ears.

[Flyin6]

Through the wall, this is direct bury cable requiring no conduit, nor anymore anything. It will get covered by a wall soon enough

[Flyin6]

Everything came in perfectly level.

The service panel was mounted a little proud of the coming wall to make accessibility easy

[Flyin6]

The inspection requires one GFI outlet, which is shown here to complete everything, except for two grounding rods.

We pounded one about one third the way in when the heat just made hard work impossible. We will return with a hammer drill and a second grounding rod to complete the installation. Inspection should come in 7-10 days.

Once the inspection is complete, the power company comes to give it a once over, then the construction is scheduled.

I am told construction is three weeks, so I am looking at service before November, which is fine.

[Flyin6]

My neighbor, Jimmy, came down to tell me he is tearing out the front of the road in. He (nor I) like the sharp bend as you pull in so he is going to cut the hill down and pile it up and make a nice sweeper of a road connecting what we now have.

It may look rough, but give it a couple years and this place is going to look amazing.

The down side is that the security I once enjoyed by being on a goat trail, is all but gone.

[JR]

I hear you on the heat. I was really fighting it a few weeks back and we had all the smoke too.

[stlaser]

I hear you on the heat. I was really fighting it a few weeks back and we had all the smoke too.

That smoke is Hell, second day in a row not breathing it (in s.c. For the week) and my voice is starting to return to normal.

[Flyin6]

Was at an Army reunion of my first ever aviation unit over the weekend, and had catchup until today.
So, my objectives remain the same:

1. Finish the barn by end of summer
2. Finish the pond by the end of summer

Ancillary to that is to do electrical work in the barn, build a wall and add a couple of doors, but that can come as I get time.

I am trying to finish the pond this week, but its going to be tight. Only have tomorrow and possibly Saturday. Fridays are football games and Sundays are church

I made my next to final dig on the pond today and almost have the final shape. I am a little short on depth, but I'll have to roll with it. Stocking will happen in October

[Flyin6]

The rock wall got tall in places:

[Flyin6]

Next to the last grub pile, and maybe will have another 20-30 boulders to toss onto the pile(s)

[Flyin6]

Hard working machines:

[Flyin6]

The repair Dan did to the excavator is holding and working well. No more problems up there

But

The bucket is cracked in several places and will need to get cut and rewelded. Those buckets can cost close to $10K

[Flyin6]

The road into my place is now almost completely fenced. I border two neighbors out there. One used the treated posts, the other just cut cedars and processed them for almost no cost and is using those.

He is the processed timber section:

[Flyin6]

And the home-made section. My fence will look like this one, with the exception of being barbed wire in sections

[Flyin6]

And just look at the road now. Neighbor Jimmy has almost completely changed it to something you can drive on without danger of breaking something. Once he is done it will be really nice. I agreed to keep it cut (bush-hogged) once finished.

The road used to pass to the other side of that big 380 track hoe!

[Flyin6]

Oh, and I finished the ramp down to the future SxS trail. That future trail will go all over the "Unexplored" part of my property yielding what I think will eventually be a couple miles of trail to use for access/hunting/fun.

[JR]

Very nice. Maybe have the guy who fixed the ex do the bucket too? Looks like it needs a new bottom, strapping and hardfacing.

Oh, where the other tractor?

[JR]

For your SxS or crowd control,,,,,,,,,,,

https://youtu.be/H-E9M4rwwSs