Tuesday, August 11, 2020

Wildlife on the J-B

Although we are continuing to work on our and Kevin's barndominiums, I wanted to take a moment to share some of the wildlife pictures we have taken on our property. 

Deer are our most common visitors. We have both whitetail and mule deer in the area. The mule deer are very accommodating when it comes to getting their pictures taken while the whitetails are a bit more camera shy. They tend to stop by first thing in the morning and right before sunset when the days are at their coolest.
This bachelor group of bucks comes in about 5:30 every morning

If there is no corn out for them right away, they have no problem staring in the windows letting us know they are there and hungry!

Typically the does show up alone but one day one doe showed up with twin fawns. Now they, along with another single fawn are almost daily visitors. 
Dakota just ignores the deer, while Daisy takes offense to their intrusion and will stand at the screen and "bark" at them. The deer just stare at her and wonder what her problem is. 
While most of the bucks hang around by themselves, we have one that comes in with the does and likes to play "king of the hill" like a king watching over his kingdom.
We also have a tub of water out there for them but this doe loves to drink out of the birdbath. 
Speaking of birds, almost 40 turkeys will show up once in a while to clean up any corn remnants that the deer leave behind. 
Not to be forgotten, we have a couple of bunnies that come around as well....
On the house front, I have been spending most of my days over at Kevin and Cheryl's. We are making some great progress. 

Over the past couple of weeks we have installed fascia, shingles, a working toilet (woohoo!), the boiler system for the domestic water and in-floor heat,  the carport and varnishing the boards for the inside have been the major projects.
West side almost all shingled!
Boiler system installed!
Cheryl varnishing while peanut supervises
The two biggest projects were forming and concreting the patio area and building the carport. It started out something like this.
Pre-shingles, carport and concrete.

Before building the carport we had to form up the patio and get concrete poured as we could no longer reach that area once the carport is up. 
Form all set!
Barb came over and helped with the actual pour. We poured 5 yards of concrete in a little over an hour and then spent another hour finishing the edges putting the final touches on it. 

All done!
On the carport, the first thing we had to do was to cutback the roofline where the carport was going. Unfortunately, several hours into the project it started pouring rain. An inch an hour for the next three hours.....What a mess! We had buckets in the kitchen and entryway but we could not contain everything and that area of the house got soaked!

Once the rain stopped we got the house sealed up again and over the next few days we worked on building the trusses out of 8"x8" timbers, installing the cross beams and getting the trusses up. 

Just need to get the roofing on and shingled and we can cross that project off the list!

While I am over at Kevin's, Barb is still busy working on our house. She has gotten a couple of walls done. Hopefully by this time next week we will have all the major walls complete!
That girl knows how to handle a finish nailer!

We have also decided to extend the loft by 1' so it covers the top of the kitchen cabinets (why didn't we think of this earlier!?!?) This meant I had to cut through the kitchen/bathroom wall to install rim boards that would support this flooring. We are also going to run our cooktop vent pipe though this and vent it outside. This project will take a little more dedicated time but in the end I think it is the right move. 
Flooring extension with vent pipe installed

Our neighbors Jim and Brenda are selling their land and their rig and are moving onto bigger and better things. Come to think of it our neighbors on both sides are selling their property.....humm... If you know anyone looking for 40 acres of heaven here in South Dakota or a Grand Design Momentum with a complete solar package, we know just the right people!

That pretty much sums up the last couple of weeks here in South Dakota. Things are moving along great in some areas, a little slower in others but it progress and any progress is a plus!

29 comments:

  1. Glad to see progress on both houses being made.
    It is typical to make changes during most builds.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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    1. I just wished we would have thought of those changes while we were building the walls, it would have been so much easier!

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  2. You guys are making great progress. Sorry to hear your neighbors are leaving, what did you do to make them want to sell ;) Love all the wildlife, we enjoy watching ours.

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  3. Everything looks good. If you need another project to work on while you are doing those two, i know where you can go.

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    1. Ahhh, we are good but will love reading about your misery....I mean progress!

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  4. See what happens when you chase all those prairie dogs over to the neighbors? 😉

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  5. Wow both homes are amazing! You certainly keep busy when you are at home! Love the wildlife pics! Wish I could afford 40 acres in South Dakota, seems to be the only sane state at the moment!

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    1. Isn't that the truth! People are moving here by the dozens, I don't know if that is a good or bad thing!

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  6. Wow...that’s quite the game farm you got going there! You guys sure work your butts off. Stay safe and healthy!

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  7. Great critter pictures. I'm all about the critters. The area looks fabulous and I did have a fleeting thought ... until I remembered all that snow!!

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    1. I would think after months of those triple digit temps you would welcome a little snow!

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  8. Looks great, both places!
    Sorry you are losing both neighbors, do they have their properties listed? Hoping you get some great new neighbors. Love all the wildlife here....now we return to our regularly scheduled program after Sturgis winds down and some tourists leave us!

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    1. We did get some new neighbors on one side and they are great people. The motorcycles are hear by the hundreds, we are trying to stay out of town for the time being.

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  9. You are like the Energizer Bunny, you never stop. Lovely critter photos.

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    1. We are soooo looking forward to the day when we wake up and have nothing to do!

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  10. When you guys finally complete both builds, you won't know what to do. I know, just sit and admire the view and your visiting critters. Hope you get some great neighbors! Beautiful area, beautiful land, tempting ... just too cold for this reptile.😎🌵

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    1. We have two major projects we would like to get done before the snow flies. The concrete for the porch and the porch itself. Then the outside will be done! Well, with the exception of the stone work.....

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  11. Wow you sure have the wildlife at your farm. You won't have to go too far for your Christmas turkey. lol Glad things are still moving along at your house. I bet Kevin is very thankful you guys are there able to help them with their build. Always nice to have an extra pair of hands.

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    1. If we could find a good recipe for wild turkey we just might have one for Christmas but so far domestic turkey is so much better!

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  12. Love all the wildlife photos. The fawns are so cute with their spots. I'm sure Daisy doesn't enjoy these creatures invading her domain. While spending the summer in SD wasn't your plan, you are getting lots completed at your place and your friends. Less to do in the future.

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    1. We had 4 fawns show up today so another doe must have joined the group. It is so much fun watching them run around!

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  13. You guys sure keep busy. I thought that I kept working hard but you wear be out just seeing what you get done in very little time 👍🙂

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    1. Missed you stopping by this year, you are always welcome!

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    2. Thanks it would be great to see you guys again.

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