Breathe

I overthink, therefore I am… exhausted -

Please Pick A Spot And GO 💩

What's the deal with dogs, or at least my dog Ms. Trixie, taking forever and a day to chose their spot to drop a deuce 💩?!

She seems to be doing this more and more as of late, what gives?

The two of us this morning -

When we were back in Massachusetts it didn't effect me much, as I would simply open the slider and she'd go out herself, in the safety of the fenced in yard.  However, here in East Tennessee, the yard isn't fenced, she's not familiar with the area and I want to make sure there are no dangers lurking, so I take her out.

This morning for example, at 2:00AMish, then again at 5:00AMish AND in the single digit and gusty, ole Trixster was acting like Dr. Louis Leakey looking for ancient fossils and taking her sweet time - let's go💩 -

It's too cold for all this 💩 AND I want to go back to bed!

Our Bald Mountain View

This will be our view, with the mountains off in the distance, from the front of our house!

It's facing in a south, southeasterly direction towards Bald Mountain. Interestingly, the state line into North Carolina is on the back side of Bald Mountain, we're that close -

Bald Mountain (4337 feet) is a prominent, scenic peak in Greeneville, TN, located within the Cherokee National Forest. Known for its high-elevation bald summits, which lack tree coverage and offer panoramic, 360-degree views. It serves as a popular destination for hiking, backpacking, and exploring the Appalachian Trail.

We'll need to hike this area and check it out.  Would be nice to get a picture looking back towards our homestead.

Deer Deer Eveywhere

The below pics are not that good, apologies, but I tried.

While making my way to our farm the other afternoon I witnessed a herd of deer all running in a pseudo line across an open field.  It was difficult to count them with the tree line between them and me while also trying to keep my car from driving off the narrow, winding road and into a ditch but I'm guessing there were about 15 of them! 

The bevy were all running parallel to me and the road, all had their tails held high and all were more trotting at a steady pace versus running as if scared.

Unfortunately the pics didn't capture all the deer, even the ones it did they're hard to see -

It was quite a cool sight to seem them all running together like they were and out in the open field.

The open farmland and fields, cow, horses and deer all make my back road drives so special!

My First Tennessee Snowstorm

I did it!  I survived my first Tennessee snowstorm ❅❆❄!

It was tough; touch and go there for a little while.

The grounds were slick, treacherous, actually. I asked to be picked up because it was so bad but my request was denied and I was forced to walk.  Although, it's a short walk next door to my cousins house, I slipped and nearly fell several times, it was that bad, but eventually made it.

Having gone through this storm and survived, I feel I'm now better prepared for the next one.

Pig In A Blanket!

Oh yeah, this happened yesterday!

I stopped at Auntie Ruth's Doughnuts & Pretzel shop, on US-11E in Limestone, for a lunch snack on my way back from our farm!

I went with their famous and sought after pretzel dog, OMG, so frick'n good!  I might even be able to give Joey Chestnut a run for his title, if these hotdogs are served at the Nathan's famous fourth of July hot dog eating contest!

Just saying...

Another Butt Nuggets Update

Boy do I have egg on my face today, alas.

My Butt Nuggets post from this past Thursday, and even though I updated said post later in the day on Thursday, needs yet another update...

That post was referring to only the 3rd egg, which had been laid on Wednesday, that the chickens here had laid since I've been in East Tennessee. Well, they've since laid an egg every day since, so Thursday, Friday and, today, Saturday!  Today's egg was laid by a different hen, as it is a white shelled egg and it's the first I've collected.

Had I known these old chicken soup destined ladies would react this way to my post, I would have posted it weeks earlier...

Our House’s Emotional Support Rocks

A load of gravel was delivered earlier this past week and is waiting to be spread!

It's to be spread under where our house is to be installed and around the footers. It's intended primarily for moisture and humidity control but it will also help with drainage, soil stabilization, as a pest deterrent and for easier maintenance access -

The frozen ground has thawed a bit this past week with the bright sun and above freezing temperatures, making the area sloppy and messy, which is why, as of Thursday afternoon, the gravel had yet to be spread. But no worries, as the site prep is moving along nicely!

It’s one of those simple things that quietly protects the home for decades.

Gravel under a manufactured home is like socks with sandals, not glamorous, but it keeps things from getting ugly, if you know what I mean...

Time Goes By Fast

My Blog's Visitor Activity

I thought I would share some of my blogs visitor data. Now, I'm no social media savant, have no presence to speak of or a large following - nor does my OnlyFans page 😉, alas, but this data is interesting.

So, I do have the ability to pull activity data regarding visitors to my blog. Blogger itself provides some analytics and I also have a utility called Statcounter but the free version is limited in the data it provides.

The activity map captured below is from Saturday 1-17-2026 and shows what counties my visitors are connecting from -

Here's a partial list of visiting counties. This is supposedly a list from the last 30 days, which seems unlikely based on some of the counts listed but again its the free version, so not sure how truly accurate this all is -

Singapore typically is the most active country day to day.  Most of those look to be "Crawlers", which are automated software programs or scripts that systematically browses, scans, and indexes your website's content. The crawlers are identified by the bug icons I outlined in red below -

Per the Google machine, crawlers are essentially a "librarian" for the internet that is busy cataloging your blog. While they are crucial for search engine optimization (SEO), it is important to monitor them to ensure they are not overloading your site or scraping content maliciously.

To be honest, it does worry me a bit seeing all the visits coming from Singapore since most are crawlers but there really isn't anything I can do about it.  I do change my password quite often and hope nothing gets compromised.

BBQ Comfort Food At It's Best!

Mark this date down, Tuesday January 20, this is when we went out to dinner at The Original Ridgewood Barbeque restaurant in Bluff City for some long overdue, delicious, mouthwatering hickory smoked barbeque!

A staple in these parts, opened back in 1948.

The closed sign was lit when we arrived just before 7PM but they happily let us in - welcoming southern hospitality at it's best -

A blue cheese dip, with saltine crackers, was brought to the table shortly after we were seated, and it was tasty!

For my meal, I went with the BBQ pork sandwich, which came with beans, slaw and fries, AND a sweet tea to wash it all down with. The beans were SO darn tasty, I could have just eaten a bowl of those and been satisfied - HAHAHA, who am I kidding!

But wait there's more, dipping the fries in the blue cheese dip was amazing too, as was the coleslaw - crisp, slightly sweet and creamy -

Now full disclosure - I only hate half of my sandwich. I took it to go with the remaining slaw and fries.  I didn't want to make a pig (get it) outta myself.

The waitress was great! She did not rush us at all, rather she doted on us. She even brought each of us a to go cup filled with sweet tea instead of pouring it out (as a part of closing). We took our time, had a nice fun and relaxing meal - the best company!

Another tasty Tennessee foodie experience!

BTW, looking for a good local tailor who specializes in hemming and expanding the waist of britches... 

It's Electric II

The four foot deep electrical trench was dug this past Tuesday.

The PVC conduit, of which there are two with the smaller 1" being installed for the future deployment of fiber, was laid out, cemented together and placed in the trench on Wednesday.

Looking down at the bend in the driveway by the pond -

Looking up at the bend in the driveway by the pond -

Straight run up to where the house will be installed, parallel to the driveway.  The electrical transformer will sit approximately 190' before the house.  Pictured below is the transformer cover installed in place -

A closer look heading up -

Looking back down towards the pond -

Looking in at where the transformer itself will be housed and wired -

The PVC conduits and the trench itself all need to be inspected and signed off on by the Greenville Energy Authority (GEA) before the trench can be backfilled. Our contractor is handling all the permitting, so they'll reach out to the GEA when they're ready to have it inspected.

Again, things are progressing quite nicely. Just need the house delivered, so we can get all these pieces and parts connected.

Thinking Inside The Big Box

Tuesday was a bitterly windy and cold day, especially up on the hill where our house will sit, but it was also another day of progress at the ole homestead!  Our 40' storage container was moved from the lower lot, some 600 feet, up to it's new and final resting spot!

Here the crew is digging and prepping the location of where our container will reside, with Joseph and I in the shadows watching on -

Dumping crushed stone for it's new home -

Click to link here to watch - Dumping a crushed stone base 

Here comes the storage unit! Being dragged up the hill -

And it's getting closer -

BAM, it's in its new home nestled nicely on a bed of gravel -

The unit is sitting perfectly level and the doors open and swing with ease -

Empty now but soon this will be filled with Boston and Miami belongings -

Looking for a Chinese translator to tell us what the below says - 

Need to consult with my brother but I'm thinking this is the new "Charlies Place" and will be referred to as such moving forward?!

The box that holds it all.

Things are sure starting to take shape!

Butt Nuggets!

I can't believe it but as of yesterday I've been in East Tennessee for 33 days now!

In that time I've been tending to the three ladies below and enjoying it.  It's reignited my chicken fever and I'm already thinking about getting some for our new place come spring!

Keeping in mind that it's January, that it's cold out there and that the days are shorter, so egg production typically declines around these times.  I've had chickens most of my life so I get it, I understand the process.  However, even in these times the ladies often lay eggs occasionally.

These three old broads below seem to be on some sort of egg laying strike though -

I still check the nest box every day, often with optimism, hoping that there will be an egg or two or even three but nope, that has NOT been the case. Yesterday was the exception and I was pleasantly surprised to find a single egg, see below, waiting for me -

So, in the 33 days that I've been here, I've collected only 3 eggs, alas!

Seems the rooster in the above pic is laying about as many eggs as these old hens.

Stew pot maybe?!?! Show of hands

**** UPDATE ****

Of course, and to make me look bad, there was another egg laid this afternoon!  They must have received word I was talking smack about them on my blog. So long as they keep producing butt-nuggets, they can be as critical of me as they wish.

I see two farm fresh, over medium eggs sizzling away in the fry pan on my stove tomorrow morning!

Burn Baby Burn 🔥

Remember this?

The pile of trees, limbs, stumps and brush that was created by removing all the overgrowth from the fence line in an effort to open up our view of the mountains -

Well, this past Friday morning the pile was lit on fire again!

It burned all weekend long and was down to just stumps below, still smoldering, on Monday afternoon.  Although, I did spend about an hour on Monday restoking it.  Feeding it the limbs and pieces that were in that area that hadn't burned -

This is what the pile, or lack there of, and the area looked like on Tuesday morning -

What hadn't burned by end of day on Monday was buried and the general area leveled off.  It's like there was nothing ever there, except now our view has been opened up and the fence line in that stretch cleared of all the overgrowth and looking pretty darn good!

It's nice to have all that gone! Rest assured, once our house is up and we're all moved in, we plan to work and clear all of the fence lines, which will mean we'll be creating another burning pile - stay tuned!

Honestly, I can't wait!  It's super exciting to see improvements and get out and work our land.

The Wild Tribe

What good looking dogs! Very well trained and behaved.

They were not restrained. They were not pacing or showing any signs of being anxious or antsy. There was no barking or whining. They were not even aggressive or threatening. Of course, I respected their space and didn't approach, even though I may have been tempted.

Just three dogs living their best lives -

Too bad more, actually most, people don't have better control of their dogs!

Kudos, well done.

It's Electric!

It was a busy and productive long holiday weekend at the ole homestead!

After installing our water line, our contractor wasted no time in digging the trench for the electrical line!

The electrical trench has a two foot depth requirement and as of yesterday afternoon it was nearly complete! Once the trench is ready, 2.5 inch PVC conduit will be installed and it will run from the nearest telephone pole, which is in the easement, to where the transformer will reside, see second pic below and circled in red.  A separate conduit will then run from the transformer, which is approximately 190 feet from the house, up to the house.  The caveat with this electrical work is that it MUST be inspected and approved by the Greenville Energy Authority (GEA) but they've been great to work with, so there shouldn't be any issues or delays.

Looking down towards the pond at the contactor in the orange backhoe digging away -

The electrical transformer will sit here, circled, just before the trench -

Deep and neatly dug -

Looking up -

Don't be shocked that we're energized with the progress!  As a matter of fact, we're currently so shocked it hertz but plan to stay grounded! Watt do you expect!

"Electricity is really just organized lightning" — George Carlin.

I'm No Longer Blue

Our contractor worked over the long holiday weekend and was able to get our new water line installed from about where the original gate was to where the house will sit!

See my posting from Friday titled, We're In The Trenches Now! to see the neatly dug water line trench, which was about 20 inches deep. They then ran a single strand of heavy duty 1.5 inch blue water line tubing the 600 or so feet and have since covered it all over!

Excess tubing coiled up at the old gate, circled in red below, which will need to be connected to the water meter. We ran into a bit of a snag on Thursday with the meter and have the utility company involved to help resolve it today -

Water line at the house site, looking up -

and looking back down towards the original gate -

As Samuel Taylor Coleridge's wrote in his poem, from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, - "Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink", but we're getting closer to remedying this issue!

"Roadhog!"

Get out of the way road hog!

What the heck is going on here in East Tennessee?

I've have NEVER seen SO many people using these store provided electric scooters before! They're everywhere - Walmart, Lowes (pictured below), Kroger's, Publix

Not to be critical or assuming but most of the folks I've seen tooling around in these things have been "big boned", so there's that. Of course some are elderly and some have valid medical needs but wondering what percentage are just flipp'n lazy and or enjoy using these toys?! 

Kroger's grocery store -

The other potential plus to using one of these is that more often than not most people get out of the way when a scooter rider approaches, especially if they're headed for the snacky isle...

So don't be surprised when I hop on one of these hogs to do my shopping! You know the old saying, "when in Rome..."

Oh, Magoo, you've done it again!