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03/21/11, 01:39 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 1,420
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Breaking Ground
Yesterday, Dh and BIL broke up the garden for the first time. It has been fallow for years. Here is a picture, wish you all could smell what I smelled, good dirt!
While they were doing that, I just could not stand looking at the garbage and filth any longer and swept the porch and raked out from under it. Dh says I am crazy cause we have to tear the porch down and rebuild it but, I wanted a place to sit to take a break when doing the demolition inside plus, I figure it is easier to clean up the broken glass and crud with a broom and dust pan than it would be once it hits the ground so, here it is cleaned up with some of my wicker on it.
Since we are doing the windows and siding first, the porch will stay for a while and it is now a nice, breezy, CLEAN place to sit and take an iced tea break when working on the house or in the garden. I have two rooms gutted back to the original planks and two more to go. Lot's of drywall and crud coming down!
Sooo excited to see that garden getting ready to plant!!!  Next step is to change out the plow and break up the clods.
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03/21/11, 03:09 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: SE tennessee
Posts: 1,727
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I love working ground,the sight and smell of the dirt rolling over is heaven.If I could find a fulltime job plowing and disking I'd die happy on a tractor.And I like your porch very much just as it is.Great porch..
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03/21/11, 06:22 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: SW Michigan
Posts: 16,408
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Looking good. Looks like you have great weather to do it in too. Good luck and please, keep posting pictures of your progress!
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03/21/11, 07:57 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Lower Alabama
Posts: 2,230
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I agree about your porch being great like it is although I'm sure you are looking forward to getting it all fixed up. It will be great watching y'all fix it up but I like it already.
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03/21/11, 09:10 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 1,420
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Thanks ya'll. I can have these moments on this forum but here at home folks think I am nuts to get so excited over such things.
The porch floor is very iffy. It is the same porch that has been on the house for over 100 years and although amazingly the joists are good (you can see that in the photo) the two layers of floor boards need to be removed and replaced and I want to install new 4 x 4 posts and of course steps. Actually I was surprised that the porch held up the claw foot tub, that thing is heavy. Just goes to show back in the day they built stuff to last. Those steps are a death trap waiting for a victim and the risers are uncomfortably high, about 9" (not good after working all day and having aching knees going down them at quitting time). I believe I can fit three steps there with 6.5 inch or so risers for a much more comfortable climb. We are going to use decking boards for the new floor.
Oth47 I know what you mean. I love the feel of working the soil and it smells so good. I like to garden in the early morning, alone. It can be almost zen like. Cannot wait until it is time to plant which I plan to do around the middle of April. I was feeling so overwhelmed with the house and the garbage all over the property and trying to get everything done at once but as I stood on the porch with my broom in my hand and inhaled, it all got so real for me that this is my little patch of being place. Nothing like breaking ground for the first time to make it sink in that you are really home.
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03/22/11, 10:24 AM
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Brenda Groth
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Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Michigan
Posts: 7,817
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i am going to be tearing off a deck (if the hernia doesn't prevent it..wah) this year and replacing it with a 38 x 8 deck with an L shape 8x8 extension, wrapped around to the already there rear deck/covered porch/woodshed/furnace building area..
i was excited about it until fri when I popped this hernia out (seeing dr at 2:45)..and hope that I can get this taken care of and get my strength back in time to get it done early this year yet..
keep us up on your work, can't wait to see it new...can see our old porch on the SE corner of the house in my blog below to the left of the new greenhouse placement.
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03/22/11, 10:37 AM
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: near Abilene,TX
Posts: 5,323
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Wow...so many possiblilities....lovely old house. You will have a lovely porch when it is redone. I always look at houses as what I can accomplish and how I can make them "live" once again. And I know you made alot of birds happy tilling that ground..LOL...best wishes on your new adventure. I was so excited yesterday when the sewer tap was put in for the second old house we are starting on.....
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03/22/11, 11:06 AM
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Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: ozark foothills, Mo
Posts: 1,051
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That porch
Is jist aching fer a coupla bluetick or bluetick-airdale cross, or plott hounds! 
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03/22/11, 11:20 AM
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Dallas
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Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: N of Dallas, TX
Posts: 10,124
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From the color of that dirt I was expecting to see that you were in Oklahoma.
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03/23/11, 06:06 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 1,420
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ronbre--you be careful, demolition and deck building with a hernia ( or like in my case, bad back) can turn serious.
Grannyg--we are doing a restoration rather than a remodel. I love the look and want to keep it. Originally it was a two room dogtrot with board and batten siding. Although we are not going so far as to reopen the dog trot, we are replacing the board and battens. I am also ripping back the stuff added over the years to the original construction and will be letting the beautiful yellow pine wall boards stay exposed on the inside. Win win, pretty wood, already paid for and I don't have to drywall!
poorboy--don't have any dogs. Will a couple of fat, spoiled rotten kitties do? Or maybe I could train some of my chickens to peck around in the front LOL.
mnn2501--We are on a ridge top and the ridges are all sandstone around here. Good looking dirt though. According to the neighbors, this garden spot, back in the day, was a good producer so I hope we do well with it. If we don't it won't be the dirt's fault LOL!
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03/23/11, 06:46 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: iowa
Posts: 2,588
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I'm jealous.I can't wait for the weather to get right for gardening.You have a real peaceful looking place there.
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03/23/11, 07:29 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Iuka MS
Posts: 465
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Rebel Digger I see your from North MS Im in Iuka in Tishomingo County. You mentioned your on sandstone, are you around Itawamba or Tippah Co Ive hit some sand stone around there working.
THeres nothing like the smell of a dirt on a cool spring morning I love it when we fire up the scrapers at work the first smell of the cut espesially when we are on topsoil
Not too long ago a friend of mine and I went to Birmingham AL on an old home place a man and his wife had redone. THey had old orchards and all that goes with it. THey redid and old dog trot that had been remodeled over the years. THey un boxed the dog trot but instead of opening the trot completely up they put picture sliding doors on each end of the trot. THat was cool the man told me his wife did flip out ofter she saw his Harley sitting on the carpet. It was nice the way they did it.
Last edited by taylorlambert; 03/23/11 at 09:08 PM.
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03/23/11, 11:30 PM
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Guest
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Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 2,043
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Oh I too am very jealous!!! I can't wait to play in dirt.
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