Welcome to our blog about creating our version of the Texas Hill Country Lifestyle, and making a dream reality.
In 2005 we bought 25 acres right outside of Johnson City, Texas, the land was unimproved, and about as rough as Hill Country land can be, but it had possibilities, the possibilities that dreams are made of. It has a small pasture with good soil, but what it has in abundance is Cedar, thick Cedar. No one had paid attention to this land in decades. It needed to be revived. It needed rest, and rejuvenation. We are up for the challenge.
We had the energy and excitement of starting a new project, and the perfect way to burn up some of that energy was clearing Cedar,- by hand. We used loppers, a machete, a chain saw, anything with a sharp blade that would cut. We went to work and took turns watching our young daughter Brooke while we cleared a spot for our dreams to unfold. I know Brooke thought we were nuts, because she would just look at us battling the Cedar and laugh and laugh! After the first set of tools wore out it was time to re-group, and re-assess the situation, there are other means that are more effective to eradicate Cedar, they just cost more. It was time to bring out our “A” game. The first string of the A game included a skid steer with a grapple bucket, 3 Hispanic line backers with chain saws, and a big chain. A couple of days later the view started to open up. We had the highest point on a 515 acre ranch that had been split up into 22 properties, with an 8 acre spring fed lake as the main amenity for everyone to enjoy. Now the diamond in the rough was starting to show its’ potential.
To sustain us humans it also needed water. In the near term that means a water well, I’m all for rain water collection, but that story will come later. Today we need a well, and Greg Smith of L & L drilling In Hye, Texas is the man for the job. Greg rolled up one afternoon in his 1992 Lincoln Continental, over trails not cleared for years, popped out with his dousing rod and set about his business.
“Mr. Barksdale, Where would you like this well?” I pointed in about a hundred yard circle, and said “about here would be great.” Greg took his dousing rod and started pacing back and forth, stopping occasionally as the rod pointed at the ground. He crisscrossed his tracks a few times and stopped at an old Cedar stump.
“Right here, he said,- 3 underground streams come together right here”, as he pointed at the stump.
“OK, I’m good with that spot”, so I took a can of spray paint and painted the stump bright orange.
We were in a drought and Greg was busy fixing peoples wells that needed water to live so I went to the bottom of the list, I just needed water to improve the land. This was August, and first thing in the morning the day after Thanksgiving I got a phone call, “Mr. Barksdale we are coming to drill your well today, “is that OK?”
“Of course” I said. I happened to have the day off, and was excited about the progress so I rolled out from Austin to see for myself. I pulled up on the property about 11 am, and saw the big drilling rig parked on the spot where the stump had been. As I walked up I noticed a puddle of water on the ground. I asked the guys how it was going, and they replied, “great, we hit good water at 100 feet, were done and packing up and heading to the house.”
I was amazed to say the least. The average depth of wells around us is just over 300 feet. I just saved several thousand dollars, Oh happy day! Now they just had to put the pump in and get the well wired up and we would have water. Greg likes to bury the pressure tank, wires and plumbing. He says it minimizes the damage from fire ants. All you see above ground is a fake plastic rock covering the well head, nicely done!
It was time to put the PEC to work. I anted up the $800.00 to join the PEC and get power to the spot where the well was. (Today in 2010, the same thing will run you about few grand.) It was about a 600 foot run from an existing pole to the service location, which meant some poles would have to be set, underground was out of the question for now because of cost. When I saw what was involved, $800.00 seemed a bargain. An electrician friend built a 200 amp service, and the PEC mounted it on the pole, set a meter, and wall-ah we had power and water. We had done tent camping on the property bringing in everything we needed, but power and water would make a world of difference, especially with and 18 month old little girl. We were living up town!
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http://towheadvalleybeeranch.shutterfly.com
