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Mountain Man Mondays; I’m Not Going Back There Ever!

What luxuries could you do without? What do you consider necessities? Now, while I don’t consider myself a pampered princess, I do require certain creature comforts like hot running water, fairly clean surroundings and an absence of bugs in my bed. Not much to ask you’d think so when Mountain Man suggested returning again to the Ozarks last winter, I said most emphatically, “I’m never going back there!”

If you are new to the blog, here’s a quick synopsis. When the economy was booming several years ago, Mountain Man and I stumbled upon a little 65 acre farm in the Ozarks time had forgotten. The setting was serene, the views were incredible and the farm house took me back to a more innocent era. We both fell in love with it at first sight and with Mountain Man’s talents, we decided we could refurbish the old farm and make some money. Also, we were excited about spending time away from the harsh winter in Vermont but innocents that we were, we walked into a situation that we couldn’t have imagined.

The rehab work on the house turned out to be quite extensive, actually it needed to be gutted completely. And, as Mountain Man tried to work, a most unusually harsh winter set in and kept the seven dogs and me right there under Mountain Man’s feet. Now, my Mountain Man is used to working quickly, silently and alone but definitely not with a complaining woman under foot. To say it was a disaster would be an understatement. Okay, there were good times but on the whole, it was awful.

Last winter, with the economy struggling and no hope at all of selling the farm, I told Mountain Man I wasn’t going back EVER but the most persistant Mountain Man says this year, we have to get on with the project and finish it. He has a fondness for this little farm and the work he’s begun and he has a vision of it complete which I appreciate too.

But to show you just how rough it was, here’s some photos.

There were actual creatures living in the walls. At night, I’d hear them scurrying behind my pillows. I thought they were going to jump on my head and I couldn’t sleep so Mountain Man set out to discover the source. Here he is in the creepy basement shining a light on the nest they made in the insulation. Like I really wanted to see it but I had to prove I was somewhat brave. It was awful though and I ran out of there as soon as he saw the offending creatures.Opening up the basement didn’t get rid of the creatures so Mountain Man opened up the wall. Yes, he took a sledge hammer and just hacked away the wall. I think he was especially gleeful at the expression on my face but he said it had to go anyway. And there they were, a large number of rats nesting right there behind my head in the wall. Toby wanted to eat them but Mountain Man disposed of them in an entirely different way. So now we were rat free and wallless.

And then there was the smell. I can’t even begin to describe it. Like something dead and buried and rotting away. When Mountain Man ripped out the walls in the kitchen, I discovered the source of that noxious odor: thousands upon thousands of ladybugs tumbled out. The ones that hadn’t died were now flying all over the house. And wouldn’t you know it, these ladybugs had an affinity for my hair. I ran out of the house screaming chased by hordes of bugs.
Just an example of Mountain Man ripping out the old kitchen and getting to work.
Here’s Mountain Man reframing the walls. He’s putting in two bedrooms and a brand new bathroom that will actually have hot running water. Oh, by the way, every time we did run the bathroom water, sewer smell would permeate the house. All windows had to be flung open no matter the temperature.
But he’s making progress. Ripping out the old kitchen and the old walls in order to make a new kitchen/family room.
Insulating the new kitchen walls so no more ladybug creatures.
One of the new windows in the kitchen.
Here is a picture of how we slept. Mountain Man raised up our bed because I was so scared of all the creatures crawling around. I couldn’t sleep at all. So he built me a bed in the sky and made sure it was attached to the framing. No walls meant no hiding critters. Oh, he had to build a ladder for me because I couldn’t manage to get into the bed. Good thing I’m still agile.
Dogs were everywhere doing their best as we coped with the renovations.

Did I mention we had no internet connection? No dial up, no satellite, no nothing. We tried everything and Mountain Man ran all over with super antennas but no, it never worked. Cut off from the internet, I just about had a nervous breakdown.

“Is it working yet?”
So how did Mountain Man convince me to go back? Well, he’s right, we have to finish what we started and it really is a sweet little farm but no, that’s not how he convinced me. Instead he’s going to build a new house for me to live in while he finishes gutting the old one.

We’re going to put it way back in the field. That’s the farmhouse off in the distance. I’ll wave goodbye Mountain Man every morning as he sets off to work.
Mountain Man is really getting into this idea. In fact, he’s been cutting lumber, sawing logs and planing timbers for weeks now. He plans to transport our wonderful Vermont red pine to the Ozarks and build us one of his timber frame cabins.

Now, we’re going to start small. Just a room first, no running water, no indoor plumbing (I’ve got to share what I’ve learned about composting toilets one day) but hey, that’s okay because it will be water tight, it will have heat and it will be sealed away from noxious critters.

Here’s his beginning plan:
and then when he finishes the farmhouse, he’ll expand on the one room concept until he builds a completely new house complete with running water and a flushing toilet. Then, we’ll split the farm into two parcels and hopefully sell both of them.

Mountain Man, of course, intends to do this project all by himself, no help at all and no, he never rests.

Stay tuned as Mountain Man wings his way to the Midwest, towing excavators, tractors, red pine lumber and of course me, 7 dogs and a cranky mare.

Just another day on Red Pine Mountain.