When we started this adventure, I was cranking out blog posts about two a week – because that’s how fast we were moving and there was always something new to “talk” about.
Now, it has been a whole month since I’ve written because we just don’t go anywhere anymore. We did take a day trip to drive up the coast and got as far as Yachats where we poked around the beach for a while. We didn’t do any hiking, but it was still a beautiful drive.
Another day we drove south to Port Orford and did a little hike through the beautiful coastal forests. We’re trying to get as much sight seeing in as we can before we leave.
We figure we’ll leave the property at the end of this month. We got our garden planter boxes filled and ready for next year, but Tom figured we did have enough time to grow some radishes this year – and we got our very first harvest!
One of the projects we talked about for next year was building a shed, but then we decided to go ahead and get it done before we leave. With all the fires, we figure lumber will only go up, so we might as well do it now.
When I say shed, I mean fairy shed. She shed. Life sized fairy house. Crooked Cottage. Whatever you want to call it. I had this idea of building a place just outside the fairy garden that looked like a fairy house and could be used for storage. I had some big ideas, but it had to be buildable. So I drew out a rough sketch and gave it to Tom. We worked out the dimensions, and Tom placed an order for us to pick up in Roseburg. He is my absolute hero for making my idea come to life! Especially since no respectable fairy house has straight walls. Nope, we had to build slanted walls. With a steep roof – although he convinced me we couldn’t go more than a 12/12 pitch. Yes, I learned from my truss-man what all that means.
So we started the build, and got it finished in just about 2 weeks. The weather was great and the build went relatively smooth – although the angles took a lot of time to get right! I had a blast working with Tom and the power tools and making the door match my imagination.
Tom’s nephew stopped by one weekend and they goaded me into getting up on the ladder to help Tom with the roofing.
He was again my hero as he climbed up the steep roof time and again.
We were just about done with the build when Tom announced he had heard from one of his old high school buddies through facebook. They were traveling down the coast and wanted a recommendation of where to stay. I told Tom to tell them to stay here – which he was already going to do. It was later that I realized we had invited strangers to camp with us! Tom hadn’t seen Jim in forty years, and had never met his wife. It all worked out wonderfully. Susie and I had a great time visiting and shopping. Tom had a great time catching up with Jim. And of course we took them to our local beaches!
In what seemed like no time at all they were on their way and the lot felt lonely again.
Now it’s time to wrap up projects. I’m always working on the fairy garden – adding in plants that I hope will survive the winter without us. I also created a dry creek from the base of the waterfall across the garden.
We’ve also had furry visitors! Our neighbors had sold all ten of the lab puppies born last month, and when it was down to two left, they started visiting us. We had a great time playing with them and it’s a good thing they already had homes or I would have been taking one to give our grandson for his birthday this month!
We’ve been here for four whole months now, and it’s kind of weird to be thinking about traveling again. That’s what Tom’s doing now – figuring out where we’ll be staying this winter. It will be sad to leave this place, but the days are getting shorter, the leaves are starting to drop, and the nights are getting damp. We don’t want to be here for the rainy season that starts next month!
Happy Travels,
Peace & Love, Joy
