Settling In
We were new to our place in New Hampshire, having always lived in cities with the luxury of city water.
We used to come up here to hike in the White Mountains with our kids when we were younger. I loved the smell of the clean air; I was jealous that people actually got to live in such beautiful country.
We bought this place for the sake of our 3 legged Portuguese Water Dog, the runt of the litter, with an improper coat. She was a bad dog, a food steeler, and refused to walk with a leash. When she was seven months old she wiggled out of her collar in our front yard and ran through a hedge right into the front tire of a passing truck. Despite crushed lungs and a damaged front leg she survived the night so we had her leg surgically removed and she had a happy life, adjusting right away to her condition.
When we went hiking she actually covered many times the distance we did as she ran ahead with the boys and came back to check on me and then ran back to the boys who raced along. She used to ask me why all those other dogs we met had that extra appendage.
Rural Life
We slowly and painstakingly adjusted to rural life with a well. So we now had a septic tank to maintain. We found someone who does septic services and he came over and told us that first we had to uncover the opening.
My husband industriously got to work digging an 8'x12'x4' hole, exposing the whole thing. He took the dirt, wheelbarrow by wheelbarrow and spread the soil around the 7 apple trees that came with the property.
Weeks later, when he finally finished, we called Tom back and he came over with his big truck, not a minor task coming up our very steep and winding driveway.
He had to laugh when he saw what we had done. We only needed to expose the cover so he could drain it.
Oh well.
Oh Dear!
So we were left with this big hole, much too big to fill in again.
What about a root cellar?, we thought. We could store our winter vegetables in it.
He got busy building a frame, put weather proofing on the outside of the frame, insulated the top and sides with rigid 2 inch foam, built stairs down to the bottom, and a plywood floor with a hinged door so we would be able to get to the hole when it came time for the next servicing of the septic tank. We intended to put decking on top but winter was coming so we quickly finished that project by putting a plastic greenhouse over the top to keep out water.
By the end of that winter the greenhouse had blown over and the root cellar was filled with water that had seeped in through the sides. It did make a nice home for mice, though.
Oh well.
The Greenhouse
Now it is anchored down and the "root cellar" does keep storage boxes filled with dry goods, things like beans and nuts, from freezing. We added a thermometer with a probe so we could read the temperature. We have yet to have enough root vegetables to store and, practically speaking, they would be inaccessible during the winter anyway because we get so much snow.
Now we can laugh about learning the hard way. We have a very small house so we use the greenhouse for storage.
Oh well.
Great story @bchick. Root cellars aren't common in the UK, but it sounds like a useful use for the big hole.
well, after all that work what would you do if you had a deep, wide hole in your yard?
Loved the stories! Is there any other way to learn, than the hard way?! We normally do things the hard way a few times, just so we really reinforce the knowledge LOL
I remember once I did it right the first time...Maybe 3 times when I had my 3 sons
what a great post. Your property is beautiful.
Thanks.
God gave us stewardship over it so we are doing the best we can with this wonderful place.
Loved this story, beautiful property and so glad the doggie had a great life!🐓
Thanks.
She did. It was just a few months ago that she died.
But she was blessed with us and we didn't train her very well so everything is still Cali-proofed in the house and yard.
Loved reading your story and what a beautiful property you live on.
Thanks so much!
We are trying to be good stewards but we do make so many mistakes as we adjust to rural life.
I loved reading your story, because everyone makes these (and other) mistakes. We all learn, and there is no shame in paying our "tuition" with working backwards. What I especially like is how you are combining the functions a feature (such as a big hole in the ground) could serve: a root-cellar, a greenhouse, access to the septic tank. Permies call this "stacking functions", something I should address in one of my upcoming posts.
Oh, I will look forward to that.
In reality the greenhouse has been battered each winter by the wind and the weight of the snow. We have reinforced it over and over and replaced the top but it is hanging agape now because the door zipper failed and the company doesn't make the ends with the door anymore.
I used it this spring for the transplants of our seedlings and the chicken just walked right in and pecked them to death. Another failed idea.
But we keep trying and improvising.