3rd and final update. You are now current with most Wanch happenings.

We have been blessed with good weather for past few weeks which has allowed our building crew to get a lot of work done.

K8 had to finish some drain lines along both retaining walls.

The basement walls are finished.

The floor joists are completed. K6 is on the left entering the basement.

Have you ever seen a power pole burn? I had not either until I asked K8 to burn the fence line, specifically mentioning he be careful near the hay bales and the two new power poles, since they are soaked in creosote. Well, he didn't listen very well, did he?

The pre-built exterior walls, and then the pre-built interior walls, all went up in a day and a half!

And then we were ready for the crane to lift the rafters up into place - done in four hours.

The back porch concrete was poured just a few days earlier. Once the rain stops this week, we'll be putting up the 6" X 6" posts along the back and start build the back deck.

Looking good.

We have been blessed with a good crew and lots of good sub-contractors.

Unfortunately, all this blue sky went away the day after these rafters went on. We are now waiting impatiently for the rain to stop and dry out. The water well will be drilled in the next day or two, and the roofing crew shows up early Monday, and by next Tuesday evening, we'll have a new, red metal roof. Then they start putting the siding on while our crew installs windows and doors. The electrician arrives Wednesday to wire the house. I am pushing hard to get Grandma's house finished and get her moved in by end of April.

Unfortunately, there were a few victims of our house building. We had to remove four trees, oak and hickory. It took us a week to get them cut, split.

Everything is now gone except the stumps and root balls. The hickory and some of the oak went into our family's firewood racks for next year or two. The rest was donated to families who use wood to heat their homes. My friend Jack (just below his blue truck) comes to our farm often and spends 2 to 3 hours a day cutting down dead trees or cutting up old downed trees. He's a wizard with a chain saw. I then follow along with our gas powered log splitter, after which my boys or other Church boys, help us load and deliver to needy families. We re-cycle the wood while cleaning up our property.

The rural electric co-op sent a crew to take down 2 of the 3 Sycamore trees in paddock #6.

They took down the 2 that were leaning right toward the power line, and left the one leaning toward my fence line! The power company is very good about keeping the power lines clear, so we have fewer power outages during storms that break off big branches or knock down trees onto the lines.

And now you are caught up on most of the bigger events on the Wanch. Stand by for tomorrow's Big news...