Summer, come and gone. Whaaat???

How time flys when your having fun.  Could not be more true this summer.  The first summer in Arkansas has been Awesome.  The weather has been superb.  With average highs of 90 and average lows of 68, I thought I was living in southern California.  The lake water temperature was in the low 80’s for most of the summer.

I picked up a little fishing boat a couple months ago, and Melissa and I have embarked on learning fresh water and trout fishing.  Growing up on the coast of Mississippi, I spent my entire life fishing salt water.  Fishing the Arkansas lakes and rivers is a completely different animal.  But with the tutoriage from my avid fishing buddy Mike, we have had some moderate success.

Cabin Update

The deck is finally finished.  I am pleased with the outcome.

Next, kitchen cabinets…. UUUGGG… what a beating.  After a month of debating what color stain we were going to use, we finally jumped on it with the help of my nephew John.  We sanded, pre-treated, stained, and varnished, varnished and varnished.  So after a couple week the cabinets went from this

To this: with the convection oven and dishwasher.

We have also had a double circular drive and a parking area put in.  Now it does not feel like you off-roading just to get home. So, So much nicer!

Next, our attention has turned to the dog yard.  We have decided to go with reclaimed astroturf for the dog run area.  We bought 1800 sq feet of turf removed from Western Missouri State’s football field.  The first delivery contained half of the turf in GOLD.  Really?  Did I really have to request that the turf be predominantly green?  Really?

So after some spirited negotiation, and 3 round trips to Kansas City to get suitable pieces for the project.  The next week was spent wrestling with a 16 foot 1500 lb anaconda…. There goes the back!  But with the help of my friends tractor and another friend who drove the tractor, we managed to get the turf down.  We spent the next 2 days with a rented 8″ auger attachment for the tractor to drill 10 post holes.  This is the current progress.

We will finish off the fence using 50 inch by 16 foot cow panels which Melissa is painting black to match the finish of the deck.

We will be finishing the fence, adding a doggie door  and a ramp for the dogs.  Then, the last major task.  Clean, Stain and Seal the exterior of the yurt and deck.  Stay tuned the ride is just beginning….