James and I thought it would be good to share what we’ve been doing via the video platforms that are available to us. We have had somethings hosted on Odysee but YouTube tends to be where more folks are accustomed to going and is more reliable with framerates.
Here is the link to the channel. I hope you enjoy!
Autumn Dawn Endeavors – YouTube
One of the challenges of homesteading is too many projects going concurrently and not enough time or money to go around. (Can I get an “Amen” from my homesteading friends?)
I sat down at the beginning of the year and ticked off my to do list to see what we had achieved last year and where we needed to focus this year. Last year, my personal focus was getting moved to Tennessee and getting the property into a state that our “utilities” were not a burden and we felt more at home and less like camping. We achieved that, though the air conditioning is still proving to be challenging.
My next focus is to prepare a place for my children to stay so they can move down and we can sell the house in Ohio. On my last trip north, I sat down with my kids and we talked about their needs so we could nail down space requirements and settle on a budget. Next week, I will be heading to the office to order their buildings on their behalf and they will confirm their payment structure over the phone. These will be THEIR homes to do with as they please and should they buy a piece of property of their own, they can take them with them.
In the meantime, once it stops raining, I have some work to do moving the fence equipment I have stored in their home spaces into the barn on the hill. With that obstacle out of the way, their homes can be delivered and set on blocks without further ado. Then the task of getting their utilities attached can begin and I can make their homes comfortable to live in. At that point, they can move down and the next phase can begin.
Such is the fun being the architect of your own life.
If you remember, we had Permaculture Consultant, Nick Ferguson, come out to our property and evaluate our land, our goals, and our resources to get it done. Part of those plans included a food forest and fodder trees for livestock.
This spring, we purchased twelve hybrid willow cuttings and twelve hybrid poplar cuttings from Nick and we finished planting them today. We still want to pick up some white mulberry but we will need to find some in-stock. From these, we will be able to propagate more trees, hence the tight plantings.
I put some of the old sheep fence around the plantings to keep the deer from picking at them and my dogs from doing any damage while cavorting around chasing each other.
You can also see that James has been busy opening up the land by removing briars, saplings, and sick trees. It’s a lot easier to take a walk in the woods now.
It’s been a bit since I wrote a blog post. We’ve been focusing on YouTube and getting on with building stuff, but yes… I should also write more. Well, let me get to the topic at hand.
After the last kerfuffle with with the Drivers License Center, I got my voter registration card and that was pretty painless. I returned to the office in December with all the paperwork they had requested of me… until they asked me for my medical card. In Ohio, CDL drivers that travel out-of-state must get a physical and carry the card given as proof that they are medically sound to drive. If you don’t travel out-of-state with your commercial vehicle, you don’t need one. Not so in Tennessee.
They told me that there are places you can walk in as an outpatient and get your exam done, but they couldn’t tell me any of them because they were not allowed to recommend any. I don’t know the area so I didn’t even begin to know where to start. They mentioned a chiropractor could do it. I gathered my paperwork and went out to the parking lot to research places that could do exams in the area. None of the chiropractors could see me. Exasperated, I drove home; defeated once again by bureaucracy.
I stepped away from it, enjoyed Christmas with my kids, and waited for the weather to clear up some. I finally found out that there are walk-in clinics in the area that can do CDL medical exams and visited one. No problem.
I returned once more to the keymaster of driving legally, with all paperwork once again. By this time, I’m sure they were tired of me. I, again, submitted to their scrutiny and finally, I was able to secure my Tennessee Drivers License.
James went up in March and got his license the first try. 😛
Another story of Bureaucratic Red Tape gone berserk, I tried to get my license transferred from Ohio to Tennessee. The nearest Drivers License Center is 56 minutes away that can handle out-of-state license transfers. The clerk was very kind and I lay zero blame at his feet. If I had not needed to transfer a CDL license, I could have gotten it done today.
Because we live off-grid, we have zero utilities. So I cannot use a utility bill as a form of address verification. I cannot open a bank account with my new address until I have a driver’s license. I cannot use a cell phone bill as a utility. I cannot use forwarded mail envelopes to show proof of mail delivery. I cannot use a rental agreement on a shed on the property as proof. The only things I had were a change of address letter from the post office, and a mortgage statement that we had managed to get changed to the new address.
There are only two options open to me at this point. I could bring a vehicle title in with the new address, which I cannot do easily because both vehicles are in James’ name and would require a trip for both of us to Ohio to add my name to the title. The other is to apply for a voter registration card and wait for it to be mailed to me. I was told to go to the post office but… our post office “doesn’t do that.” I will have to make a 25 minute trip to the Benton County Election Commission. I tried the online option but because I do not have a signature on record in Tennessee’s Department of Safety and Homeland Security office, that is not an option for me. I can of course print and mail an application in, but at this point, I’d rather not take the chance of Murphy poking me in the eye any further.
Again, if I had not needed my CDL, they would have been able to sort me out today as the list of required documents is less stringent for a regular license. I think I’ll have to gather up all of these little tidbits and turn it into a heads-up for other folks looking to move state to Tennessee.
Stay tuned to see how transfers finish out for me and see how James’ go with a Permanent Resident card.
While the post office started delivering the odd junk mail a week or so ago, we’ve just been added to the online database and can now start receiving packages through other shipping methods. We’re still waiting on our mail forwarding to kick in, but I imagine it won’t be long now.
With the mail sorted, James has finally been able to order the next equipment we need for the solar expansion and we’ll have some new videos to make once that gets here.
In the meantime, we’ve picked up a wood chipper/leaf shredder and an auger for digging post holes. We have also gotten some insulation to start getting the shed prepped to become a temperature controlled area to work in. I’ll be taking out some saplings and branches and stacking them for a chipping run, while making space for the ShelterLogic barn so we can get that set up. The auger will be used to get the posts installed for the compost bin and shelter, and the gate for the driveway.
I’m relieved to be able to get back to work!
I’ve been hoping to get on to the next project but we’ve been stymied by the slow and ponderous rate of government. This time, the local post office.
It seems that the process of getting mail at a brand new address has multiple steps that are not known to the general public. First, you have to contact the local 911 office for your county to be provided an address. In Benton county, TN, you have to do it by snail mail because they do not want to field phone calls. You must wait several weeks before calling to check on the status of your address. If you’re not watching the junk file of the email address you provide, you may well miss the email they send and it will be eaten by the auto-delete in the junk folder. (whoops)
Once you have said address, you must visit your local post office, preferably with a print out of the email from the 911 address, or else the post office will need to make calls to confirm. You then fill out a change of address form as normal and then… wait some more.
The address must be inspected by the postal carrier of the route you will be on and by the postmaster of that office. No, they didn’t ride together to expedite the process. We are still waiting on the postmaster to approve the mailbox at the address so they can sign off on it.
From there, we are told, the process should take a couple of days for the data to finally be verified in the computer system for online address lookup. At THAT point, we can start directing mail and packages to our address, change our address on our various bank and store accounts, and begin the process of getting our drivers licenses and plates transferred.
Why do we have to wait to start changing those addresses? Because their systems have been built to verify addresses with the USPS database and will simply say that they can’t find an address to ship to. Handwritten addresses will be held at the post office, so we at least have that going for us.
We are currently waiting for an auger to be shipped-to-store so we can get started on the next few builds. In the meantime, we wanted to share our experience so that if you ever decide to build on raw land and need a new address for a home or business, you had some idea of the hoops you’ll need to jump through.
Today, I worked on some project materials lists for our next few trips to the lumber store and listened to podcasts while I worked. Had a couple of good phone calls with my boys back in Ohio. This evening, I measured out a spot for our compost bin and scratched out a footprint for the first third of the final project. I’ve got a lot of tree roots to cut through and digging to get the spot level but the manual labor felt good.
We made it! Last week, we hauled our 5th wheel RV down to our property in Tennessee, dropped it off, returned to Ohio, loaded up our utility trailer and truck with gear, and returned to Tennessee.
We’ve now established solar power with a gasoline generator for backup, water storage via IBC totes and a 12v transfer pump, and installed a mailbox and registered for mail service. We’ve done laundry off grid, have a storage shed coming in a few days, and sorted out where to take our garbage.
Our next projects include building a second solar array and running it parallel to the other series, setting up a composting site, installing an access gate, and building out the shed as a mechanical room for the solar equipment as well as storage.
We also made some new friends at the Self Reliance Festival in Camden, Tennessee!
Not bad for week one.
Check out our videos on YouTube and you can see some of our progress: https://www.youtube.com/user/dfvalkyrie/playlists
Prepping for Phase Two is hitting a fevered pace.
The water totes have been power washed, sanitized, and loaded. The grill has been sandwiched between totes for stability. The RV has had some much-needed maintenance and repairs, as well as some spit and polish. Tools have been sorted and boxed. Books have been sorted and boxed. Water, toilet, and power have been accounted for.
I have left my job here in Ohio for the final push on packing and loading, as well as some home maintenance on the Ohio property. We’re also prepping the kids for their duties in taking care of things while we’re gone. I have faith in their ability to do what needs done, but I’d like to make it as painless as possible.
The adventure is imminent. I am both excited and worried about forgetting things. Oh well. Sally forth!
