The Silver
Fern Ranch
El Paso,
Texas
Stage 2: Starting the Dream
Now
that we have our barn/trailer to live in, it is time to start building.
The beauty of the semi-arid landscape of yuccas, cactus and shrubs is what
drew us to the southwest. It is sad to have to destroy part of this landscape
to make room for septic tanks, driveways, the house and workshop.
At first
there is a lot of directing (yelling) to construction operators 
(including
Grant) not to hurt the plants, but there would have been yuccas sticking
up through the floor of the house had they listened. We try to work around
as many yuccas and larger cactus as we can, leaving little islands of vegetation
that can be worked into a natural landscape once the building is complete.
A
large tractor is brought in to dig about 7 feet down to put in the septic
tanks. The first picture shows the septic and leech pipes, while the second
picture shows Debie 'helping' to cover the septic and pipes with dirt.
In
addition Grant uses his toy (tractor) to cut out the driveway and semi-level
the sites for the house and the workshop. The first picture shows the septic
filled in, while the second picture shows Grant inspecting the house site.
