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When I left off in March (Seasons of Change), we had just completed plumbing to my upstairs apartment.  There has been much progress…

Though the ground was still a bit soggy in mid-March, the neighboring farmer showed up to clear some of my acreage.

The huge circular blade whirred loudly, toppling everything in its path. You can actually see the flying debris.

When I noticed the puddle of water begin to form, I assumed it was just because the ground was still so wet.  

The guy whose job it was to pile up the debris (left) actually got stuck in the mud and had to be rescued. We’ll call this one Dueling Deere.

Near the pond, the ruts from the tractor’s tires were 12-18″ deep.  Sadly, I am still dealing with them.

As the farmer finished up the front half of the lot and I paid him, the puddle was becoming an Olympic-sized pool.  

This housing box and PVC pipe were crushed beyond repair when the heavy equipment drove over them. 

Providentially, my plumbers  were still there and quickly came to my rescue.  

Can I brag on these guys?  They got down on their knees in the mud and replaced this complicated junction- restoring my  water supply.

As they continued to attack the tangle of existing plumbing to add my amenities, I was profoundly grateful for having them in my corner.  No pun intended.

Because exterior plumbing and a lift station were required, we dug a ditch along the south and east walls, with a gravitational fall of 1 inch over every 4 feet.

As I busied myself with the extensive cleanup, I discovered  a clogged pipe in my pond which drained to the ditch.

Unfortunately, I had inherited a very large downed tree lying on the property line that would need to be cut up or burned.

Keep in mind, I am more of a city mouse than a country mouse.  I have had zero experience with all of this.  

Every inch of the drainage ditch, now full of branches, had to be raked out in order to drain all the water off the property.  It looked like a war zone.  I wanted to cry.

That’s when God reminded me to throw the ball back into His court and let Him do the heavy lifting.

Slowly, but surely, the pond receded and the ditch drained.  That pile of debris would make a legendary bonfire.

Meanwhile, it was time to think about dismantling that big old overhead door.

The sloped area where the RV had pulled in needed to be leveled.  Josh cut the bottoms of the rails in preparation for the excavation.  

Although I had purchased a pallet of it, I decided to subcontract the concrete.  It was fairly expensive, but it was done efficiently and allowed us to proceed.

In addition to leveling the floor of the master bedroom, I was having an adjacent 8X8 patio poured outside the slider.

It was obvious that this wasn’t their first rodeo.  Those four guys worked together like well-oiled machinery.

Within a couple of hours, the cement truck was pulling away and I had a beautiful new floor and patio.

Because the north-facing French doors in my studio were ill-fitted, I had water intrusion where the deck meets the house.  

As a result, if the rain was wind-driven, they were prone to leak. 

Due to improper flashing, the wood around them had rotted out and was causing the leak 14 feet below.

The crazy thing is that I picked up this door and a bunch of windows dirt-cheap on Facebook  Marketplace months ago.  

You’ve got to break eggs to make an omelet.  Sometimes, you have to bring the egg shells inside and sort of squish them between your toes.

After losing a month of weekends to the slider project, Josh was greeted with more rotted wood below.  By now, I would have hung up my tool belt and headed for the hills.

He persevered, and before I knew it, my first section of mezzanine  was in place.  That was a huge milestone!

I ordered one more load of building materials before closing up the moon size crater in my north wall. 

It was quickly becoming a day of challenges for Gus, the driver. I know he couldn’t avoid it, but I was a bit upset that he left those tire marks on my new concrete.

Probably from all the recent knocking about and hammering, I had been hearing critter noises in the wall behind my bed.

As he worked his way down the soffit, Josh pulled out thick piles of my insulation and other nesting materials.

Call me nuts, but I’m pretty sure this is my unhappy evictee glaring balefully through my bathroom window.

With that distraction behind us, we returned to the task of removing the cumbersome 14′ overhead door.

Stacked neatly next to the shed, that behemoth didn’t look at all like its former self…and there’s plenty of room for the other one, when we get to it!

With enough plywood in place to make me comfortable, I climbed up for a bird’s eye view.  Don’t mind the mess.

After a bipolar March with temperature swings of 30 degrees, April became warm and mostly stayed warm.  Trees began to explode with green foliage, and the fields with green Deere.

It was high time to burn that brush pile.  Josh calls me a pyromaniac, but I prefer pyrotechnic.  The former is a mental illness; the latter is science.

This fire reminds me of the fiery furnace in Daniel 3.  Although 3 boys went in, Nebuchadnezzar saw 4 in the fire.  Jesus was in the fire with them and they came out unharmed.

While I tended the fire, Josh had removed the vinyl siding, only to find rot was also prevalent on the NE corner of the house.

Apparently, the deck posts were not flashed or sealed correctly and had been decaying for several years. The blessing is that we found the rot and were able to repair it.

I will admit it was painful to burn plywood that would cost $40 per sheet to replace.

Although more improvements are in progress, I will save them for the next module of Ark Project.  May I show you my garden?

I planted corn, tomatoes, watermelon, carrots, and sunflowers…

They grow up so fast…

I also grew spinach successfully in pots, and mistaking it for a weed, also the world’s smallest carrot.

In the middle of all of this, I was reunited with Bella, my 12+ year old cocker-beagle mix who had been living with Brian while I traveled. 

 Brian decided to go back to his homeland, so I flew to Orlando to pick up Bella and drive his truck back to NC.

Both rescues, Bella’s “sister” Zoe, now blind, was not enjoying quality of life any longer and we had just had to put her down. 

Rest in peace, Zoe.  It’s very painful to have to euthanize a beloved pet.  Bella was missing her long-time companion, so this was a distraction and a fresh start for her. 

Obviously, I was thrilled to have her back.  As we walk to the mailbox each day, she is free to roam the property.  I think she likes being a farm dog.

The beauty of spring in eastern North Carolina is unparalleled.  

If Ireland has 40 shades of green, this place has at least 50.

The blackberries will be ripe soon.  Thanks for sharing my joy and sorrow. Check back soon for more ark updates. May the peace of the Lord be with all of you.  Shalom.  MH