The new property (Terra Nova Gardens) paperwork is moving along. We are now into the final phase of the process. The owner has not responded to the pay up notice so now the title is being cleared of all the liens and back taxes. This should take about another 30 days. It’s almost 100 percent assured that I’ll have the deed by January or maybe by Christmas. What a present that would be.
Bradley and I drove out to the property today because I had made some discoveries a couple days ago and I wanted to get some pictures of what I had found.Â
I discovered that a flock of wild turkeys had taken up residence on the property just north of mine. There is one magnificent tom and about 20 hens. I walked over all the properties all the way to the fence. Most of the rest of the properties belongs to the city. This property with the Turkeys on it will come into foreclosure in January and would be a great addition to the one I have. It’s cheaper, bigger, and would require a lot more work to clean up. Two major cottonwood trees would have to come down to open up the property to allow gardens to get sunshine. In addition to the two cottonwoods there are many downed trees and four inch sapling trees to clean out. It would, however, make the property a tad short of one acre of land. What you see in the above picture would be left in woods as it begins the steep climb to the top of a bank which needs to have the trees to prevent erosion.
Here’s a little better picture of Tom and his harem. He is a magnificent bird. For a fleeting moment I thought, “Thanksgiving dinner”, but then the thought left.
Another shot of this beautiful bird. They had actually climbed up the steep bank and were now across the busy highway in a small patch of brush cover. Cars were stopping along the road just look at the flock of wild turkeys in the midst of the city. Now I expect I’ll have to find out what to plant in my gardens to feed the flock. I wouldn’t mind having them hang around. Hopefully, they will become accustomed to me being there and working the gardens and not cross the busy road any more.
Here’s Bradley, my grandson, standing about half way up the bank. He tried to climb to the top but it got too steep and he didn’t make it all the way up to the top. His first visit to Terra Nova Gardens in his words, “Grandpa this is awesome but it looks like a tornado hit this place.” Don’t you just love the uninhibited truth that kids speak?
The second discovery was this very wet spot. I found several other bigger spots like this one including one that flowed water under the road through a culvert. That one belongs to the city and I seriously doubt that I could buy that property. Since we have not had any rain for about three and a half weeks, I suspect these spots are natural springs. I may have to rethink the water issue. Most folks would think this is just an old mud hole but I on the other hand thought it was a remarkable find. I just have to figure out a way to utilize it for watering Terra Nova Gardens. I took samples of the water and soil to be tested by the county extensions service to see just what the issues, if any, there are.
As you can probably tell I am quite excited about the purchase of the property and hopefully but this time next year it will look quite different.
Have a great day. What are your plans for gardening next year?
