(Mar 27) X marks the spot

Brought some stakes and rope to mark off placement of the cabin. Originally 16x20 with a 8' porch on the front and a 10' deck on the back. After messing with it for a while, I think we settled on a 12' deck on the back. We're pretty set on the front edge of the porch so we will need to extend the deck back from where it is now. May go ahead and build the deck first. This would give us enough room to camp on and get up off of the ground as we move into the rainy season. We have 3-4 live trees to remove to clear this area. We will also probably set all of the piers at one time to ensure all are level. Estimate cost of the 12'x20' deck will be ~$1000. Need to work up a diagram for placement of the piers and beams. Hoping to get money to electric company next month to get started on estimate for running power lines to building site. Need ~$250 for this. While clearing some leaves on prospective bldg site, I uncovered a mound of sand that had been dug up. Looked like a gopher mound. I started raking it down smooth and hit something hard that moved. It was a turtle! About 3" front to back. I cleared the sand off of him and took a few pics. Covered him back up and staked the spot so we wouldn't step on him. Too cute! He should be waking up pretty soon. Supposed to be in the 70s this week and the 80s next. Also looks like we could get rain 3 or 4 days over the next week. That will be nice. We planted a couple of Southern Wood ferns by the driveway. We'll need to hold off on planting anything much more exotic until we have a steady water source. Talked to the owner of Hooten Landscape in Emory. Great looking plants and trees! Really nice guy. He asked if we had slept on the property yet. Told him we had, one night. He asked if we had heard something like a woman screaming in the middle of the night. Now I was curious. Without prompting, he goes on to tell us of reports of a mountain lion in the area. Said we would know if we heard it. Told us the game warden had admitted it's presence. I am now considering carrying my pistol while on the property for a while. Wouldn't be a bad idea with snakes waking up for the warmer weather also. I've been working on informing Kim as to the difference in good snakes and the poisonous ones. So far, no signs of any yet.

Small turtle buried up over winter.

Southern Wood Fern. Going to start planing these throughout the property. Drought and freeze tolerant. What else can you ask for in North Texas.