More Dumpster Tails
Two dozen dumpsters and counting.
Author: stega
Blank Walls in the Studio No More
Aerial prints and Agent Smith’s retired RC planes fill the studio’s blank walls.
Upgraded Fence
A storm took out the rotting privacy fence by the studio, so it’s replaced with a better one.
Being Creative with a Fireplace
We don’t use the fireplace for fires, so I filled it with plants.
Sewing Round Things is Tricky
Four round cushions for the great room, which turned out to be tricky to sew.
Overgrazing is BAD
Overgrazing is bad: what years of horses did to the land, as seen in Google Earth.
The forgotten story about the new neighbors
New neighbors to the east brought new livestock and fence problems.
Evolutions…the North Office
How my office has evolved over the years, from the listing photos to today.
The Blue Eagle and Friends
Bronze birds, a Curtis Jeré and other small sculptures found at auction.
Sculpture Highlights
Proper power at the main gate, and lights on the condor and Agatha at night.
Just add steel sculptures
Giant steel condor and eagle sculptures from an auction, and how we installed them.
Adding to the woodpile
Moving the cut-up limbs from the tree line down to the woodpile with Bambi and Dumpy.
Fallen Fig
Our beloved old fig tree, killed by the previous owners’ concrete and toppled in a storm, and the saplings that remain.
“New” Bathtub
Hauling one last rusty old bathtub up from the south pasture to the north garden.
The Deal with the Devil: Addendum
Before, during and after photos of the dirt and the pit.
The Deal with the Devil, Part 3–Now What?
The Deal with the Devil: where things stand after years of jumping through the county’s hoops.
The Deal with the Devil, Part 2–The Stop Order
The Deal with the Devil: the county red-tagged us, and the timeline of everything since.
The Deal with the Devil, Part 1–The Dirt
The Deal with the Devil: we took in clean fill to stabilize the old pit, without knowing what it would cost us.
Emergency Exit
Reopening an old stretch of road as an emergency exit from our private roads.
Living “Private”
What “private road” really means, and how I ended up organizing the residents to maintain ours.
The Lesser Wall of Purgatory: Part 3
The Lesser Wall of Purgatory: grading, drainage rock and soil between the new wall and the pool.
The Lesser Wall of Purgatory: Part 2
The Lesser Wall of Purgatory: pouring the concrete.
The Lesser Wall of Purgatory: Part 1
The Lesser Wall of Purgatory: quotes were too high, so we built the small wall by the pool ourselves, starting with the forms.
Blooms of Purgatory
Some somewhat-recent flowers from around the ranch.
Bonus Post
A year of time-lapses from the camera on the great room roof ladder, now in YouTube playlists.
Old Windows
Cleaning out decades of grime so the old bathroom windows stop rattling.
Midge Was Stolen
Midge, our Earthroamer, was stolen from our mechanic’s yard in Livermore.
Best of 2021
Our annual year-in-review video, set to epic music this time.
Sunday Panorama
A Sunday panorama of the north office.
Sunday Panorama
A Sunday panorama of my office.
Feathered Friends
Leftover meat and fish from the fridge become a buffet for the vultures, on trail cam.
Sunday Panorama
A Sunday panorama inside the trailer.