Instead of moving on up to the Upper Peninsula as we had planned, July 27th found us still camping at Chain O Lakes Campground in Bellaire, Michigan. One big change, however, was that we were now landowners! While I was really excited to purchase this property and start working on it, I was a little worried that we would be so focused on work that we would stop doing all of the fun, adventurous stuff that we were used to. The first few weeks definitely settled my worries and showed me that we could and would find a balance of work and play.
John was, of course, very excited to start work on our land. This meant that he got to invest in some new toys including a giant pry bar, a new weed whacker, and a chainsaw. He was like a kid testing out all of the new tools and quickly started making progress on the property.
We had noticed a small clearing just off of the corner off our lot and thought that would be the perfect spot to put John’s woodshop and the hookups for the tiny house. This area is relatively flat, easily accessible from the road, and is close to the power poles and water lines that run across the front of the property. There are some trees in this area that will need to come down but they are all small pine trees (like the size of Christmas trees) and shouldn’t pose that big of a challenge – especially to a man with a new chainsaw to play with. We also met a neighbor who asked if she could have some of the pine trees that we cut down for her goats and we told her to take all that she wanted- a win for both of us!
We were working at the property one day when we met another couple, Chris and Denise, who had just purchased one of the larger lots just down the road from us. They seem really sweet and we are really excited to be “neighbors” with them going forward.
Our weekends started to take on a pattern – John would get up early and go work for a few hours on Saturday and Sunday before it got too hot for the day. This time has mostly been spent on the clearing- removing the tall weeds and cutting down trees. Then he comes home and showers and we grab lunch. We usually watch a movie or go out and explore for a while in the afternoons then we stop back by the property together in the evening to review what he has accomplished and to plan next steps. I am not super handy (plus we only have one saw and one weedeater) so I tend to stay home and do housework and errands while he works at the property. When we go together we plot out where buildings and utilities will go and mark trees that still need to come down or be trimmed. We have also spent these first few weeks speaking to an assortment of people with the government and with the local utility companies figuring out the process of installing water, electric and septic. Another project was to mark out where the driveway will be so that we can get an address assigned. Once we placed flags and spray painted the driveway area, we contacted the Post Office. They are supposed to send someone out in the next few weeks with a GPS unit to register the property and then assign the address. Then we can put in a mailbox and actually be able to receive mail! We have been using a mailing address in Florida for the last two years but have only actually been in the vicinity of it once. They throw away the junk and then forward anything we need to an address that we designate (which is usually John’s mom’s house then she forwards things to us as needed). This means that, while we do have an address, we don’t usually have a way of getting the items that are mailed to us for about 4-6 weeks after receiving the mail at the Florida facility if we happen to be somewhere that we can receive mail at all. Often, his mom just holds onto things for us until we pass through Ohio which may be months away.
We also discovered that there is a ranch in Mancelona that raises yaks! We were surprised to realize that neither of us had ever seen a yak in person and we were so excited to learn that the ranch was open to visitors on Mondays and Thursdays. Since John had been spending a lot of time working at the property, he decided to take a day off work to visit A Yak or 2 Ranch on Thursday August 1st.
The ranch began started out in 2016 with the original plan to just get a yak or two (hence the name of the ranch) as sort of a hobby type project and a healthy meat alternative for a family member who had recently suffered a heart attack. Apparently, yak meat is much healthier than red meat and the family thought that spending time raising and caring for the animals would be a fun motivator to get out and get moving. Pretty soon, that yak or two turned into the herd that they have today and now they are registered breeders with the World Heritage Yak Conservancy. Yak can be raised for meat, dairy, and their wool but this ranch seems to specialize in breeding although they do have a gift shop with a variety of yak products. The yaks are super friendly (except one who gets a little demanding about the treats!) and the family that runs it were the sweetest people and so knowledgeable about their animals.
For $10 per person, they drove us out into the pasture to meet the animals. Because it was just the two of us, we went out in a small 4 wheel drive cart. For larger groups they have wagons that they can use as well. We were given some treats for the animals and they sure did come running when they saw us! We ran out of treats quickly but several of the animals were content to hang out and let us pet them. We even got to see a baby that had been born earlier in the week. It was so adorable and we had so much fun.
On the recommendation of the folks at A Yak or 2, we drove over to Kalkaska to visit De Vor Dairy Farm & Creamery. Their farm is like something out of a story book and they have cows, chickens and goats ready to great guests just outside of their store. Inside, they sell a variety of dairy products and other items but the true treasures are the great wheels of Gouda. You can purchase the giant wheels for around $300 each but, sadly, tiny houses were not made for giant cheeses and we had to settle for some smaller packages. The owner was there to offer a sample that he was just cutting and it tasted so good we couldn’t even make any “cutting the cheese” jokes. We ended up buying some aged gouda, smoked bacon gouda and cherry gouda to take home. We also bought some goat feed for $1 each and went back outside to feed the goats before leaving. According to their website they offer a variety of farm experiences to enhance your visit- including cow cuddling which is definitely something I think I need in my life.
On Saturday, we celebrated my birthday…again. We had already done the “friends and family” celebration back in June when we were in Ohio and John had thrown me a surprise party. I really wasn’t expecting anything much…maybe going out for dinner or a trip to the beach. John had given me a Lego set at my birthday party and we had decided to cut down on spending so I definitely didn’t expect any more gifts. John had more surprises up his sleeve, though.
A week earlier, we had made a trip into Traverse City to buy some tools and John had picked up a gift for me that he had ordered from Home Depot a few weeks ago. He said that he had tried to get me one of the 12 foot tall skeletons that I have wanted for years but they sold out so he got me a headless skeleton on a ghostly horse instead. I was so surprised and excited! I helped load it in the truck, we finished our shopping and headed home. What an excellent surprise gift!
On my birthday, I woke up to John leaving to work on the property. I stayed home and took care of some housework, lounged around and talked on the phone and sat outside with Harley. John called to say he was done working and to get ready because he would take me out for breakfast. We went to a local place called The Hen’s Den in Mancelona and it was really good. We only had about a 10 minute wait and the food was good and affordable.
After breakfast, we decided to visit a few of the marijuana dispensaries in town. Recreation marijuana use is legal in Michigan and I have been known to take a gummy to help out with my anxiety and my knee/hip/back pain from time to time so we wanted to see what our area had to offer. A few weeks back, one of the camp hosts at our campground recommended going on your birthday because you get free stuff so we put off the visit until then. We visited two shops and spent less than $40- and ended up with more than I will probably use in the rest of my lifetime.
John mentioned at this point that he needed to stop at the storage unit we had rented nearby to hold our tools for the property. When we got there, he gave me the key and asked me to unlock and open the door for him. When that door rolled up and revealed a stack of Home Depot boxes, I thought I would pass out. Yes, Home Depot had sold out of many of their animatronics when John bought me my Knight Dullahan. But that was AFTER he ordered TWO of the 12 foot skeletons (one with the lightup eyes and one plain one) PLUS a 7ft tall Frankenstein. I was so blown away.
After recovering from my gifts, we headed up to Charlevoix to visit Fisherman’s Island State Park. On the way there, we stumbled across the pie pans that were used to bake the Cherry Pie that held the world’s record for biggest cherry pie from 1976 to 1987. Of course we had to stop and take photos at this weird, fun landmark.
Once we arrived at Fisherman’s Island State Park, we followed a short, sandy path from the parking area down to the blue waters of the beach and spent a few hours splashing around in the water and looking at rocks. The water was shallow for a long way out and John was able to walk out to a huge boulder and climb up on it to wave back at me. It looked like he was walking on water! John helped me find some really pretty rocks and fossils to add to my collection.
When our fingers got wrinkly and our shoulders were starting to get red, we drove home where John cooked me the best birthday dinner. We had steaks on the grill, corn on the cob, and fried green tomatoes with pickled onions and tangy dipping sauce. I knew that the tomatoes wouldn’t reheat well and everything was so good that I ate until I thought I would burst! Such an amazing end to a perfect day and an incredible start to my 40’s!
We also spent some time in the campground pool and went out to dinner with a new friend that I met in an online rock collectors group that lives nearby. John went with me to meet her and her husband and daughter in person (just to make sure they weren’t planning to murder me) and it seems like she is going to be a fun person to go rock hunting with! While I had started off with some worries about becoming permanently linked to a brand new place, I am definitely feeling more and more at home every day.
