Snow, snow and more snow!

As if we didn't have enough snow in Redmond over the holidays (18"!), it snowed buckets in Eastern Washington, too. The property didn't get hit as hard as Spokane, but when the contractor finally got a plow out so he could get to the house, there was 27" on the ground.

This is the pumphouse where the well lives. Isn't it cute? Glad we decided to re-insulate the lid. It's darn cold out there.

Looks all cozy with the lights on and the snow all around. . . .

Here are the guys removing some of the snow from the roof. The roofer should be out this week to put the new shingles on.

Once the roof is on, it's time to drywall! Finally, the insides will start looking finished. After drywalling is the floor refinishing, then the trim work, kitchen and bathrooms, paint, etc. We're getting there!!

American Flats

The property is actually two separate pieces. One half (with the house) is accessed from highway 21. The other half is due east, but there is a small piece of forest service land between the two pieces. The eastern piece, known as American Flats, is surrounded on 3 sides by steep cliffs and has Canada as it's northern boundary. We hired a forester to evaluate the property and create our Forest Management Plan (which was just approved by the county! yea!). These are some of her photos.
American Flats - the view from the top of the cliff. The straight line at the left of the photo is the US-Canada border. The property to the right (meadow & trees, partway up the cliff) is all ours!

American Flats from the meadow.

Nice cliffs, huh? We're working to determine how to best get access to this property. Right now, it's hiking only. Before 9/11, the previous owners were able to go up into Canada and access the property from the north. After 9/11, that became impossible. So, the field has sat fallow since then--the trees are starting to take over again.