the homestead journal

Apr. 4, 2003 The Beginning Well basically we have 2 parcels of land, one is 24 acres which has the seasonal creek on it and a 31 acre parcel which is mostly treeless. We have decided to build only on the 24 acre parcel since its all paid off. Tehama Country is so beautiful in spring... too bad it don't last. :) Here are some updates on the ongoing developments: - Currently we have a 2hp 260 ft. well installed with 2 80 gallon pressure tanks. Currently pulling about 30 GPMs from the well. We cant really power it yet without a generator though until the power is hooked up but boy is it nice to get that out of the way. Water is life... - We are still waiting for the intermittent rain to stop before finishing the septic and the road. Hopefully those 2 things should be done by End of April. - We have decided not to build the guest house first and go forward with building the main house. Stephen is working on the designs for the octagon shaped house which will be a 3bd/2ba straw bale infill structure with a courtyard. The livable space should be about 1800-2000 sq ft. - electrical post is in though we wont get electricity from pg&e until we get our permits issued. we hope to get our drawings submitted to the planning department by June 1.