Slowly but Surely
Yikes! Where has the time gone!?! It was my intention to get this posted by 3/31 and here it is July already! Well, better late than never, right? At this writing, we’re in the middle of the Corona Virus pandemic and I hope that everybody reading this is safe and well and weathering the storm.
Here’s a report of what’s happened in 2020 so far at CALROCK Ranch for Trafficked Girls. As a reminder, we’re still in the embryonic stages and this is still Phase I of the project which is getting the infrastructure (including my place aka Command Central) up and running. We have a shoestring budget, so we save a little money up, do a project, save a little more, do another project and so it goes. And sometimes somebody makes a donation and we can do little bigger project which happened twice in this first period of 2020. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! In early January, we had the septic system installed and let me just tell you what a huge improvement it was to go from a camping potty in the shower that had to be emptied each weekend to having an actual flushing toilet! Sometimes in life, it’s the little things!!! We still had to pour water in the tank to be able to flush it since there was no running water yet, but it was a HUGE improvement.
In late January, we trenched the 330 feet from the water tower to CC and laid 2” PVC for water and conduit in case we needed a pump and on February 1, I called Mike at Mack’s Water to come fill the water tank and then it was the moment of truth to see if we would have the pressure we needed, or if we would need the pump. It was a very exciting moment when we opened the valve down at the house and the pressure knocked the milk carton I was filling out my hand. Another huge step - running water! Important for us, but also for the new trees we brought in in March.
Back in the winter, CALROCK’s procurer extraordinaire (aka my mom) found a nursery that was going out of business so we bought 3 mature trees, but were told to leave them at the nursery until Spring. So since it was March and we now had water for them, we had them brought out and planted. Another big day because they are the only trees on the entire 10 acres and with temperatures that get well into the 100s during summer, the shade is super important for us and a number of other critters. And it really made it seem like an actual homestead was starting to develop. Our procurer also found us an amazing fountain which we set down below in the gulch area where the girls’ cabins will be. Took me and 3 burly guys to load it into my truck and it had to be pulled down and set up with a back hoe, but so worth it. She’s a beauty.
Anyway, back to the trees. We got them planted (they’re mostly doing well – one is still recovering from transplant shock, but she’s coming through it now) and we also brought in some other plants but quickly learned we were going to need a fence inside the property around the homestead area to keep our neighbor’s horses (and eventually our own) from eating anything green. LOL!
So April was fence month. We augured 18 holes and strung up 4 lines of Electrobraid fencing and got to planting. And then we discovered that horses were not the only thing that wanted to eat our greens. So did the bazillion bunnies we have!!! So the next step there is to put up chicken wire between the posts and sink it down to see if we can’t bunny proof the area. Wish us luck!!!
June was another big month. We got the mobile home plumbing repaired so now we actually have running water INSIDE THE HOUSE!!! So exciting!!! Of course, no hot water yet. Turns out the floor that supports the hot water is rotten and needs to be replaced and I still need to get the propane tank installed and connected to the hot water heater and stove. More excitement to look forward to in the next few months.
Well, that brings you up to date so far. I’ll try to be better about keeping on a quarterly schedule, so look for the next update around the end of September to see what new good stuff is happening.
Thanks, as always for your love and support. Especially to my phenomenal family for the investments of their time, energy, work and funds! I so appreciate you all.
