Well, I am now connected to the outside world with cable and internet.  This is my first post from location.  My Dish Network installer showed up early this morning after a long and sleepless night in the container.  I am suffering from some flu-like syptoms and it did not help that I overloaded my surge protector last night by plugging in a space heater.  Needless to say, with temperatures dropping down into the high 30s and the container not yet having insulation, it was like a freezer box in here.

My installer was great.  He ended up mounting two receivers on the roof for satellite television and satellite internet.  He had to build both on site because the installation was atypical.  Much appreciation to him.

Within the last few days, I have been working on the outdoor shower.  I received a little motivation and know-how from my good friend Bob Brunson, the gentleman behind http://thegreenestlittlehouseintexas.org/About_Us.html.  He is currently leading a workshop on building an earth ship/monolithic dome house.  While camping on the worksite, I took some notes on his outdoor shower and got to work on my own when I returned to my property.  It is tough work.  The drill bits are having a tough time getting through the cedar posts and the ground has quite a bit of limestone, so digging the holes for the posts has been exhausting.

Looking forward, my brother gets back into Texas next week.  We are planning to install a restroom inside the container with a dual flush toilet and stainless steel utility sink.  We will have to be creative as wet/plumbing partition walls will need to go up in advance of having insulation in place.  Also, I want to avoid penetrating the corrugated steel with screws, so we are likely going to have to make small welds and/or use tension bars similar to a curtain rod to hold the studs in place.  Septic permits were filed this week, so we are just waiting on the county to approve our application before the septic system folks can commence work.

Until our next posts, stay well.  Thanks for reading.

Hey guys, Pedernales Electric Coop (PEC) installed the 25kVA transformer pole and the meter pole with meter base/loop today.  We have electricity folks…and the lights come on without the hum of the 5,000 watt Honda generator running in the background.

The guys from TexasData – wireless internet for the Texas Hill Country – also stopped by today to evaluate whether my current configuration can benefit from their services.  Unfortunately, the “fixed wireless” network (Canopy microwave platform developed by Motorola) they use operates at a frequency that requires a direct line of sight to their towers.  The problem is my live oak trees are too tall to accommodate this requirement.

To my surprise, I came up with the idea of using the recycled electricity poles PEC released into my custody to mount the radio dish.  The special thing about this idea is that I expanded upon it and have landed on the idea of putting up three (3) poles in a triangle pattern spaced approx. 10′ apart.  My plan is to build a deck at about 20′ above ground level that will serve as an observation deck to take in the hill country sunset, play cards with my buddies up in the air, serve as my bow stand/tower, and lastly as a launching deck for a planned zip line that will span approx. 400′ to the southeast corner of my property.  This solves the problem with the internet, allows me to use the recycled electricity poles I have sitting on the ground, capitalizes on the topography of the property, and provides additional recreation/utility.

If you have ever witnessed the process of running an electricity line extension, you would understand that my idea of building a zip line is essentially the same as running new electric lines.  Now I just need to see if PEC or another utility group that has the truck/equipment that drills, lifts/places the pole(s), and runs the line(s) can help me out for a fair price.  Pretty exciting idea, huh?  Things just all came together in my head as both the electric company and the internet guys were on the property at the same time.

The last thing I will mention in this post is the idea of adding humming bird, butterfly, and bird houses/sanctuary environments on the property.  I am placing a great deal of emphasis on the xeriscaping, which will include plant/flowering species that attract all of these beautiful creatures.  As an added benefit, I am fairly certain there are property tax benefits for creating the environment I am speaking about in my area.

Hope you enjoyed today’s update.  Thanks for reading and supporting our passion.