It is finally here!

We are picking up our solar array today! It is going to be hard work for the boys but so worth it! We sent them with a camera so we will see if we get to post any pics on here to show the breakdown. It is going to be so great having such a large system and not having to worry about running a washing machine or a dishwasher. The countdown is coming! We are going to be moving up there as soon as winter is over.

A Tale of Two Ranch Trucks

We have just purchased another vehicle, this one however was very important for the ranch, according to Jeremy. He said it was going to be a perfect truck to use around the property for doing "stuff." I love that phrase "Doing Stuff," it is the phrase to use when you can't think of exactly the "stuff" that you are going to be doing so you just throw in that general word.

His dad and him tried to convince their other halves(Cindy and I) by starting us off with a great dinner and a glass of wine. Then they starting talking about the truck that they wanted to buy, how it was going to save us money, how it was perfect for the ranch, it can haul lots of "things" and perfect for "doing stuff" around the ranch.

Little did Cindy and I know, it was a done deal in their heads. I guess they just asked us so that they would be able to enter the bedroom that night and not have to sleep on the couch. This lovely vehicle has some great options on it:

New Seats - Now there are only two, there were 3 but the previous owner ripped the middle one out for an ice chest (GO FIGURE)
New Car Smell - well I wouldn't say new car smell, more like old man who smokes two packs a day mixed with some mold/mildew
New Headliner - the previous owner ripped out the fabric and just spray painted the liner, how smart of him!
Spot Lights - they are mounted on the truck, but when I asked Jeremy if they worked his comment was "we don't know, we can't find the switch"


So yesterday, we took this lovely truck up to the property, its new home. All the while, Jeremy was still trying to convince me that it was a "great deal." So we get up there and I walk into the house and sit on the couch (my usual spot now) while the boys worked on getting some "stuff" done around the ranch (i.e. - long quad ride, organizing the shop). As we went to leave, I jumped in my new car and adjusted the lumbar, changed the dual climate control because I am always so hot, got comfy for the ride home in the leather seats and the boys all jumped in. I thought to myself...I am complaining about the "new ugly truck" that Jeremy just bought and yet I am getting into my "Ranch Truck" (see picture below). How can I even complain about the $1100 he spent on the work truck when I am driving a Yukon XL Denali. Yes, I am from Orange County and my version of a Ranch Truck and Jeremy's version of a Ranch Truck is completely opposite, but can I really complain? I will just blame it on being pregnant and it is the hormones that are talking! :-)

Quartz Ridge Ranch is going solar

Since we have bought the property we have being running off of a diesel generator, it isn't that bad, noisy and expensive but it doesn't stop us from using everyday items. We always new that when we were going to build "The Big House" as I call it we would be moving to solar. Well, we stepped up the time frame and bought the solar system for us to use while we are living in the house that is currently on the property. It is very exciting and I am looking forward to not having any electricity bills. I will update you all with pictures once it is installed on our property. These are the solar cells we bought below!!

Being a 5 year old

So what can a 5 year old do to help our around the property? Well, besides looking cute, she drives the quad while daddy throws in cut logs in the trailer, she stacks wood for the winter months, she picks up doggy poo and the biggest thing she does...Bosses the dogs around!

The Mitchells Visit

Peanut and Adam came up to play in the snow for the day. She had a blast making a snowman. We had fun watching her smile going down the hill on her sled.

The First Snow

We decided to stay an extra night because we knew a storm was coming in. It snowed that night, the first time for us. It was beautiful to wake up to. We headed back down to Sac that morning but it was so nice to experience the beauty.

The Fishing Pond

So this isn't our property but it is for sale, so we decided to do a little fishing. Too bad the pond was frozen!

Hot firefighters in cowboy hats...

Yes, that is my man on the left and yes the man on the right is taken. But they are fun to look at!!!

The new quad

So this cute little girl of ours was feeling a little left out and didn't have a ride of her own.


So we bought her a present...


She was so excited...


she looked back once...



and then she was gone!

The Parents Visit

So, I am from Orange County and haven't had a bit of country experience until we bought the ranch. So my parents wanted to come up and see what exactly their daughter got herself into. I taught my dad how to drive the quad...


I fed them dinner...



Aren't they adorable?


OH and I let my dad golf, wherever he wanted to, and the dogs were trained to bring the ball back. I knew how to win them over!

She thinks my tractors sexy!

So my mom's life long dream was to drive a tractor and "move dirt." Her dream came true when we bought the Kabota. Don't we look cute in our hats?



This is a little of what she was able to do, you should have seen the grin on her face!

The last power pole in the rear view mirror...

So as I mentioned earlier, the last power pole is about a mile and a half from the edge of the property. So how do we stay in the house? It is called a generator, this lovely piece of mechanics below. It powers up the house and the shop, you wouldn't even realize we didn't have electricity until you heard this baby humming in the back ground. It gives the house power to run the swamp cooler, the stove, and some lighting. The good ole boy that built the house, wired the house for both 110V and 12V. The generator charges the batteries so when we don't want to run the generator and we need lights they work. It is a basic system but one that is hard to understand for all you "GRID" people. Just think, we aren't paying a dime to PG&E, SMUD or SCE (sorry dad)!

The other kind of work....

So you may ask yourself what else do they do besides pull Manzanita? Well, we have friends up, we paint, we work, Emily swims, we garden, the dogs play, we have burn piles (leave that to the pyros), we cut down dead trees, we look at the wild life...



AND WE RELAX LOOKING AT OUR BEAUTIFUL VIEW!

The work...

Well when you have the amount of land that we do, there is a lot of work that goes into it. Here we are pulling Manzanita, yes you might think "oh how pretty" pretty much they are weeds to use and a HUGE fire danger, if you would like some for your bird house, a wedding or special even, you are more than welcome to drive on up there and get some, we do have a minimum of clearing at least a quarter acre of it for the payment (we can dream right?).


We thought the best way to pull the manzanita was by hand, then we used the quad and the wench. We did make a mark on clearing it, however, it was very labor intensive. We need a better plan...

There is my cutie! Oh and look at the two dogs in the trailer, they were quite used to running around so much, so Jer gave them a lift. Dylan looks like he is about ready to JUMP! Lily is loving the ride.

Home Owners

We are finally owners, here is the first time we opened up the property with our own keys. That is me in the jeans (don't look at my booty) and that is Ron in the red shirt (Jeremy's dad), oh yeah...and the is Claude (aka dirt claude, the truck). Jeremy, Emily, Dylan (our dog) opened the door to the home that would be called home in a year or two, for a couple years, until we build our dream home. Did you get that?

40 acres

Just to give you an idea of how remote the ranch is, here it is on google earth. You can see the dirt road leading into it. The white lines represent an estimate of our property lines. 40 acres is about a quarter mile on each side of the square. 1 full mile around. That is a whole lotta wood!