Days 1 and 2 – The Journey Begins

On July 15, 2016, Charlie and I signed the papers that made us ranchers…we’re landowners that will someday be ranchers. I chose that date to close because it was a Friday and it is my grandmother’s birthday. I figured this would help me to remember the actual day of closing in the future!) The closing was very different from any other closing that we have experienced. The title company was located in a beautiful old home (mansion) in Crockett. We were seated at a beautiful large table along with the sellers. The closing officer went through the paperwork and passed the papers around the table for signatures of the different parties. It was very relaxed and low key. It was really nice being able to meet the four sons of the man who had owned the property and to listen to the stories of the time they spent there. We had noticed the many pecan trees on the property and found out that the owner loved pecan trees and planted as many as he could! There are also fig trees, blueberries, peach trees and lots of crepe myrtles and others that I haven’t identified yet!

As soon as we finished at the title company we headed to a diner on the Crockett city square to have a celebration lunch – as Houston County property owners aka tax payers.
After lunch we headed to Lovelady, dropped our bags off at J. and D.’s house and headed to the new Wheeler Ranch. (That sounds better than property or land.) We mainly walked around to see how the area where the first trailer had been removed from. This will be where we set up a travel trailer for the time being until we decide where, when and how to build a house. The previous owner did a wonderful job setting this front area up as a “front yard.” J. suggested putting lights up in the large tree in the center of the area and making this our family get-together spot and maybe even a gazebo!

The next day was our first workday. While I worked in the “front yard,” J. and Charlie worked like true ranch hands. I pulled weeds and trimmed small trees, crepe myrtles, shrubs and pulled up some overgrown canna lilies.
They sprayed weed killer on the fence line, moved a pile of trash off of a utility trailer and cut down a tree that was too close to the road coming onto the property.

Sunday was a day of rest but we still took the time to spend some time on the land before we headed home in the city.