Day 191 – Four Corners
I'm not sure if we will be able to get roots started in the two acre clearing before winter. We still have too many...
Day 187 – Much Needed NO-WORK Days
Sometimes, you have to slow down and smell the roses or the fresh wild hog droppings on the side of the river bank. Either...
Day 184 – Shop Concrete Slab + BBQ
The day for concrete arrived, and it was such a beautiful day. The crew came on a Wednesday to complete the forms, and the...
Day 182 – Driveway Base Layer
The order of operations is to the point where we can FINALLY work on the driveway. This is one area that has been a...
Day 179 – Life Goals Being Checked
The shooting range on the property is coming to life. Years ago, I purchased a plate rack from MGM Targets. The kit included six...
Day 178 – Cleanup Day
Day 178 was a relaxing water cleanup day on the property. I was able to fill in most of the trench with a box...
Day 175 – Boring For Water
We finally have water! I say finally because it took 53 days from the time I paid for the meter to the day the...
Day 170 – Installing 1335 Feet of Water Pipe
We've delayed water as long as possible. Mostly due to an order of operations with our unique property. The only way in for water...
Historic Aerials of our Property
I've been stuck in our camper most of this week due to the hurricane passing through Mississippi. We're five hours north of the Gulf...
Yard Glider, Moving Stumps, Box Blade and Ditch Cleaning – Day 142
It's been another chaotic week of bouncing around between a lot of small tasks. The 2-acre clearing is starting to look a lot better....
Forestry Mulching CHAOS – Day 140
What an AWESOME experience at the property. I hired a forestry mulcher to knock down 1.3 acres of undergrowth and to leave the tall...
Super Handy Tractor Bucket – JU Fabworks – Day 134
Today, I made my tractor bucket a bit more handy by installing the JU Fabworks Universal Workmaster with D-rings. It's a bolt-on plate for...
Speed Cutting Trail Overgrowth – LaneShark LS3 – Day 135
With the tractor up and running, I wanted to get back to some trail work. Today, I used the LaneShark LS3 to clean up...
2 Excavators, a Trencher, a Dozer – Electrical and Shop Pad Done – Day 125
Wow, what a week. Monday started off with text messages from my dozer guy saying he was getting started and the electric company was...
VEVOR pole saw – I like it
Affiliate Link: https://s.vevor.com/bfQ7K6
5% off discount code: DISCOUNT23 (Valid for all items)
In a recent conversation with a Vevor rep, I was offered a battery-powered pole...
Broke Tractor, Electric APPROVED, Septic, Ranting – Day 120
A friend let me borrow his box blade to use on the property. The Cat 1 pins were in rough shape, bent and broken....
Broken Tractor, Shop Location, Utilities, Murphy’s law! – Day 116
We've had a Murphy's Law kind of week. It's simple stuff, but it has been frustrating. These are the weeks when I'm glad I'm...
This was not expected – Dealing with the aftermath – Day 99
The past two weeks have been a blur. We burned the 300' brush pile, and the following day, it rained. It rained HARD. Enough...
BURN DAY! 300ft Bon Fire – Day 95
What a day! Sun up to sun down, it was a busy day. And man, did I sleep well that night! Those are the...
GAME CHANGER for my trails – LaneShark LS3 – Day 86
We currently have over 2 miles of trails, and when I complete my mapped-out trail system, we will have over 3 miles of trails....
Electric, Water, Trails, 2 Acres, HUGE update – Day 80
Electricity
- Underground $14,899.81
- Above ground will be a lot less (estimated 4k) but trees come down.
- Fiber internet will be ran at the same...
Stumped – Day 73
We bought 101 acres of woods, so we have and will have many stumps to address. In this video, I'm using the Woodland Mills...
Machines Rusting in Shipping Container – Day 65
Two and a half months ago, we sold our house and shop. Our belongings went into a shipping container to sit protected (hopefully) until...
Perimeter Trail Part 2 – Day 49
We continue the perimeter trail but on the north side this time. The eventual goal is to have a continuous trail along the entire...
Kioti KG4066 Grapple and Bad Boy 4035 Tractor – Day 43
I ordered the W.R. Long RBG3 root rake grapple, and when I went to pick it up, the dealer noticed me looking at the...
Sawing Logs – Day 40
Yesterday, our dirt work guy had to stop due to rain. He started a large burn pile and knocked over a dozen or so...
IT HAS BEGUN! Starting clearing 2 acres for my shop – Day 38
My last shop was a 30x40 shop with some outdoor working space on our less than 1-acre property. The new shop will be 40x60,...
Cutting Trails in the Woods | Perimeter Trail Part 1 – Day 14
We purchased 101 acres and want to monitor them all. One thing we are implementing is a perimeter trail, which means we have a...
My Daughter’s First Tractor
I bought a tractor for the new land about a month ago. My daughter took a lot of interest in it and is picking...
Piranha Bar VS. Small Trees – Day 32
I tried digging with the stock loader bucket on the tractor and didn't get great results. It's possible, but starting is the hardest part...
Quick Hitch, Piranha Bar, Stump Grinder – Day 31
Day 31 since buying 101 acres. It's time for some tractor time. We planned our move around using pallet forks on a tractor to...
My shop will go right here – Marking out 2 acres
The first bit of land clearing on the new 101-acre property will be dedicated to working. The two acres will have three zones. On...
KNOWING where your property boundary is
We recently purchased 101 acres of land to homestead for our forever/generational property. At our last property in the city limits, we could stand...
2 Weeks Progress on our Forever Property
This video was recorded exactly two weeks after closing on the land. We've had some equipment delays, land-clearing contractor delays, and weather delays. All...
New Tool: CHIPPING a driveway
Due to the weather, the dirt work we contracted out for the driveway and shop pad has been delayed. So, we spent some time...
Clearing the Gate
Small milestone for us. We start clearing trees to uncover the front gate. Small step for mankind, one giant leap for the Bates family.
We...
Hiking 101 acres – Documenting the “before”
This video is more for me than it is for you. I want to be able to look back, years from now, and see...
My 101 acre plan….that will change
In this video I covered our 101 acre plan. This is a 5-10 year plan that will obviously change. As things progress, perspectives and...
Moving Machines
Anyone who moves from one house to another understands how much work and stress is involved in moving. Moving from one shop to another...
Bye Bye Avid CNC
We sold our house and shop, so it's time to move my Avid CNC machine. If you're not familiar with the machine, it has...
All my bags are packed, I’m ready to go..
All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go...
We're moving. Well, we've already moved since recording this video. I've got my office setup in...
Shipping Container / Pallet Jack Storage Crates
In my last video I designed storage crates to efficiently stack into a shipping container. If you'd like to build your own and are...
Shipping Container Crates: SketchUp
The plan for the shop move is to downsize as much as I can and store everything into a shipping container until the new...
Tool Talk #22: Oliver 4265 – 12″ Helical Head Jointer
In May 2023, I purchased two Oliver woodworking machines: a 15" helical head planer and a 12" helical head jointer. After nine months of...
Nice Furniture from Box Store Lumber – Pine Shelving Unit
This is a problem/solution project. My daughter needs a storage shelf to keep some of her belongings off the floor. The solution is to...
SketchUp: Proud Halflap Shelving System
SketchUp time! I want to make a functional shelf that maximizes storage for my daughter's room. Instead of a basic utility style, I want...
Raffle Results: The Purple Heart Project
Thank you to everyone who participated in this raffle and helped get the word out. Together, we raised $6,490 for The Purple Heart Project!...
DIY Bunk Bed or Loft Bed
My daughter wanted more floor space in her bedroom, so we decided to modify her bunk bed. We removed the lower bed frame to...
RAFFLE – Rob Cosman Dovetail Saw + Joinery Crosscut Saw
Purchase a ticket for a pair of premium new woodworking hand saws made by Rob Cosman and crew. One winner will be randomly drawn...
Garage Storage Bin, Disks, Quote Mirror
Every break from the day to day routine feels great. And the first day back in the shop after said break also feels great!...