County Ordinance and spring

The work we have been doing for the past 5 months is paying off.  We officially have a committee formed and blessed by the Pennington County Commissioners.  The task of this committee is to formulate a vacation home rental ordinance to address the current overly prohibitive ordinance.
Government wheels turn slow, our first informal meeting - not to be confused with public meetings - is Monday, May 16 at 2:00 pm in the courthouse.  All other meeting will be public and public input is welcome and encouraged.
It will be nice to have our Log Cabin and Boxcar Cabin compliant with county regulations.  Keep tuned for the latest.
On another note.  Spring is here!!  Dandelions are in the yard and the chickens are happy.  Six eggs from six chicks.  The cat is getting fatter and the dog is happily following Tally to the burn pile as he gets pine needles cleaned up from the yards.  I am almost finished with the Cottage spring cleaning.  I have the kitchen floor, table and lower cabinets left.  We finally got the microwave up on a shelf.  It looks great and feels good to take care of our babies (cabins).
Our daughter took up golf this spring and is on the team at her school.  She loves it and is actually improving.  Time for me to get back to work.

April 27, 2011

We started the deep spring cleaning today.  The Cottage is first this year.
We are taking a rest from the kitchen remodel.  The walls are painted, the floor is installed and the cabinets are ordered. Not much to do except enjoy it.  We are loving the dining room.
We had rain off and on all day.  Guess April showers bring May flowers.  The Pasque flowers are coming on strong in the woods and the crocus in our garden are showing their colors.

On another note, the Pennington County Commissioners have started the ball rolling on our ordinance amendment.  The committee has been formed and will be officially designated at their next meeting.  We need to address vacation home rentals in this county in a proactive manner.  The extremely limiting current ordinance just begs to be ignored and it is.  We could not believe how many vacation home rentals within Pennington County are registered with the state of South Dakota.  It will be interesting to see the direction this goes at the first meeting.

March 29, 2011 still cold

We had gentle snow all day yesterday but nothing on the ground.   Thank goodness the ice is melting and green grass is finally showing though, there is still snow where the ground is shaded.  Squirrels are chasing each other in the trees and hiding nuts, rabbits are gathering and the sounds of birds are everywhere.

Tally is sanding the drywall and I should be texturing tomorrow or even this afternoon.  The ordinance amendment we are working on is progressing.   These things take a lot of time but are all worth it in the end.    Short post.

March- is Spring coming to Happy Trails?

The days are longer and with the addition of more snow it actually feels like spring.  Water is running off the roofs and the ice bergs are slowly receding.  It seems so slow this year.  I know it will be soon that we are turning on water in cabins and beginning the deep spring cleaning.  I love when the cabins are freshly deep cleaned.  It is so satisfying.  I love our job.

On to the construction project.  I now have an insulated kitchen/dining area.  The house became so cosy and nice.  I realize there is a lot to do but just the fact of being warmer has made life wonderful.  We have also been experiencing some great Black Hills inversions.   Rapid City has been so cold and overcast while we in Silver City have been in the 40's with nice sunny days.

Now I have a cold

I was complaining awhile back about the cold weather and now I have a cold.  It is miserable.
Seems I am not getting anything truly accomplished these days.   Luckily I was OK on Sunday and we went cross country skiing out our door.  There is a fair amount of snow for Silver City.
On the good side, we are planning on getting our insulation installed next monday.  We are so excited.  There is a bit to get done before they get her on Monday but now with a deadline, we will be in a frenzy of activity.  It will be nice to be warm.

random stump things

The chickens are well and producing.  We get 5 eggs a day from 7 chickens.  They are so friendly and this late in the winter they look fairly ugly.

Tally

Rita

walking on Pactola Lake

Beaver Dam

Nothing really going on and we have too much time to think.

Politics

The first hurdle is done.  We gave our presentation at the County Planning Commission and they voted for it to continue.  We will now give our presentation to the County Commissioners on March 1.  We need everyone to root for us.  It was good to have one dissenter in the room so we can address his concerns in the next presentation.  It is important to let people know that, as this is a conditional use, a potential vacation home rental has to address the neighbors concerns.
On a more fun note.  I found 2 antlers on our hike Monday.  One was found in the yard across the street, the other was from last year.  You can tell the old ones as they look dry and have had mice or squirrels chewing on them.
We have been having such nice weather.  The snow is melting and then freezing so the ice remains.

cold, cold, cold

Wow, is it cold here in Silver City.  We are so grateful that seasons change and we can rest assured that it will get warmer someday.  The Black Hills were beautiful with the frost heavy in the trees.  All the green pine trees were white, and white on one side in some areas.
I have been working a lot in Rapid City.  The Black Hills Stock Show is going on.  I had fun yesterday evening working the camera for the dog trials.  It was fun to see the collies working the sheep.  We had a Border Collie and she was so smart.   Of course our current dog Gus is pretty smart too but he is still young.  Makes me want to get a few sheep for Gus to try and work with.
Wiring is getting done in the kitchen.  We need to incorporate rewiring the old parts of the house while wiring the kitchen.  Luckily I have patience as everything takes longer than expected.
I have been diligently working on our ordinance amendment.  We are planning on handing it to the P & Z office on friday.  The Planning Commission meeting presentation is set for Feb. 14.  It is actually fun finding facts and material to include in the power point presentation.
In the meantime summer vacation reservations are starting to come in and things are looking well for our cabin rentals.