Chapter 31

Greg called on Thursday to let me know he wouldn’t be there until Friday. He said something came up, but he also guaranteed it wouldn’t add to the completion date. I told Kelly what Greg said.

We spent the morning working. Rob continued on the webpage while Jenny and Kelly unpacked the equipment we’d bought. They set up a makeshift studio in the basement. I helped the girls by carrying the equipment from the garage to the basement. After lunch Jenny and Kelly worked on their garden. Rob and I took turns mowing. At about three, UPS delivered our archery targets. Rob and I built a stand so we could practice and he spent time helping me get the pins set on my bow.

Rob started me at about ten yards from the target. Once I was able to hit the cube every time, he moved me back five yards. We practiced for half an hour before Rob said it was time to quit.

“If you get too tired, you’ll start making mistakes. You’re doing well,” Rob said.

“Thanks. I want to practice my fly casting for a while. We need to do some fishing,” I said.

Rob and I put away the archery equipment and took out our fly rods. We practiced for a half hour before putting the rods away. After we had everything put away, we went out to watch the girls and see if they needed help.

Jenny and Kelly showed Rob and me what they did in the garden. The girls hoed rows in the soil for planting. Kelly showed us the drawing they made of where they wanted to plant their crop.

“We’re going to put the cucumbers along the fence and then two rows of tomatoes. We have radishes, lettuce, peppers, carrots, sweet corn, and a few herbs,” Jenny said.

“Yeah, and we have squash, watermelon, and a few other things to plant,” Kelly said.

“What are you going to do with all the food?” Rob said.

“We’re putting in a lot of tomatoes plants, corn, and cucumbers. We can freeze the corn, make pickles with the cucumbers, and can the tomatoes,” Kelly said. “Jenny and I bought a book at the nursery.”

“What can we do to help?” Rob asked.

“We need to get stakes for the tomato plants. Do we have anything we can use?” Jenny said.

“No, but Justin and I can run into town and pick something up if you want us to,” Rob said.

“Thanks, we have about thirty tomato plants. We’ll need stakes for the peppers too,” Jenny said and then she kissed Rob.

Rob and I went to town to pick up the stakes. After checking the nursery, we headed to the lumber yard. We found six foot stakes cheaper than what the nursery offered. While we were at the lumber yard, Rob checked on poles for the blinds. We found the yard carried what Rob wanted. He checked the price and found out about delivery.

“It would be hard to carry the poles in the back of a pickup truck,” Rob said. “We can use the tractor to drag them into the woods.”

“Just how do you manage a twenty foot pole?” I asked.

“It’s easy. We’ll use a post hole digger to drill the holes. Then we use a block and tackle, attached to a tree, to pull the poles up and then drop them into the hole. It’ll be easy with all the help we’ll have,” Rob said.

I nodded, but couldn’t visualize what Rob told me. When we got home, he showed me using one of the stakes. Once he explained it, I understood how we would set the poles.

Rob and I helped the girls in the garden. We drove in the stakes next to the plants the girls wanted supported. They told Rob and me they would begin tying them when they grew taller.

By dinner time we were all tired. We ate together after Kelly and Jenny prepared our meal. After dinner, we relaxed in the hot tub for a while. Kelly and Jenny wore the bottoms of their bikinis. They told Rob and me they didn’t want us to see the strings from their tampons.

While we were in the tub, Jenny and Kelly talked about their garden as well as what they had been studying about lighting. They told us they still had a lot to learn. Rob and I told the girls about the blinds we planned to build.

We got out of the hot tub, took showers, and then went to bed. Kelly snuggled against me, thanking me for all the help on the garden. I held her until she fell asleep.

Rob and Jenny were already in the kitchen when Kelly and I came downstairs. We poured our coffee and went out on the upper deck to drink it. The mornings were getting warmer so we could enjoy the deck.

Jenny and Kelly went in to make breakfast. Rob and I talked about what we wanted to do during day. The girls brought out a platter of pancakes and sausage. We ate while watching turkeys in the yard.

We had finished eating when I saw a woman and three men in the backyard. When I yelled down, asking them what they wanted, the man said, “Hey there, I’m Greg.”

“Oh, hi, Greg. Come up and have a cup of coffee,” I said.

Greg and the others came up the back steps to the deck. He introduced Mindy, Donna’s sister, his son Ned, and his partner Parker. We shook hands and introduced ourselves. Kelly and Jenny fixed coffee for the group. They sat down and we began talking about the pool. Rob ran to his room to get the sketches he’d made.

Greg sent Ned out to the truck to get a pad and a brochure about the pools he sold.

“Donna said you have a nice place. She wasn’t kidding,” Mindy said.

“Thanks, we like it here,” Kelly said.

“So, you want a swimming pool. Well, I think we can help you,” Greg said.

“When did you leave to come up?” Jenny asked.

“We got here late last night. We’re staying in town,” Greg said. He took the folder from Ned and opened it. “From what Vince told me, you’re looking for a rectangular pool. Take a look at a few of these.”

Kelly and I looked at the pools displayed in the brochure. She pointed at a pool with a small L shaped area. Greg noticed and said, “That’s the shallow area. It has the steps and an area about two and a half feet deep. The main body of the pool is five feet deep.”

“Is it deep enough for a diving board?” Jenny asked.

“No, but I don’t recommend a diving board. It will drive your insurance through the roof. Too much liability,” Greg said. “With this pool, you can swim laps and stand up anywhere in the pool as long as you’re over five feet tall. In reality, the water depth is less than five feet. I have this model with a sloped bottom. It runs from four feet on the end with the L to about six feet on the deep end.”

“What do you think, sweetie?” I said to Kelly.

“I like the idea of having a shallow area,” Kelly said.

Greg told us about the advantages of his fiberglass pools. He said they were easy to clean and seldom needed repairs. He also told us putting in a good filtration system would help keep the pool clean.

Flipping the pages of the binder, Greg showed us pictures of some of his installations. One of the covered pools caught my eye. He told us the glass enclosure’s walls slid on tracks and opened up three quarters of the end and side walls.

We went down to the backyard. Greg waved his hand as he made suggestions about the way the pool would work best. His description matched what Rob drew.

“How long will it take to install?” I said.

“I have a twenty feet wide by forty feet long pool in stock. The L is ten by ten feet. I can have it on a truck tomorrow and here by Monday morning. If we start on Monday, I’ll have water in the pool a week from Wednesday. I’ve already found a local contractor to do the digging and cement work. The cover will have to wait until after the wedding. Once the pool is in, we’ll design the enclosure,” Greg said.

“Where is your septic tank?” Parker asked me.

Pointing at the far end of the house, I said, “Over there. The well is in front.”

“Good, it won’t be in the way. Can we take a look in the basement?” Parker said.

Rob and I led Greg, Ned, and Parker into the basement. I showed them the sunroom and told them about wanting to be able access the pool from inside the room. Then we went to the changing rooms. Parker looked around and then he said, “Is there a utility room?”

The group followed me to the utility room. Parker took out a tape measure and started measuring the room.

“We can put the filter and heater in here without too much trouble, but I would suggest putting it closer to the pool. We could build an enclosure on the end near the back of the house,” Parker said.

“Whatever you feel is best,” I said.

“I agree with Parker. We can get the makeup water from the sunroom. I saw a connection near the hot tub,” Greg said. “Ned, go get the transit and the stakes out of my truck. Let’s get this pool laid out.”

Rob and I went outside. We sat on the deck, watching Greg, Ned, and Parker surveying the area. They made measurements and drove stakes into the ground. Greg made notes on a pad he held on a clipboard. Two hours later, the men joined us at the table.

“We have what we need for now. Ned and Parker are heading back to Sterling Heights to get the pool loaded on a truck. They’ll be back in a few days. In the mean time, I’ll take care of getting the contractor out here.

“I’m going to have the pool, and the decking around it, match the level of the existing deck. The grade isn’t too bad so we won’t have to do much backfilling,” Greg said.

“Sounds good to me, Greg. You’re the expert. Where are you and Mindy staying?” I said.

“We have a room at the Holiday Inn,” Greg replied.

Shaking my head, I said, “Didn’t Donna tell you you’re welcome to stay here with us?”

“Yes she did, but I didn’t want to inconvenience you and your girl,” Greg said.

Chuckling, I said, “It won’t inconvenience me or Kelly. Besides, I’d rather you stay here than pay your hotel bill.”

Greg laughed. When the women came in from walking around the yard, Greg asked Mindy how she felt about staying at the house.

“Kelly and Jenny have already convinced me to ask you to stay. They’re very persuasive,” Mindy said.

“Okay then. We’ll go to the hotel, pick up our things, and come back. By the way, Justin, don’t you want to know what this thing is going to cost?” Greg said.

“I want the pool, Greg. Vince and Donna assured us you would be fair. I trust what they say,” I replied.

“They’re right, I’ll treat you fair. Make sure you let your friends know where you got your pool,” Greg said.

Smiling, I said, “I will if it’s as good as you say it’ll be.”

“Fair enough. We’ll be back as soon as we can. Mindy and I would like to take all of you to dinner tonight,” Greg said.

“We can talk about it when you get back here,” I said.

Greg, Mindy, Ned, and Parker left. I sat back, looking at the stakes in the ground. Kelly came up behind me and gave me a hug. “This is so exciting! I can’t wait until we can swim in our new pool.”

“From the sound of it, it won’t be long, sweetie,” I said. “What do you think about it, Rob?”

“It looks like the pool is going to sit about where we thought it would. The only real difference is the L we didn’t consider,” Rob said. “If I guess right, it will make the deck area larger.”

“Make sure the deck around the pool isn’t too small,” Kelly said.

“From what Greg said, the concrete pool deck will be about twelve feet on the side by the sunroom and deck and eight feet on the other three sides,” Rob said.

We finished our coffee while talking about the things we needed to do over the weekend. Kelly and Jenny said they were going to keep working on the garden. Jenny told Rob and me they wanted to have everything planted before Monday.

Rob and I decided to take the jeep and explore the new property. The girls went to the garden when Rob and I got up to leave. We went to the garage, started the jeep, and headed for the property. I drove out to the road and then to the gate of the adjacent land. The realtor had given us a key to the lock after we signed the paperwork.

The wide two-track dirt road wound through the woods. I took it slow so Rob and I could look around. When we reached the gravel trailer pad, I stopped. Rob and I got out of the jeep and began looking around.

Rob went to the pump house to get the map. Rolling it out on the hood of the Jeep, we began studying it. Rob pointed out the blinds and said, “We should take a look at these. If they need work, we’ll have to pick up materials.”

“These look like roads. I wonder if we can take the jeep on them,” I said.

“We can try. They may have been cut for ATVs or snowmobiles,” Rob said.

Rob and I took the jeep back into the woods. Before we got too far, the two-track narrowed. I parked the jeep and we started walking. A few hundred yards in, we found the first blind.

“This is okay, but not as nice as the blinds on your place,” Rob said as we stood in the blind. “It doesn’t have the rooftop area for bow hunting, but these openings are large enough you could shoot a bow from here.”

The four foot by four foot platform had a peaked roof over it. It was open on all four sides with a two foot wall. It wouldn’t provide much shelter from the elements, but according to Rob, it was usable.

Rob pointed out the shooting lanes from the blind. He said there wasn’t anywhere to plant a decent food plot, but it might not matter.

“I think the owner built this blind along a travel route. The deer move from where they bed to where they eat. I guess they must pass near here,” Rob said as he pointed to trails below us.

We climbed down and continued our exploration. The topology was hilly with large rocks jutting out of the earth. The forest was dense, with small openings and meadows. Rob and I crossed two small streams and then came upon a larger stream.

“I’ll bet this is the same stream running through your property,” Rob said.

“We’ll have to check the maps to see,” I replied.

A half hour later, we discovered the lake we’d seen in the aerial photo. Rob estimated the lake was over four hundred acres in size. Near the water, we spotted another blind. Rob and I checked it out, making sure it was sound.

“Look over there,” Rob whispered as he pointed at the shoreline of the lake.

I saw a very large black bear walking along the shore. After a moment, two cubs came out of the woods and followed the larger bear.

“Looks like a sow and her cubs. We’ll want to avoid them. A mother bear can get very vicious if she feels her cubs are threatened,” Rob said.

Rob and I watched the sow and her cubs as they meandered along the shoreline. The cubs played in the water while the sow drank. After a few minutes, the bears went back into the woods.

“I should start carrying a gun when we come out here,” Rob said. “It may come in handy if a bear decided to charge us.”

“Would you carry a handgun?” I asked.

Shaking his head, Rob said, “No, I would carry a slug gun. It’s a shotgun with a short barrel designed to shoot special slugs. A good slug gun is very accurate out to over a hundred yards and it hits hard. I have one at my parents’ house I plan to bring home when we go down for the graduations.”

“Do you think I should get one too?” I said.

“It’s up to you. If there are bears around here it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared. You can use the gun for deer too. I have been using slugs for deer for years. You can’t use high-power rifles in zone three. I also have a muzzle loader.”

“Do you have any high-power rifles?” I said.

“Yeah, I have a few. I own a twenty-two two-fifty Remington Seven Hundred. It’s a good varmint rifle. I also have a 30-06 Remington. Both of them are equipped with scopes. Besides those, I have a twenty-two rim fire and a Browning semiautomatic shotgun.” Rob chuckled. “My brother and dad have more guns than I do.”

“It sounds like your family owns an arsenal,” I said.

“Not really. All of our guns are for hunting. We aren’t into the military type weapons,” Rob replied.

“What do you think I should buy?” I asked. The idea of shooting and hunting became more appealing every time we talked about it.

“It depends on what you plan to do. You have a hunting oasis here, Justin. There are rabbits, partridge, woodcocks, ducks, turkeys, deer, bear, and other things to hunt. If you’re seriously considering becoming a hunter, you have to decide what you want to hunt. There is no sense in buying a varmint rifle if you don’t plan to hunt varmints,” Rob said.

“What kind of varmints do we have around here?” I said.

“I know there are coyotes and woodchucks,” Rob said.

“Do you hunt them just to kill them?” I said.

“No, I’d hunt them to control them. You can eat woodchucks, but I’ve never heard of anyone eating coyotes. The coyotes are predators. They kill and eat other game animals. There is a need for them, but because they don’t have any natural predators, they have to be controlled,” Rob said.

Rob and I climbed down from the blind. We walked along the trail, looking over the land I would soon own. Rob pointed out bright colored markers on some of the trees on the edge of the trail.

“It looks like the owner put blazes on the trails. It’s smart because it would be easy to get lost. When it gets dark, the woods all look the same,” Rob said.

“Maybe we should think about getting an ATV to use out here,” I said.

“It wouldn’t hurt. You have a lot of ground to cover now,” Rob said.

“What do you think about the raised blinds we’ve seen? Should we do anything with them?” I said.

“We don’t need to do anything yet, they’ll be fine for now. I would still like to put more on your eighty acres though. There are a few good places for food plots and blinds,” Rob said.

Rob and I worked our way back to the jeep. We discovered two more blinds and checked them for repair. Rob pulled out the map again and began looking at it.

Pointing at the map, Rob said, “Here is the first blind we saw. Here’s the lake and the other blind. You see those colored dots? They’re the same color as the blazes we saw on the trails. Whatever we do, we don’t want to lose this map,” Rob said.

“We should have it copied then,” I said. “There’s one of those places in town where we could have copies made.”

“I think it’s a great idea. Maybe we can get a county map and mark your property on it. When we have guests, we can give them a copy. It would be a good idea to carry a compass when we’re out here,” Rob said.

Reaching in my pocket, I pulled out my old Boy Scout compass. “I have one. I usually carry it with me when we head into the woods.”

Chuckling, Rob showed me his compass.

We left the property, locked the gate, and went back to the house. Rob and I found the girls working in the garden. While we listened to Kelly and Jenny telling us what they accomplished, we heard the sound of a tractor. I turned around and saw a man on a back-hoe driving around the barn.