The Fry Ranch

If any of you folks outside of Arizona have been watching the news, you’ve seen that we were bombarded with rain in January. Fortunately for us, we got our gutters, scupper boxes and downspouts installed just before the deluge. We didn’t have time to get our ditches dug for drainage pipe before the rain hit, but we were able to make a temporary drainage system, which Steve refers to as “The Alaskan Pipeline.”

We also didn’t have time to hook up our water harvesting tanks or paint some of the downspouts so that they blend in with the stucco color. Steve did, however, temporarily install our rain chains – in the rain. They’re these neat, decorative metal cups that funnel the rain into collection tanks. In one instance, we’ll have a rain chain go to the ground and empty into some river rock (because that overhang is so small, we wouldn’t collect much water anyway).

The goal is to use harvested roof rainwater from the four tanks around the house – to water plants, clean porches, etc. Any overflow from those tanks will be piped down to larger tanks in the ‘pecan grove,’ which we will use to water our pecan trees. Okay … so we don’t have the larger tanks yet, nor have we planted the pecan trees. Oh – and we haven’t hooked up the underground pipes that connect all the tanks together either. But that’s the future plan!

Enjoy our photos that display all the gadgets that will keep rain away from the house. Next step: trenching and painting some downspouts. And probably some cultured stone to go around our porch posts. And if you missed our spiral staircase install, check it out.

P.S. – During gutter installation, we were standing outside taking photos when we witnessed a U.S. Customs air chase (per one of the sheriffs Steve works with). Apparently the newest thing is to drop drugs low to the ground from planes coming out of Mexico. See our video of two Cessna Citations in hot pursuit – following so closely that they can’t be detected by the first plane’s pilot!

It’s hard to believe another year has flown by, but when we look back through our photos, it becomes a little more real. Especially when we look outside and realize we went from a hole in the ground on Oct. 7, 2008, to a Tvyek-covered structure with porch overhangs exactly a year later. So – as you can imagine, the majority of 2009 was spent working with drill guns, air nailers, spray foam and 2×6s.

We are thrilled to have met our goal of “drying in” the house. That means we have a stucco-covered, fully roofed and windowed house (that is also framed on the interior). Completing the porch overhangs was one step beyond what we hoped to accomplish, and on Dec. 21, our spiral staircase was installed.

While it was an exciting year with building progress, we also enjoyed visits from my mom, dad and nephew, and Steve’s brother and sister-in-law, Mike and Millie, from New Jersey. As usual, we saw our normal host of desert dwellers – javelina, mule deer, hummingbirds and coyotes. But we also had the excitement of baby roadrunners nesting in our new garage, and a large rattlesnake that Steve grazed with the screen door, inadvertently ripping off his rattle (see blog below). We also were fortunate to have the help of wonderful friends and family in Mammoth, Phoenix, Denver – and from Pennsylvania – who helped with our construction efforts.

The year ended, however, on a sad note, as we had to say our final goodbyes to our girl, Chloe. She literally walked into Steve’s life 14 years ago as a stray, so the decision to let her go, after trying to fight her congestive heart failure, was truly devastating. We miss her terribly, but are forever grateful for the years of joy she brought us.

Please feel free to read-up on some of our previous blogs if you weren’t able to keep up during the year. And leave a comment in one of our blogs, use our contact page, watch our videos, or check out our photo gallery. Have a great 2010.