We sold Craft Company No.6 in January of 2014 and arrived at Houndhill on February second. No more leaving to work at the store for the holiday season and periodically throughout the year. North Carolina is now our full-time residence. We will still visit Rochester frequently to visit family and friends and take care of our rental properties. A layer of white covered Houndhill for our arrival. 

The snow didn't last very long and we able to resume our afternoon walks up into the old apple orchard. 

March was here before we knew it. The dogs were very happy to spend more time outside on the great lawn.

Angel and her kids spent quite a bit of time here in the spring. I put out an old smoker base filled with corn for them. Ernie did his best to chase them away but the deer became pretty used to the dogs and the dogs to the deer. 

We had another late snow at the end of March which happens almost every year. We have even had snow in April but never lasts long. 

The first outdoor project of the season was to put in a stone patio by the cabin. We decided to hire a stone mason this time instead of doing it ourselves but we needed to get the site prepared. 

This is my little raised garden that is above where the stone patio will go and below the upper deck. Sprouting in the background are the ferns. The next step was flattening and putting down sand and gravel where the stone will be laid. Gary also needed to stain the outside of the cabin porch before the masons came. Don't you think he looked pretty "hot" in his Tyvek suit?

Below are some scenes of late spring and early summer. 

Carolina blue sky. Beautiful!

I ordered online for new red Adirondack chairs for the upper deck. Gary did much cursing assembling them. But they look great. 

This lizard found a nice warm spot on an old rusty shovel that I used as a garden accent.

Strawberries grow along the road up to the barn. Asparagus produce enough for Gary and I but not prolific. Center photo show my pole beans that will grow up on the the stick tripods. Radish and beets are early veggie delights.

Finally it was time for the stone masons to lay the patio. Some pieces were so big that Gary had to help with the tractor.

The patio is a success!

I like to pick most things while they're small and tender, but you can't beat a stuffed zucchini! 

After finishing off the patio we got several loads of road bond stone for the driveway. These roads need constant maintenance. 

Cool how this vine found and grew threw that little hole on bird sculpture. Amazing spider web below. 

That lowest level will be the primary part of Gary's studio. Small enough to insulate and heat in winter. The machines he uses most will go here and less used above. We moved my pool up here after finishing off the studio. Great view from up here. 

Gary and our neighbor Colby in our new UTV (Utility Task Vehicle. We decided we needed one of these for pleasure and for gardening. Using my mower to pull a garden cart has taken a tole on it and it no longer will pull uphill. So this will be my garden cart.  

The finishing touch for the patio was a fire pit. 

We had a metal building built around the bus. The elements, especially the sun was destroying the paint job. Gary added a lean-to garage on the parking lot side for the UTV and Honda.

We took a UTV ride up to the top of the mountain in the orchard with Colby. The 360 degree view from up there is amazing and you can see mountains in Tennessee. That's our "holler" in the photo above.  ou

2014 was our first Christmas at Houndhill. It was fun to decorate. 

It was warm enough on New Year's Eve to enjoy a beer outside. 

Click the link to move onto . . . 2015