Getting started with my mom & dad

Putting up the sign at Timber Butte Ranch.

When I dug the hole for the first root cellar (Better known as the Hole) on the old ranch I used a pick and shovel. The ground was hard and laden with granite boulders, some the size of truck tires. I was younger then and was living on two hundred dollars a month. Here at Timber Butte I hired my friend Tom Gatfield to excavate the pit with his backhoe. Much better! When the pit was level I set a normal foundation and framed and sheeted a small storage room. I also framed and sheeted a short hallway leading to the room using old railroad timbers. This root cellar would have two doors; an exterior door built out of 2X12’s and an inner door.This would give me better insulation qualities when everything was buried several feet beneath the ground.My dad helped me frame and sheet the walls on his ninetieth birthday while my mom supervised with Jenny and Lily our two labs. I’ve got to say that my parents are amazing people. Throughout all the years that Nancy and I have been doing these kinds of projects they have been both cheerleaders and workforce. My dad taught me basic carpentry skills and to value hard work when I was a very young boy and we’ve been building things ever since. It makes life rich having a family that enjoys doing stuff together. [More on building the root cellar tomorrow.]