New Homestead

[Ranch Dog]

Moving to a "new" place ??????????????? Whut the.....

Yep, I sold the ranch; I'm tired of working all the time and don't have the energy to keep up with it anymore. I always had planned to be gone by '70; I've seen my neighbors get old on their places and end up stuck and wore out early, that's not for me. I will be 67 this year and figure my stint in the hospital with COVID took about 18 months off of me, so, yeah, I'm ready. The daily stuff that happens around here is not equaling the fun of shooting stuff or being out here.

The new place is immediately outside of Victoria but remote. I'm actually moving into a gated community with only eleven homes, each having 7 acres. The place we bought is at the back; the home cannot be seen from the road that goes through the community, and we have a private paved road up to the home. Here's our place.









Yep, it has wildlife...





Enough deer that it has a deer-prove fenced garden.

[AlaskanGuy]

can you shoot on the place??? also, hunt?? not sure is 7 acres is enough for firearms range..

the place looks Park like. no hogs? and wheres the reloading room going? how are the bugs?

is the green shop like building a shop or a hanger for your plane?

[larryw]

Sweet, beautiful place RD. Is the pond yours or community ?

[Ranch Dog]

can you shoot on the place??? also, hunt?? not sure is 7 acres is enough for firearms range..

the place looks Park like. no hogs? and wheres the reloading room going? how are the bugs?

is the green shop like building a shop or a hanger for your plane?

I'm not going to shoot on the place. Given the setting, I don't think seven acres is enough land. In Texas, there is a law concerning trespass by a projectile. You cannot let a bullet or arrow cross a property line. It can become a very big deal and it is easier to prove than you think, especially in an area with a lot of trees or brush. If convicted, it is a Felony plus all the baggage that comes with that. It's not worth it.

I've not seen any sign of hogs, none, which is fine by me as I am tired of them. No bugs. The green barn is just that.

The reloading room will be in the house. My hangar is 10 minutes away. I will shoot at my FFLs place, a private range, it is 10 minutes away as well.

Sweet, beautiful place RD. Is the pond yours or community ?

Thanks Larry. The pond is ours.

[horseman]

MOST EXCELLENT RD. Been thinking the same thing but less land. 30 minute riding lawnmower big. I'm 74, still going pretty good but was having a discussion just a couple days ago with a pal I do a lot of "stuff" with. Asked him why it seems like everything we do is a project? He helps me, I help him type thing. He say's don't know but it seems like there's no end to it. Time for a change I'm thinking. HOWEVER with the current events and state of affairs as they are I can't help but think I may be better of to just stay up in the hills where I am. Decisions, decisions. Nice place you have there.

[Ranch Dog]

I hear you, Horseman, same considerations for me. This place seems a bit more self-sufficient than the ranch. I've never been able to garden out here because of the deer and hogs; that deer fenced garden is also irrigated, all the earth was removed, and mushroom dirt filled the hole. I had to look that one up. It has two wells, and next to the garden is a 45KW Generac with all the bells and whistles. If push comes to shove, I would have a problem killing a deer.

The cost of operating the ranch makes as simply a place to hunt mediocre whitetails (by Texas standards) make no sense. In 16 years, there has been only a couple that hit the mid 140 BC. That was fine while all the family hunted, but with all now out of State and the cost of an NR license being $315, it's not going to work anymore. The cost of the hunting operation is no longer worth the deer hunting. I am interested in hunting large South Texas whitetails or desert mule deer, and I'm looking at possibilities with that.

As far as mowing, that definitely was a consideration. I've got about an acre and a half of yard, and it will not need a push/propelled mower. I'm keeping my Kubota B2650; I will be able to cut 100% of the yard from the air-conditioned cab!


As of today, all my farm equipment other than this tractor has been sold. It is amazing how much money I had tied up in equipment. It would have bought a very nice house. I do have two trailers and will sell both when the move is over.

[larryw]

'Ya done good Michael !! Beautiful new place, A/C in the tractor, can't wait on the
loading room reveal???

[AlaskanGuy]

yea... me too.. wondering about how that personal bar/loading room is gunna work out..

[9x80Drilling]

RD, wonderful change you've made. Congratulations.
Sorry you can't comfortably shoot on the new place. At least you do not have to drive a long ways to a range. Here in Colorado we still shoot from the porch or wherever we happen to be on the 3 acres. Neighbors just holler, "Did you get 'em?"
That pond catches my eye. I have a 1/4 acre pond with many fish species in it. I actually spend lots of time on a very good forum PondBoss.com. It is a group of intelligent, respectful pond lovers very much like your two forums. Take a look over there; you just might find the place of interest to you. Many of the posters are professional pond managers and are free with their knowledge for all us pondmeisters. My forum handle is 4CornersPuddle.
AS a tree guy, my eye caught all those magnificent oaks on your new place, too.

[Fyodor]

Wow! Amazing!