Our new home!!

Thanks Meezer. I will pass that info on. My friend is just beside herself. She was lucky to pack a small travel trailer with her more prize posessions and went camping 10 hours away. She came back to nothing. What wasn't damaged from the storm was stolen or destroyed by vandals. She is now living in the 14' travel trailer in what was her front yard with a neighobr who has even less.

the land belongs to my parents. we bought the mobile home about 7 years ago, with the intentions of building on the lot at a later time. that didnt happen.

i think the sba loan comes in to play when the insurance falls short. according to the fema invesitgator, the house is totaled. i'm thinking that we'll be able to get an sba loan for the difference. all i want to do is pay off the mortgage. dad has told me that 2 or 3 people a DAY stop by and ask what our intentions are. i'm not sure how much equity, if any, we have in it, but at this point i'd be willing to give the mortgage company the entire check and them apply it to my mortgage and then sell the pos for the difference in payoff. my brother is interested and has offered to pay the difference, but i didnt have figures handy. not sure if he's found anything since.

push comes to shove, if i cant get the insurance company to readjust, we just may have to suck it up. the contents amount will cover the difference, or i can go after the sba loan and pay off the mortgage, at a much lower interest rate. at least i know that this mess isnt going to force me in to bankruptcy.

if i fix the house with the insurance money, i'm not getting ahead with the mortgage, and i wont be able to get payoff when i sell so i think it'll be easier just to endorse the check and send the entire thing to the mortgage company

I just am catching up. Jen, your house and barn are great! I love old barns. Hope your insurance will cough up the rest of it for you on the claim.

m5, you are not only funny but very smart. Every state has an insurance commission and you can complain to them and it causes a real pain for the insurance company. Let's face it, insurance companies are slime. You pay and pay to be insured and then you get nothing. IF you look up the definition of insurance, you find they should pay when you have a bona fide claim.

wanted to show pics of our snow http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/558759/

Great place, MSJen. I'll give you a year to get organized, then I expect you to host a Round-up with your new neighbors! How's 'bout Spring of '07???

Honestly, have you seen the number of upstate NY'ers we have now! Whoo-hoo! Welcome, my friend! Good to see you posting - and LOVE your barn and property! What fun you will have landscaping! I promise some Spiderwort, Hosta, and Lilacs come Spring. I think I'll get some Rose of Sharon and Hibiscus seeds started for you, too! Something to keep me going through the snow months!

Bless you!

MSJen,

So proud to see your new home. You made a 180 change, huh?
Brenda

He he he it's not QUITE 180 degrees different....more like what, 75??

COOUULLDD be 180 by late February! lol

Ditto the 180...+! I moved to NY from Florida, it's a whole 'nother planet! (And I've never regretted the decision. I LOVE the seasons! Hope Jen does, too!)

We just got back from Cornings Festival of Lights...28 degrees, lol..and i survived!!!
I'm really diggin' this stuff y'all, lol

Bless you, Jen! I moved up here from Florida, having spent the majority of my life in Southern California and Florida, and I've never regretted it! I LOVE the seasons, and I feel like I get reborn each Spring! I hope you will be as happy up here as I am. I do, howerever, wish I could steal you barn! Definitely cool!

MSJen ~ I've been hoping you would enjoy all the good stuff despite the cold!! and Sequee, I agree, I do love seasons....it will get old by March up here, but then you stay in and plan and read and get ready, because when spring comes you really have to hit the ground running.

Having lived in SF I learned that without seasons I get sloppy and procrastinate. The seasons enforce discipline and set limits!

(Oh, and give you excuses to sit in by the fire!!)

Very, true! Just like the earth, we get the opportunity to rest before the reawakening!

It also gives me the opportunity to catch up on all the housework that gets "bumped" during the summer months. Dust bunnies? I laugh! I have dust elephants by October!!!

LOL Sequee, I have dust elephants too, I just didn't know it!! And yes, the housework would not get done if I weren't stuck inside looking at it.

I get inspired to clean on the first nice day of spring (that is at least 50 degrees and sunny) so I can open all the windows, drag out rugs, wash curtains etc. And a nice day in fall after the gardens are done, I also will get inspired. I didn't get my windows done this fall, luckily it should get up into the 50's next week and I'll be able to clean them before winter to get as much light in as possible!

Ditto, d - I think we're on the same schedule, though I usually do the windows in Spring. Your system makes more sens, though. Sounds like an excellent REASON to put them off this Spring and do them NEXT fall, LOL!

We went out looking for property lines today, stupid stupid, especially when you come across trespassing armed hunters : (

anyway, found numerous streams back there, and in the streams and on the banks i found tons of "something". they kinda look like an elephant ear when they are first emerging. ...doubt if they are this time of year tho. They were coming up out of the snow and ice. Any ideas?

My guess is what we call skunk cabbage but I don't know its real name now that I think about it. Next year post your borders before hunting season, and good luck. Sometimes it takes people awhile to catch on.

Well durn, i thought for sure that it was an exotice, endangered orchid or something, lol

MSJen - I just bumped an old thread of mine. See IDENTIFICATION Forum, Weeds, #2. See if this is the same. I think it's gorgeous, myself - alas - it's a very invasive weed. (I still like it though... As long as you have the space for it, why not enjoy it's beauty? It looks so pretty at every stage and shows wonderfull flowers in the late summer.)

watch out for your horses during hunting season! We actually had an arrow hit one
of ours when I was a child. Mom would not let us ride during hunting season & kept
the horses in the barn.

The hunters do keep the deer population at bay - which is a really good thing if you
are a gardener!

Tam

I used to let hunters on my land until I found they shot at everything that moves, including songbirds and one of my dogs was shot just behind the front leg, barely missed her heart.

Don't know WHY I didn't think to post about hunting before.
You need to quickly get hunter orange hats and possibly coats if they're out near you hunting.
Collars or scarves in hunter orange for the horses would not be a bad idea.
Here in Ohio Hunter Orange vests or camouflage are mandatory for hunters.

We always put on orange hats and vests and for the dogs vests when we go hiking.

I hunted for many years. I've seen dogs, horses, cows, goats and people hit by mistake by STUPID hunters.
I say STUPID because no hunter w/ any intelligence would even acquire a target w/o knowing for sure what it is, let alone actually shoot.

Post your land.
The Wildlife Officers in your area should be more than happy to help you w/ the regs on that chore
Also find the rules for NY and make sure they are being followed in your area.
Leagal hours are usually sunup to sundown by the almanac.
If you see or hear abuse......
Don't try to run anyone off, just call the cops.
It's your land and if posted they will be fined for trespassing.
Here in Ohio your arms AND vehicle can be taken in some circumstances too.

The season still has weeks to go so keep an eye out.

Ric

Its not posted yet ; (, but will be come spring.

I seem to be suffering anxiety attacks over this. Since this morning i've worked myself in to a snit. I'm so afraid of making these people mad, i dont want them to retaliate and intentionally accidentally shoot us or the horses.

The best i can gather the "wolf pack" has been hunting these woods for years, i'm sure somewhere in their mind they are thinking "who in the heck do they think they are telling me i can't hunt here anymore"

I dont think i wouldve minded too much if they would have been way back there, our property goes 800+ feet deep, but i found day, or so, old tracks that came up through the clearing, went over the footbridge and back out through the other side...these people were smack dab in our backyard.

It will be hard to enforce. Obviously the people to the left, right and behind of us allow it. Heck, am i even going to be able to control it? Its truely not so much the hunting that bothers me, its the wayward bullets and bows and the disrespect that so many people exhibit nowadays.

I saw ALOT of tracks back there and i'm sure they did too. There is a makeshift tarp thing back there that i still cant figure out. I have no intentions of going back there again until after 12/20, but dang it, i shouldnt have to be afraid!!

The tarp thing is probably a blind.
I'd post the land and call Fish and Game.
Look into fencing the whole thing this Spring.

Has anyone been living on the property before you guys got there?
Sounds like it's become a stomping ground in recent years.
If they show up again call the law.
It's your place and there is no reason for you to not enjoy ALL of it.

As for the people around you, well that's their business.
Just because they allow hunting has no bearing on you.
I wouldn't allow it either and I hunted a big part of my life.
Have you met the neighors yet?


Ric

MSJen - Post a note/ad in the local newspaper that your property is now posted and off limits for hunting. Be sure to give a good description of just which property to avoid confusion. Check with someone at the paper office as to the best way to get the most visibility. Maybe a large print ad on the sports page. It will probably get the message out a lot quicker than small signs every 100 feet along the boundry. That will give you more power over violaters.
ginni

I should have said the neighbor to the left owns the field and connecting woods next to us, but his house it about 1/2 mile up on the other side of the road. Best i can gather thats pretty typical around here with the old farmsteads. I havent met the neighbor to the right yet.
Randy, the guy we bought the house from is an OTR driver who was never home. I've heard that he was quite the party guy and that the barn was his workshop and the local bar. He let the guy across the road overwinter his harley in it and also let other people put there stuff in it. I'm guessing everything was okay with him. He probably didnt know, or care, about the hunting.

You might want to get to know your neighbors well enough to talk to them about this.
Having them on your side will be a big help in ensuring those hunters understand
your point of view.

Tam

I think Tammy's right. Hunter's are so dismayed at losing more and more areas where they hunt, just like I have had to give up fishing in so many streams because of private developement. The reason: so many fishermen leave trash everywhere. Worm containers, beer and softdrink cans, and food wrappers.However, in my favorite spot, I met and discussed fishing on a little stream that ran through his property and he allowed us to go back.
Perhaps you just post areas of human and horse activities and leave the back part of the property open to the hunters.

Slugs are getting more accurate, but hunters are not. Some slugs can travel up to 200 accurate yards before losing their velocity. Am i saying that right? So if my property is only 800 ft from road to back fence, thats only 266 yards, and if a slug is accurate to 200, if the intended target is missed how much further will it travel before it hit something or grounds out? I could put up a sign that said shoot ONLY north to south, i might be alright with it, but seeming as tho deer are on the move i doubt if that would be heeded. We plan on putting out the no trespassing/posted signs, but i also am trying to devise some sort of sign that lets them know that there are active children and livestock with 500 ft of posted signs.

There may be a 20 ft or so line of trees that boarders our woods and the clearing behind it. Not sure if i can explain this: We live on Reeds Corners, the road to the south and west of us is Tucker, it has 2 90 degree turns, which brings it directly behind our house. We own 800 feet back in to this "block" which brings it within 20 feet of the clearing that is on Tucker. So in a sense, we own the majority of the woods. The guy to the south of us owns a cleared field and the man who allowed the men to hunt his land owns the woods that meet up to ours, but when you take in to consideration the depth of the field next to us, i dont see how the "permission giver" had much land for his friends to hunt on.
I know this seems really confusing. I dont think i have enough zanax to get me through the next 3 weeks, lol I think once we get it cleared and fenced, it'll change. Imagine their surprise when they get jolted with hot-wire, eh? lol

I hope that our neighbors will understand our stance and respect that.

Most neighbors do understand. Just be nice and make friends as you would anywhere else. You will probably need the zanax the rest of this season, but I'm sure things will improve before the next round. Hang in there. Most hunters are good folk who respest the law, and hunt responsibly.

LOL! If they don't heed the signs the jolt will be deserved! I've been jolted before! It's not too bad! LOL

I haven't really said anything but I am in the same boat as you on this one. Different times of the day, there are hunters out on the land behind me. Conveniently there is a pass through back there that a local farmer has used for years to cut through to a property he rents back there. I think others use it too. Anyway, I see and hear them back there. Some wear orange vests and some don't. It does not worry so much that they hunt, that it does that I do not know if they are mature and intelligent hunters. Hubby joked about us having to wear orange vests to go out in the back yard. I laughed about it but...

I did put up a "no trespassing, hunting, fishing blah blah blah" sign out front but think I'll put some in the back too. I may also look for some of those "children at play" signs as well. I can sure as heck post them on the trees I own. I really don't have a problem with hunters and hope they eat what they kill but I have no control over that part. I surely do not want stray bullets coming for a visit!

Jenks, youre funny, lol. So far, i havent been zapped once, but, i know well enough that there will be a first time, lol.

Michele, i found a wealth of info on the ny DEC site..signs have to be posted xxx apart, certain size, blah blah....not sure if they would vary state to state, but be sure to check ohio's. The laws here differ a little for maintained and unmaintained lands. If something is kept up, trespassing is ANY breach of property lines, if its unmaintained, such as woods, etc, its not trespassing unless it posted. The group here has been wonderful offering suggestions and leading me in directions that i never would've thought of.

Is the pass through on your land?

Chele if they are hunting they MUST wear orange.
Phone em in.

As I said before put on the orange.
Dogs and kids look like deer...........
Shotguns must be used in Ohio but the slugs still carry a long way.


We have taken airhorns w/ us too.
Nothing T's off hunters more than an airhorn blast.
Well there was that time we loosened the bolts on a deer stand at the Nature Center..................

Ric

Oh, do tell, Ric, lol

We found a well consealed commercial stand in the woods inside the Park.
So I climbed up and took out the platform holding bolts.
These are put in while it's on the ground usually.
I then climbed down the tree rather than us the ladder.
Took the bolts and pitched them.
When we came back a few days latter the stand was dangling upside down from the tree.
I'm assuming the hunter was dumped quite rudely while he was going up.
I told the ranger a few weeks later.
He got a big laugh.
He said they destroy at least a stand a week.

They bring in commercial bow hunters here to clean out the over-populated parks.
On an unannouced weekday they come in and hunt while the park is closed.
The deer are dressed and given to the free food banks.

If deer become a problem there you might consider a one weekend bow hunt.
Have a Lottery.
Give the money to a charity.
Like Jen's Free Horse Foodbank! lol

Ric

Here we have to post a sign every 100 feet. That will vary from state to state, but I also like the idea of the "children at play" signs.

Ric, surely you jest?? Are you telling me to wear an orange vest in the yard? You know darn well that I wear shorts and a sports bra period! Well, if it gets cool, I do put on a tank top. I do not own one single pair of shorts that are going to look good with an orange hunting vest. And think of the tan lines!! :P

Jen, I have looked at the hunting sites many times as well as the wildlife ones. Strangely enough, I wanted to see what kind of critters would be here before I moved here. LOL Maybe I should read a bit deeper.

ROTFLMAO!