The original purchase of the house included 8 acres. Since we planned to live on the property and grow grapes, to qualify for an ag exception, we needed at least 10 acres. We worked with the seller and were able to purchase an additional 3 acres.
Shortly after moving in, we decided to explore our new property. The only thing that we knew about the land was what we had seen on google maps and since Brian and I had spent most of our lives in the suburbs, having acreage was exciting. We couldn’t wait to see what we would find!
We decided to start our investigation of the land by the barn and walk the property’s perimeter. As we walked through the tall grass to the barn, we were hit by hundreds of flying grasshoppers. I remember the first time our granddaughters came to check out the place, they didn’t want to leave the house the grass hoppers were so bad.
Getting to the barn was the easy part. Finding the fence line of the property was nearly impossible. We encountered mesquite trees, cactus, and multiple barbed wire fences. Walking the property was more like trying to get through a maze filled with thorns, needles, and barbs. As we ducked under, stepped over, and went around, we made some interesting discoveries. Some of our favorites were a school bus with a 1963 license plate, a 50’s truck bed, a spool of 1” rusted cable, an old Chevy hood, multiple gates, and old farm implements. We have plans to repurpose many of these pieces to bring some fun and unique elements into our winery.
The 80’s Dodge party van, pontoon boat base, and a huge box trailer were not such great finds and will have to be removed to prepare the land for the vineyard.
Once some of the obstacles are out of the way, we look forward to walking the property with a metal detector. We know that there is a lot more to find!
