The State Of Under The Crow

First of all, I know many have asked why we named this property Under The Crow. We named it before we got here based on maps and names of streams and landmarks. But there is more to it than that. And in about the three weeks, we are going to dive into the physical maps and papers and history we received from the former owners. We haven’t even looked at them yet. Because we want to do it in real time with you. So stay tuned.

But I wanted to go into a little bit on the state of Under The Crow right now.  We have been here for almost two months now. And we have not only worked really hard on a few projects. But we have been basically trying to survive on a daily basis. This is as new to us as it is to you. And it’s a learning process. Sometimes, we figure things out quickly. Most of the time, we don’t.

A week after we got here and had decided to stay here while we worked on it, Brickle passed away. Obviously, having a dog like Brickle in your life for over 15 years and then losing them is beyond devastating. I can’t put into words the emotions and physical pain that has went with this loss. But Brickle got us here. And it’s our responsibility to honor him by restoring his house. And then, in the future, using it to help animals in some way. We are still figuring that out.

So far, we have got basic solar power to supply our limited daily needs like a refrigerator, lights and a fan. We have a camping stove with two burners that work good. We have two pots and pans. And four real glasses. And wooden utensils. We have water from our waterfall for washing dishes and cleaning and a solar shower bag outside. We have a compost toilet outside. And all of this has been challenging. Very. Very challenging. We have an air mattress camping bed and Fruitycake has a real bed. That’s how it should be. We now have pillows instead of shirts. And a blanket. And sheets. We have a portable washing machine that is supposed to arrive next week after being delayed twice. And we are working so so hard on getting a temporary solution to showers and water with a cistern and a propane powered hot water heater. It’s not a permanent solution. Because we have to replace all the plumbing and pipes, which are lead, we don’t have enough time to do that before the cold and rain.

We have been traveling to school in a town about half an hour away by car three times a week. Because we are not legal residents yet, we cannot buy a car. And so a rental car has been helping us with transport. But we need to save money and so we have returned that for now. We walk, take buses and the train. They have a good system. Although we haven’t figured it out yet. Day by day.

We have an Italian test on September 18th. And we have to pass. We have to. In order to get our student visas to stay, we have to pass. And yet, results take three months to get. And it’s a big debacle right now. We will get more into that this week. We had to get to Italy with Brickle and Fruitycake when Bark Air offered to fly us at no charge. We had to make the rest work to get Brickle to his house. And we did. And he did. But now…it’s complicated!

This week, we plan to order a new toilet and bidet. And get the temporary plumbing ready for warm showers. Stay tuned to our YouTube Channel for all the dirt. The mud. It all.

I feel like in some ways, we have accomplished a lot. But in some ways, hardly anything at all…because we have so much more to do. But I will tell you this. It may sound dramatic, but I am dramatic. This house has saved us. Brickle got us here because he knew we couldn’t go on normally without him. He gave us a job. He’s given us a purpose all of his life. And he continues to do so now.

We don’t know what’s going to happen with our test and if we will have to leave here for a couple months legally soon. But we will figure it out. We can do this. We know that this is going to be hard. But I feel like we were meant to be here. I feel like perhaps another dog is waiting on us or is going to need us soon. And even more dogs who can continue Brickle’s legacy. But for now, we are attempting to also live in the moment. We are appreciating spoiling Fruitycake and helping him figure out his purpose too. We hope you’ll stay with us.

-Rachael

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