Sh*t's Deep Acres

07/09/2024

I know they say cast iron cookwear lasts forever, but this may be pushing it.

Another discovery on the property. This was found in the shed we dismantled last weekend.

**tsdeepacres

07/07/2024

We uncovered a new friend during our cleanup day!

06/19/2024

Today was the roof painting!

We know so many people were eager for us to do SOMETHING with the roof once the barn renovations were done.
We were actually contracted with the painters since last November, but "good things come to those who wait:" we needed to wait our turn for the barn renovations and the painting, the renovations needed to be completed before the painting could happen, and the weather slowed both down a lot.

Now hopefully this being done will end the solicitors stopping by to offer their services, some from as far away as South Carolina! 😂

**tsdeepacres

06/18/2024

Some big, highly anticipated things are happening this week, and something tells me the rumor mill and gossips will be quite pleased! 😂

I won't ruin the surprise, but keep your eyes peeled. 👀

In the meantime, enjoy these photos of our work day on Saturday. We cleared a stretch at the top of the bank by the stream. We're getting into areas that we've never seen mowed off, so we really don't know what we're going to find.

In this area, in addition to the normal stuff like fallen trees and rocks, we also found old bricks, concrete slabs, cinder blocks, a hinge to an old car roof, old decorative wire fencing, glass, terracotta, an empty tube of either paint or haircolor, shotgun shells, various springs, barbed wire, and a wasp nest (🙋‍♀️ I found that, ouch). We cleared about 200ft and were pleasantly surprised that the terrain wasn't as bad as we thought.

We also found this dead tree that is still trying to nurture new life by allowing a small seed to germinate inside.

If you're interested in being a part of the cleanup crew, we will be hosting a volunteer day (or 2 or 3) in the upcoming weeks.
It won't be glamorous work, but we would love to see some of the remaining pens and fences get cleared out so that we can get ready to bring the animals to their new forever home.
If you'd like to stay informed on when these days will be, please follow our other page: Short & Curlies Animal Rescue & Sanctuary

06/04/2024

Since we looked at this place, we've been eyeballing these wires (phone and internet). They started across the road, and sagged so low on our side that they actually rested on another line. We almost accidentally took them down when we had the trees brought in, since they cross the farm road/driveway.

I've tried fighting with the telephone company, who we don't use and will never use again (I will use messenger pigeons before we go back to that company), and finally gave up. But I've been fighting with the internet company for a few weeks now. For some reason they'd issue a work order, and then cancel it 1-3 minutes after it was created. But today the tech showed up and between him and the bucket truck operator, they got it done! 🎉

Now we no longer need to worry about moving trucks or machinery over that road and having an Oops Moment.

And as a side note: if you drive this stretch of 34, please drive safe. We see 👀 so much insanity on a daily basis. And today, these poor guys were working as fast as they could, in the sun and the heat, and still almost got creamed by a few vehicles, especially a big construction material delivery truck who didn't even slow down when the vehicle in front of him slowed for the guys.

**tsdeepacres

06/03/2024

Every time I think we have mowed down the grass enough to find everything that has been hidden, we find more gifts from past owners. This weekend we found this almost brand new fishing net 😂 and the metal door to a small plastic animal crate that is long gone.

This is why it's taking so long to get things under control outside.
We can't just go in and mow (or even weedwack) because there has been so much hidden in the weeds that could destroy a mower or tractor. (We learned this the hard way when we mowed over a roll of fencing that was completely hidden.)

It was as if when anything was used by the one previous owner, instead of taking it back to the barn, house, or a shed when he was done, he just dropped it wherever it was. Rakes, shovels, hoses, lattice, wire, fencing, gates, crates, buckets, bird waterer, animal feeders, and anything in between... It's all be lost and found in the weeds.

And because of all the circumstances leading up to and surrounding the sale of the property, even though an attempt was made to mow, so much was overlooked or already hidden by the time that happened.

05/29/2024

The past few days we did some yard work. Trying to get everything back on track so it's manageable again. Mike's on the tractor and I'm following behind with the push mower on the fence lines.

And it's been hot... So hot.

So at one point, we took a break and I laid down on the front porch and looked up at the ceiling that's mid-paint-job.

Why was the ceiling blue at one point??

Under the white paint, there's blue paint showing through...

05/25/2024

Ok, ok. I hear we're in the doghouse for not updating the page recently. We've had a lot going on away from the farm, and now that the weather's gotten nice, it feels like we have so many projects going on at the farm, that I have no clue what to post.

So we'll start with this project: Trees.

If you see us outside in the Fields after dusk, chances are we've been waiting for it to cool down so we can plant trees.

When we first looked at this property, it was early in the season and we saw a lot of standing trees. It was one of our perks, because shade is a high priority for us and our purposes.
What we didn't realize, until things should have started to turn green, was that almost everything was dead, dying, and/or walnut. And if you're familiar with walnuts and their messes, you understand. In an effort to find food, the previous goats and other animals devoured the bark off the trees.
Over the past year, the trees have fallen faster than we could take them down. They've done a number on the fencing and gates.

Even the one, Big non-walnut, the maple tree in the front yard, needs to come down. In their efforts to tap the tree for sap, the previous owners killed part of it, and the power line runs right through the middle of it. 😔

Oh and enjoy the last 2 pictures, which were of the stump of an old tree that was cut down before us that Mike dug out, and the hole it came out of. See how many strands of baling twine you can count. 😂 There is baling twine ALL over this property.

Now... Tell me what you want to see or hear about. Ask us the questions about the place that you want to know. Tell me the kind of updates you want to read on this page.

04/21/2024

One of the first questions everyone asks is "what happened to all the animals?"

Almost all of the animals were safely placed in various rescues and sanctuaries.

When we took over the property, there were 2 cats, 3 Guineafowl, and 1 goose named Zippy left on the property.

We had agreed to keep the birds, but the cats were supposed to be going with their owner, so we found a safe indoor home for the 2 cats. Being so close to Rt 34 was a constant worry, and one day, that worry became a reality. Sugar was hit. He disappeared for a while, but finally reappeared. We had him vetted, and aside from some road rash, the vet said he'd likely have a permanent limp, but no breaks or serious injuries. We stay in touch, and they both adjusted well to their cushy new life.

Zippy was originally supposed to go to a sanctuary with his friends, but the day the birds were being caught, Zippy zipped off and didn't return until we took over. We had agreed to let her stay with us, but after seeing her stand or sit on her straw bale in the dark every night, looking for her friends, we knew we had to do something. We reached out to our friend who helped organize this massive rescue to see if she remembered where her friends went, and to find out if they would be willing to take Zippy if we could catch her.
Sweet Peace Farm Sanctuary said they absolutely would take her, so we made it happen.

The 2 of the 3 Guineas are still here. The first Fall, an owl came to the property and took out the one Guinea. The other 2 know that this is their place and make it painfully obvious to us humans that they rule the roost.

There's numerous other flying critters around including:
-a red tail hawk who escaped his trainer and decided he liked the area. He evaded his trainer, so he was released. We haven't seen him for a while, but he pops around occasionally.
-a few eagles along the creek
-and a whole bunch of bats.

**tsdeepacres

04/01/2024

Did you know Santa was storing his stockpile for the nautghy boys and girls at Sh*t's Deep?

**tsdeepacres

I just realized that my last 2 massive photo-dumps of the barn construction never posted. I'm so sorry. I'm going to try AGAIN today to get the photos uploaded. Plus all the new ones.

I guess that's a good thing to do on a rainy Monday. 🤷‍♀️

03/28/2024

When you need just a little extra weight to get out some imperfections.

We've been getting asked a lot about who's doing our work.
Most (if not all) of the interior stuff is being done by Mike and his friend here.
We've rented some equipment that we don't have ourselves, but they've been supplying all the elbow grease.

**tsdeepacres

03/28/2024

I didn't take great before or after photos of this one, but check out the refinished floors in the parlor! 😍

**tsdeepacres

03/25/2024

The second room we actually finished was the downstairs bathroom.

Priorities. 😅

Normally, we would have made sure to have a working bathroom before anything else, but this room made us want to drag our feet.

It took the most cleaning.
Even the lady who helped us clean the house when we first bought the property dreaded it. Every day she came, she'd spray it with a disinfectant and let it sit while she cleaned other rooms.

And for context, I'm not sure if it makes it better or worse, but that is goat 💩, not human. Apparently, there were bottle-babies being kept in this room, but no surprise around here: "s**t is always happening."

But ultimately, it's done. And that's the important thing.

**t **tsdeepacres

03/24/2024

We had a request for some photos of the house, so I'm going to throw out this before and after of the first room we actually totally finished!

The master bedroom.

Almost all the walls in the house had some degree of smoke buildup on them from fires in the chimneys or kitchen, so everything looked a dingy grey and/or black. It was in the vents, the light fixtures, everywhere. So before we could start on any room, everything needed stripped out, washed and cleaned, sealed with Killz, and then the fun could begin.

Needless to say, it's all been a slow process.

**tsdeepacres

03/02/2024

The picture from Tues was the stuff they had delivered to start the barn!

Unfortunately due to the weather, things got pushed back. But today they got started!

So enjoy this photo dump from the work today.

We dug down the dirt floor to get it level, and so they could jack up the barn floor. They started taking the siding off and marking things for the next step(s).

And I said it on my personal page months ago, but I'll say it publicly: if you drive by and honk, let us know who you are! 🤣 We wave, but we want to put a face and name with a vehicle! I don't mind waving to strangers, but it's more fun when we know who you are!

03/01/2024

03/01/2024

It's starting!

02/29/2024

Never know what you're going to find buried out here.

02/29/2024

Flashback to last month, when we were staining and sealing the floor in the first bathroom (the worst room in the house). Only to realize when we were all done, standing outside the door, admiring the work, that we left the fan turned on and plugged in in the window on the opposite side of the room...



Sorry guys, the rain delayed our reveal of yesterday's post. I'm told it'll be Friday or Monday. 🤞🤞

02/27/2024

🤔

02/24/2024

Over the past week we took on one of the big (read: HUGE) projects that we needed to do.

Cleaning Out The Barn.

Specifically, the bottom part.

The very first time we set foot on the property, we got to see the barn. We weren't able to view the house at that time, so we spent most of our visit trying to really check things out in the barn. We knew it was a big project. It's a safe assumption that the barn had not been mucked out since 2014, when the previous owners bought the place. We couldn't really see concrete anywhere, but our best guess was that there was about 18" of 💩 and straw that was solid as rock, covering the entire downstairs. The stall doors couldn't close, or even open because it was deep outside too. In some areas inside, you could bump your head on the ceiling. There was goat 💩 INSIDE the wooden walls because they could easily get to the top of the wall and do their business over the edge. The troughs looked to be partially buried in p**p. It was a bit overwhelming. (The upstairs has its own issues. That's another post.)

When the place became ours, we had to prioritize our projects, and we decided the house was more important. It needed work for us to move in. We didn't actually *need* the barn for our animals to move down here.

We're now getting to a point where it's time to start working on it.
About a month ago, Mike, his friend, and I dismantled the stalls and troughs inside. We never found the floor, or the bottom of all the walls, at that time, but we did find that everything was totally buried in the p**p. It was absolutely unbelievable.

A few weeks ago, Mike decided to use his tractor to try to break up some of the stuff under the overshot. After a few passes, he said "😳 it's worse than I thought." I think that made him want to move on to another project for a little while, while he formulated a new plan of attack.

With the mostly decent weather this past week, we decided to rent some smaller equipment to get inside the barn, and get to work. Tha magical 💩 fairies weren't coming in to remove it for us while we slept.

While we made much better time with the equipment than we thought, the quantity of stuff we removed was so much more than we anticipated. We did find a concrete floor, but we also found that it was in horrible shape, so we removed it at the same time. It was basically just a haphazard skim coat over the ground. We uncovered the rest of the walls that we couldn't get to before. We found that some of the posts supporting the barn were deteriorating under the p**p.
Basically we found that while a few things were better than we predicted, there were a number of things that were worse.

But at the end of it all, IT'S EMPTY. We've finally removed almost 10 years of literal crap!

Now onto the next project!

02/23/2024

Welcome to Sh*t's Deep Acres!

We're going to share with you our journey to restore this amazing property to some kind of beauty again!

We purchased this property in Oct 2022, and since the day we first looked at it, it's been a wild ride.

Since we've already accomplished so much, at this point we haven't been sure where to start this page. So I guess we'll start our posts where we're currently at, and throw some flashbacks in along the way.

But before we get that far, let me introduce ourselves.
We're Mike and Liz.
We live and work here in the Perry County community.
Mike is a native, and I've been here 20+ years. We've both run our own local businesses and together we run Short & Curlies Animal Rescue & Sanctuary. (We've posted some pictures and videos there over the last year.)
We're excited to make this property our forever home.❤️

We know this is an old property with a lot of history. We've enjoyed the stories we've heard so far, from the people we've been meeting along the way. But we know we've only scratched the surface. So if you have firsthand stories or photos of the people or events that have happened here, please share them! Or if you know any of the true history, we'd love to hear it! (We've already heard a ton of the rumors 😉😂)
And if you have any questions about this place, feel free to ask them! We'll do our best to answer them with what we know.

Now... On with the show!