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SwampBillies
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# Posted: 2 Sep 2013 08:41pm
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My husband and I along with a good friend of ours recently bought 45 acres in West Virginia. My husband and I are both from WV but currently live in Florida. In preparing for retirement we decided we want to snowbird back and forth. Here is a view from the property and some of the neighbors.
View from the road
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SwampBillies
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# Posted: 2 Sep 2013 08:45pm
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We hope to someday build a log home on the property but for now the property has an old house that we want to fix up to stay in when we go up. It's about 100 years old and has no plumbing. The previous owners had used it to store junk/trash. The property was so grown up you could barely even see the house.
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SwampBillies
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# Posted: 2 Sep 2013 08:50pm
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We went up for 3 weeks in July and spent most of the time cutting grass and burning trash. The guys also did some leveling on the floor and installed new windows since some of them were broken and missing.
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SwampBillies
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# Posted: 2 Sep 2013 08:56pm
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So it's all cleaned out and now the fun part begins. We've got a trailer filled with lots of stuff we want to take up. A cook stove, a wood stove, a kitchen sink and a table and chairs. We also want to build some bunk beds, put new coverings on the inside and outside walls and put down new flooring. Now we just need to get some time off to get back up there and get back to work. It's killing us sitting here in Florida thinking about all the things we could be doing!!
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hattie
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# Posted: 2 Sep 2013 09:27pm
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Wow you have put a ton of work into that place. The before and after photos are amazing. Getting rid of all the brush must have been a fun job (not to mention all the stuff left inside). Did you find anything really neat that they left in there? What was the most unusual thing you found?
It looks like you have found a beautiful spot. Congratulations! Keep us updated with photos as your work progresses.
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SwampBillies
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# Posted: 2 Sep 2013 10:02pm
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Oh Hattie, I didn't think we would ever get all that junk out of there. We cleaned from dawn to dusk for a week! By the end of the week we were just shoveling it and not even looking at it anymore. There were all kinds of family pictures and Christmas decorations and wood scraps. You name it. We burned everything but the metal and glass. Here is a picture of the guy that came to pick up the metal. He was one happy scrapper! The only thing that I kept out of all that junk was a Wagner cast iron griddle.
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turkeyhunter
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# Posted: 3 Sep 2013 10:51am - Edited by: turkeyhunter
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very nice job on the clean up--the before pic's looked like the TV show horders 
looks great now!!!! and the cat pic is a BOBCAT..neat creatures...
I bet there are some nice bucks on the property!!!!!
I know that scrapper was so happy ~~~ truck full of $$$
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SwampBillies
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# Posted: 3 Sep 2013 10:20pm
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Thanks Turkeyhunter! We can't wait to go back up and do some more work. It's 12 hours from the house though so not sure when we can make the next trip.
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turkeyhunter
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# Posted: 3 Sep 2013 10:31pm - Edited by: turkeyhunter
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I know your pain...my other cabin in the NORTHWOODS ( Maine) is over 24 hours from the house...I was up in Jan / back in May / back in August...and want to go back in Oct...3 trips driving up this year so far....
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mjmmessina
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# Posted: 4 Sep 2013 08:10am
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Where are you located in WV? I have 43 acres and a cabin in the New Milton Area ( 10 miles SW of Salem, WV) that has similar views. You are going to love it!
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SwampBillies
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# Posted: 4 Sep 2013 09:12pm
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We are on the very southern part of the state. Outside of Princeton. We are both originally from WV and already love it!
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jrbarnard
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# Posted: 5 Sep 2013 07:07am
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Wow.. please keep us posted. I want to see more of that beautiful project. Awesome view!
Russ
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SwampBillies
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# Posted: 8 Sep 2013 10:10am
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Lewis is supposed to be starting a job in Penn. or Maryland soon so he decided to head on up to WV and get some work done before they call him in. I had to stay here in Florida and work. So jealous!! I did get a new trail cam that he is going to be hooking up for us also. It is the Covert Black Ops that will text you the pictures that it takes. So excited about that. He took up the trailer load of stoves a frig and a table for the camp house also. Just need to get the wood stove installed and some beds in there and we will be ready to sleep in the house instead of the camper. Hoping he can get the inside walls done and some flooring laid before he has to go back to work. He took his camera. I can't wait to see!
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SwampBillies
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# Posted: 11 Sep 2013 08:17pm
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Just an update on the man on the mountain. Lewis Adkins is still up on the mountain working on the camp house. He did more floor leveling today and will be starting to put up some wallboard on the inside tomorrow. We moved the trail cam trying to get a picture of the big buck that he saw yesterday. But in the meantime we got these cute little fawns and their Mama.
This turkey also shows up about 5 times a day. Looks mighty tasty!
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SwampBillies
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# Posted: 14 Sep 2013 04:43pm - Edited by: SwampBillies
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Lewis has been busy working on the camp house all week. Our friend Paul who owns the property with us was able to stop by and work all day Thursday also. He is a truck driver and you just never know when he will be passing through. They got a lot of work done in the kitchen and a lot of wiring done. Paul left this morning and right after that, Lewis found this bear scat about 12 feet from the corner of the house! I still wish I was there though. 
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SwampBillies
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# Posted: 15 Sep 2013 09:31am
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The pictures from the trail cam on the mountain. About 2:00 this morning.
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old old buddy
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# Posted: 15 Sep 2013 07:07pm
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SwampBillies
Sounds like you guys (and gal) have a sweet deal there. You'll have a lot of fun working on that place. I think the woodstove should be the most important item to get hooked up now...considering how cold it gets in southern West By God Virginia!
I'll enjoy watching your progress. Love the bear pictures! We live just off the Ohio River about three miles west up near Wheeling (about 20 miles north). We haven't seen any big bucks for the past two years. I'm hearing that from a lot of folks in Ohio...which is not typical.
Good luck and keep us updated with the photos.
Old Old Buddy
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SwampBillies
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# Posted: 15 Sep 2013 08:49pm
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Thanks Old Old Buddy. I do believe the next project he is working on is the wood stove. At least that's what I had told him I wanted him to do next. Sometimes though, he says I'm too bossy and just takes off on his own direction.
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SwampBillies
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# Posted: 18 Sep 2013 08:29pm
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Lewis only has the rest of this week before he has to go back to work. Looks like he is really getting a lot done. So excited!
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SwampBillies
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# Posted: 23 Sep 2013 07:25pm
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Lewis spent the last couple of weeks on the mountain. He really got a lot done while he was up there. There's even smoke coming out of the chimney. It's starting to look a lot like deer camp!!
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old old buddy
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# Posted: 8 Oct 2013 06:00pm
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SwampBillies
Looks good so far. You got a lot of work done in a short amount of time. Keep up the good, hard work
Old Old Buddy
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SwampBillies
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# Posted: 8 Oct 2013 06:57pm
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Thanks Old Old Buddy. Lewis is not going to be able to get back for a few weeks but hope to get a bathroom installed next. Even if we have to use a bucket of water to flush.
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