Yesterday our family went out with the builder to stake out the location of the cabin and shed. We then had a little ground breaking ceremony with the kids. The family shot breaking ground right where the cabin will be built. (Yes, that is my ugly *** on the left) The little ones going to work.
I don't know if she is "as excited" as I am. Because quite honestly that would be hard to replicate. :D It was a challenge at first to get her to fully embrace the idea but she has warmed up nicely to it and now is "on-board". She is really getting into the decorating aspect of it now so she feels a connection to it. Since we have had kids she has been far removed from the woods and hunting. So, she is excited about rekindling her love for the outdoors again.
You won't regret this Brad. However, if your experience goes anything like mine did, you may find that some hunting related activities will have to take a back seat to getting your place settled. Here's an important tip. Now that you know that your wife is interested in "decorating" the place up, encourage and willingly help her (a lot). Also, get a fire pit, they're fun. Then you'll need firewood........ you see what this is leading to is that Man you can get a tractor! Start out slow though, it took me over a year to point out how helpful a tractor would be to accomplish our (her) endeavors at the cabin! The front end loader is the best wheel barrow you'll ever own. You'll have a hard time keeping her off of it. My GF uses ours all the time. You know you need one! It's a well known fact, If someone owns 80 acres, they need a tractor. Especially if there'll be any food plots, firewood gathering, driveway and trail maintainence and most of all.....landscaping. You know you need one.
I like your thinking. Don't get me wrong, I understand how useful tractors are and I think a small tractor probably is in our future at some point. One of the reasons I got the extended bed Mule is for firewood hauling. That should be a good machine for that. I went for the Mule first mainly for the family. Just to be able to transport the kids around. A tractor it's not so easy to transport people. Storage is going to be another problem. I am building a 16'x20' shed to hold the Mule, workbench and implements, etc. I'm not sure where I would keep the tractor. So another outbuilding would be required. Just stuff I'm thinking about.
You're on the right track. I bought my Rhino before we even closed on the property. Next I built a 16'x24' garage. I would encourage you to extend your building to 24" as well. You will still need more room eventually.
Tractor is a must. Get an old firewood trailer...you can do almost anything with them. Haul wood, deer, rocks, gravel...hayrides. What mule did you get? Pictures? **edit. Saw that you have a pond. Is there anywhere else you could put a bigger one? On our back "40" (which is a separate lot from my house), we have 2 cabins, a storage shed (small), an outhouse and an old camper, all surrounding the pond. The tractor my dad bought was probably his best investment. New Holland 1920 was the model.
Here is my mule. http://forums.bowhunting.com/showthread.php?30864-My-new-toy&highlight=mule+4010+trans
