If log homes are your thing and 'rustic' is your game, then you're going to love these pictures of real tree accents and the use of rustic looking logs (or heavy timber) inside a log home.

You'll also see photos of fun ways to incorporate trees and heavy timber logs into the exterior characteristics of your log home.

Check it out...

Perhaps the first 'official' sign that construction is about to take place on our new log home site: the posting of the Building Permit!

Unfortunately, this day in Williamson County, Tennessee was filled with just as many highs as lows -- emotionally speaking.

You see, last night we had some very destructive storms (including an EF2 Tornado) pass through the Leipers Fork area -- near where we are building our log home.

Our property had already been surveyed (several times) by the previous owners.

This is a fairly tricky lot to build on -- what with all the creeks and hills and rocks and required septic fields and such.

Turns out... of the 5 acres we own, there is only one tiny little spot where the home can actually go. The rest will be hilly trails and a forest of thick trees lining the creeks.

So, to ease our mind, and clarify for all involved (including the bank, the County, and ourselves), we asked the surveyor to come back out and re-survey it again for us.

Another trip down memory lane here...

Wanna see what our culvert looked like -- right after they finished putting it in?

(I thought you would.)

Can you see it now???

What a difference a couple of days makes!
(...and a bush hogging machine or two)

When we purchased this lot in Williamson County Tennessee, it had already been surveyed and perked. So we didn't have to do that part.

Our first official step toward building this log home was to clear the land (...in a manner other than Jim & I routinely walking the lot with a pair of loppers and a machete in hand and chopping down whatever annoying bushes & prickly branches stood in our way).

We finally decided to hire a professional team to take out most of the trees & brush that we knew would be in the way of the home. They had all the right equipment for heavy duty bush hogging, and they were even set up to deal with all of the rock they encountered on the property.

As it turned out, they were able to complete the job in about a day and a half.

What do you mean you can't see anything there?... [I say with raised eyebrows]

Right there... [pointing] that's where the house is going to go. Over here... [pointing to the other side] this is where we're going to put the well. And the septic... it's right over there. The driveway will go up through here and around that side.

Oh, and here... [pointing, while looking completely enamored with all of Nature's beauty] right here is the only spot where you can actually see 2 of the 3 creeks at the same time!

Trust me, once you get inside the tree line, it makes more sense. It's a little bit cleared out in the middle there.