bike ride in nj ////just this afternoon

Its not that warm,but warm enough,,,got the bike out and took a ride,, Up the road quite a ways.up a hill.Couldnt qite make the hill,lots of huffing and puffing for sure. I wanted to ride where there used to be a big hayfield two years ago,,it is being developed into houses now. many lots for sale,and houses are being built,some are sold This is the model home,today they had open house,so,,, I parked my 20 dollar garage sale bike and asked them if I could look inside ,they said sure,,Very nice!Can I take a few pictures? Sure ,,no problem,,,so,,,heres the inside of the model home,,, The kitchen the living room? this was a walk in closet next to the master bedroom Just think,we had one like this when I Grew up on the farm,now they are in style? a walk in shower as big as a bedroom? lets go down the basement! And,,to keep this tractor related,,,,the seats in the playroom? And they are rusty!!!!!!,,,,,,I didnt ask how much for the house, I was actually surprised he let us walk around,,probably wont see any tractors in that hayfield anymore,,,,,just big houses

That's quite a house!

The tractor seat bar stools... Were the bases re-
purposed or custom made?

Thank you for the pictures! I am sure I would not call that a practical home to live in. I will stick with what we have. Wonder what the taxes on the house are?

Is that house normal for that neighborhood? What kind of person buys something like that? I can't even imagine that any Governors Mansion in the country is any fancier than that. Not that I have a thing in the world against capitalism or people buying what they want,but I'm too much of a minimalist,basic,simplistic kind of a guy to even dream of WANTING something like that.
I guess there must be some folks around who'll go to a lot of lengths to impress other folks.
I don't know that I'd want to have to sit in that house and listen to the owner talk about himself though. Might be a pretty boring one sided conversation.

WOW, you guy's have some big shacks over there. But I have a motor on my bike. LOL.

Wow - just can't imagine a house that big. Our dining room would fit inside their walk-in closet - and our kitchen would fit inside their bathroom. LOL.

Well that is some grand staircase x2.

Great pics! LOVE THE SEATS IN THE PLAYROOM... who'da thunk it????

See how long it takes to get them all sold.

belive it or not,there was a bunch of sold signs,it was a nice hayfield not too long ago,and a big barn was part of the farm ,it was in bad shape and was tore down,

TOOOOO big. It would take a week to vacuum the thing, then still have to dust it.

It aeems I cant go anywhere without thinking,, I gotta get a picture of that for SweetFeet

Too much eating and computer this winter,,, I might need a motor soon,,,,lol

couldnt agree more,a big waste too me,,,three car garage,,,ya think they will put an Oliver in one?

dont know,Probably around 20 thousand per year,,,maybe even more a fellow who had some stonework done in Bernardsville nj pays 65 thousand per year,on 5 acres and a house,,,,sickening isnt it?

I'd bet they have an ordinance against it.

dont know,I Didnt ask any queations except can I Take a few pictures,when he said yes,I Didnt want to press my luck,,I Was surprised he let us walk around to be honest with you,,,me with my garage sale bike and an old flannel shirt jacket,,,I Didnt have muddy feet though...lol

dont think anybodys gonna pickel turnips in that kitchen,maybe no canning either

I wouldn't ever live somewhere that would have such an ordinance, or controlled by a HOA.
I would need to make sure I couldn't see or hear my nearest neighbor.

When I see that kind of architecture it makes me think of Look
Homeward, Angel in which Wolfe describes a house as being "all
angles and no plan". I'm sure they're very expensive but I don't
know why they make new houses so lumpy and complicated
looking on the outside. The new houses in my area are in the same
style but on a much smaller and cheaper scale. I live in a former
barn and like it, nothing like concrete and plywood floors for easy
cleaning once a week with a shopvac.
Zach

Forgot to say I am glad you are out on your bike. Mine has been put away since November and I am pining for it. This week we're supposed to have some days above freezing and I hope to get it out.
Zach

I had to,,, couldnt make the hill today,,,but I will as I get back at it,,,,or,,,,die trying...lol

Owner wouldn't know how! Not going to pay the cook to do it either.

I was just asking you last week about raising aa pig,,I Think i could get away with it in my back yard,,,but that big house,,,,, they cant,,,,pay all that money for a fancy house and cant raise a pig in the back yard? You live like a king because you can do what you want,,,saw your own lumber ,grow your own food,,,you are very rich beyond words,a life many people dream of

Larry, I've got to ask, I see many houses in those pictures that are huge! What kind of economy in that area supports such? Are they high tech jobs? I'm sure it's not farming! old money perhaps? just where does the money come from for that many lifestyles? Sure isn't anything such as those in my area. PS Always enjoy your pictures.

I dont know what they do,,,its not farming for sure...lol ,,the guy did say,,, believe it or not,,that a lot of his customers are first time home buyers,,,,,I Have no idea what they do ,,but,,, IM pretty sure they dont want any turnips from me,,,lol

My guess would be lawyers and hedge fund managers--people who produce nothing and make nothing better.

Larry, I wouldn't be to sure on the turnips. If you are located where they have to go past your place to and from then get a veggie stand out on the road. Those types love farm fresh produce especially if it is organic and they will pay what ever you charge.

Gosh Larry you put another one together! Your stories remind me of guy that was on tv/radio and told road stories about the good ole USA. But back to the story; just human greed and vanity.The result of the cheap money low interest rates.

It's incredible how dense some of the development is in NJ. I can't say for sure how many acres of some really nice ground I've peeled up between southern NJ and up with a D8K, scrapers. Weeks or months on end push loading scrapers, 627's and TS-24's, stockpiling massive top soil piles, from sandy black topsoils to, more loamy types, and you would know from being there all these years.

One job in Howell NJ, I took some dark black rich top soil home and grew tomatoes in buckets. The soil was from the end of a large field near an old farmstead, where it narrowed to a small patch, probably a garden, it was really deep and it was close to the road. I got stuck 2x with the D8 on that site, one place was in that deep top soil patch that the buckets of soil came from. Will never forget that, good tomatoes grew that summer and I actually got the D8 out without any help! One big heavy tractor that does not like soft ground, the other time it took 2 excavators to get it out, I somehow hit a wet area by surprise on undisturbed ground, in the middle of a 100+ acre field with some deep top soils, like close to 2 feet. I do have some photos of that site, it could have been made into a landing strip it was so flat and wide open. Sod farm was adjacent to it, this was a good size dairy, stickers in the milk house parlor, had years up to '85 or so, there was even old tractor and engine rebuilding parts left around, was sad knowing the entire place was to be demolished. Tile silo and all. When it got wet there, every scraper was stuck, it was the worst mess I have ever worked in, 2 foot ruts everywhere till the frost set in. Then that was a problem, ripping it with the D8, made huge chunks that got wedged in the scrapers bowl or jammed up against the top rear guard on the bowl, sometimes requiring an excavator to get it out, bent the heck out of the steel too. The farmers land had its revenge for sure !

There was thick layer of clay under the top soil, a couple of feet, weird color too, then the sand was below that. We dug massive borrow pits to use the sand for roads, as there was nothing else suitable on site. I've never seen such rich black top soils like NJ has in places I've worked. Most of these sites were like the ones in your photos, high end custom houses, expansive subdivisions or some commercial retailer like Costco, H-D etc.. I've seen forests taken down with buncher/fellers, turned into chips, then we come in with the excavators, D8 w/root rakes on, then back to the regular blade and scrapers again. Before you know it, the landscape is completely changed. Kind of crossed a grain, like you, having been around agriculture since day one, hated seeing all that land being torn up, really nice ground, minus the red clay areas ! LOL !

We started one job in Flanders NJ, all fields of standing corn ready to combine and pumpkins. Piles of pumpkins, corn trash, top soil and what a pain it was to keep all the D8's and scrapers radiators clear of plant trash. I'd a thought the farmer would have taken the last crop, must have had a good payday instead.

Larry,
nice pictures,impressive homes(for a while) but not to throw water on such a hot subject, it's just a stones throw away from becoming a ghetto with junk cars parked in the front,cockroach infested buildings. Ask me how I know? Well in Anderson Indiana, 8th street had some of the most beautiful homes one being owned by Nicholson File, that turned into what I described above. The rest followed suit after unsavory characters moved in. In my opinion the expense of such a home peaks when the key is turned in the latch.

Being all bunched together brings agony and misery when some unsavory character moves in and the shtf. Being all bunched together, (regardless of price) will soon bring out problems starting from door to door, and without exception. I hope it never happens but, as soon as gov't project opens the door, it's all over.
I am sure thankful we live upon a hill bordering county forest ground and the fact that I'm 80 beats that kind of problem hands down.JMHO.
LOU

The builder's website is interesting. I especially like the "Qualification Questionaire".

http://www.tollbrothers.com/NJ/Steeplechase_at_Branchburg

wow nice but I wouldn't trade my house is a home not just a house When I worked for the gas co I got to go in those kind of houses often many times I was surprised by how poorley they were kept and built

They probably commute by train to work in NY City.They're not flippin' burgers.

Some of those neighborhoods in the Rochester, NY area do have such ordinances. No old cars, trucks, or tractors even if it is for restoration. Lawn has to be maintained to a common spec. No vegetable garden. Kids can't play ball in the backyard.

nice house of course,
But, even if I had unlimited money, I'd pass.

adjusting the heat so I was comfortable in the living room chairs would turn that open second story into a sauna.

dining room is much too small for big people. Fill those chairs,
and nobody will be able to walk behind them.

bathroom window needs a redesign. Either higher, or two piece blinds, or opaque bottom. Closing the blinds every time someone is in the bathroom would be a pain, and defeat the purpose of big windows.

And what's up with that closet. made for elves?
smacking my head every time I get a shirt?
(I live in a very old house built like that..gets old quick)

Pool table room and bar are nice.
And that living room wall above the couch looks like a great place to hang a basketball backboard

That already is a slum in NJ . Thats how our slums look. Lots of those unsavory characters buying million dollar homes here , mostly politicians.