Where Do You Even Start? Our First 30 Days at Wrenwood Ranch

When folks ask us where we started building Wrenwood Ranch, I just laugh and say: Right in the middle of a pandemic, with no clue what the next day would bring.

We planned as much as we could before we purchased the property, but Covid-19 threw a few unexpected twists into our timeline. Business operations with the surrounding businesses were changing by the hour. Material shortages changed daily. And finding help in the Texas Hill Country during that time? Let’s just say… we learned what “it’s going to take a little while” really means.

Still, the dream of building Wrenwood Ranch — our cottages, event venue, and everything in between — kept us moving forward.

Clearing the Land and Creating Access

We knew from day one that the very first priority was simply getting onto the land. The property needed to be cleared just enough to create access, space for the first few cottages, a septic tank, and a water well house.

We started with burn piles whenever conditions allowed. Some days the weather worked in our favor; some days we couldn’t burn at all. But each day was long, unpredictable, and exhausting. Keisha and I worked side by side, usually starting at 7 a.m., working through the Texas heat, and finishing up around 4 p.m. just in time to grab more supplies. We got home each night around 8-9pm just in time to do it all over again the next day.

Those first 30 days were a blur of cutting, burning, hauling, and learning.

Power, Water, and Limestone

I had already contacted a local water well company, septic installer, and electric company before we closed on the property. Everyone was incredibly kind and helpful — but because of Covid, everything was running weeks behind schedule.

So while we waited on them, we built what we could ourselves.

The first structure we framed was the well house. That was also my first introduction to just how hard the ground is here in the Texas Hill Country. Trying to dig through solid limestone will humble you real quick.

Once the well house was framed, we moved on to our first cottage. We tried to have materials delivered, but during that time, deliveries were running two to three weeks out because everyone was stuck at home working on their own remodels. So we loaded up our little trailer and made trip after trip ourselves, hauling lumber, supplies, and whatever else we could find in stock.

Uncle Charlie, Our Secret Weapon

I had done a bit of remodeling and house-flipping years earlier, so I brought some experience to the table. But honestly? The real hero of that first month was Uncle Charlie.

Charlie had built just about everything you can imagine — from schools and homes to barns and tiny weekend projects. There were plenty of things I didn’t know how to do, but Charlie did. He’d show us once, and then we’d take it from there.

He taught us how to build from the ground up, patiently explaining each step. Keisha — who had never done anything like this before — caught on fast. After about 30 days, Charlie handed us the reins, and Keisha and I kept going based on what we’d learned.

To this day, I still call Uncle Charlie when I run into something tricky.

Lessons From the Ground Up

Looking back, those first 30 days taught us more than just how to clear land and frame a cottage. We learned patience and grit. We learned how to adjust when nothing goes according to plan — a lesson that’s served us well every single day since.

Building Wrenwood Ranch in the middle of so much uncertainty felt impossible at times. But we kept going, doing the next thing, and leaning on each other and the people who believed in us.

That’s where you start: wherever you are, with whatever you’ve got, one long, sweaty, hopeful day at a time.