Hi Ho - Hi Ho It's off to work I go.

Sunday 13th of November 2016

A lovely dry and sunny day - so digging - digging today.

Jackie helped to tidy up the garden and chicken run area - so that we are working as tidy as possible.
Then I decided to aim at moving a section of the rockery about 18 inches high by 3 feet wide and 8 feet long - all the way to the fence - I guessed at 20 barrow loads, maybe ?

I hate trailing mud all over the paths so I quickly made a simple boot scraper - two bits of timber knocked into the ground and a thin piece of steel screwed between them - it works well.

I am still using the wonderful Mattock  - the big wide blade chops through the soil / roots and stones and gives a pile of easy to shovel waste - Great !! - well worth the fiver on Ebay.

I got stuck in - I thought I would be on my own today but Jackie decided to fill three barrows for me - WOW!

I have been so lucky with the weather - maybe I started just early enough in the year - the ground is nice and dry - it breaks up easily.

It would be 10 times harder to dig wet through soil.

In the end it took about 25 barrow loads to clear the area - I had enough by then - time to clear up.

The pile is really growing now - I can't go any further across the drive - so I am extending the pile towards the house.
That means the grab truck will have to reach further - they have a limit of 5 metres - I must measure up.!
I am using a long plank now to get the barrow high up the pile - Scott and Neil were using it when they were here but I wasn't quite fit enough and my left arm won't flick the barrow over - but today I went for it and I got it !!!

I estimate another two days like today - 40 to 50 barrow loads left - Just keep going.
Mike.