(written on the 25th and 28th and 2nd)
Well, today was clean-up day.
Clean up as in dig out the skid steer. 😅 So… for hours upon hours upon hours, starting shortly after getting up, I dug.
I started with the shovel the ramp down to the skid steer to make it even somewhat possible to get myself out.
I dug and dug and dug.
As I dug, periodically I would take work breaks, having my phone next to me alerting me when possible new questions popped up for me to answer.
The skid steer was high-centered so the rear wheels weren’t even touching the ground, the body of the skid steer just resting on dirt and rock.
So I dug and dug and dug.
Periodically, I would switch spots and approaches, trying to drain water out of the muddy mess.
I didn’t notice last night that part of the spring that I was diverting via the 4-in PVC pipe was still leaking right down into the bottom, so when I came back to everything this morning, hoping things had dried out quite a bit, I was met with that unfortunate surprise.
I chuckle a little bit… As I’m reminded of what I used to say that everything is perfect…
In my heart I still believe that.
I’ve slid so far from where I used to be… so far…
Anyway, I guess at least I’ve remembered that in the moment and can chuckle about it.
So I spent some time draining some water out as well, and I spent time trying to dig out enough underneath the rear tires that were off the ground to slide large flat rocks for it to be able to rest on instead of sinking into the mud.
The most concerning part was the part where I needed to dig out the part that was high-centered. I didn’t want to find myself with my arms underneath the skid steer when I got the last bit of support out and have the skid steer squish my arms. Nor was I very keen on having the skid steer shift to the side and pin me between the dirt bank.
😅
Fortunately, I was able to get the rocks underneath the wheels and tires as hoped, and so successful was the effort that I was surprised when I was able to get the last bit of dirt out from underneath the skid steer without it even sinking down an inch, let alone come close to crushing me.
🥳
I finally got the last of the dirt cleared out I think by about 5:30 p.m., using the claw end of the hammer, my pick ax, and my shovel.
And lots and lots of expended energy. 😅
After doing all the digging work, I was hopeful that I might actually be able to get myself out via bucket scooting the skid steer, and I might have been able to, but I got stuck about 3/4 of the way up because I haven’t dug enough dirt away from the banks at the top for the skid steer to fit, and Jim was already on his way down, so I figured I would just go ahead and wait for him.
We grabbed some chains out of the back of my dump trailer, and then we loaded up the stump, and while he dragged the stump away to the burn pile, I finished digging down the dirt that was in the way of easily pulling the skid steer out.
When Jim came back with the tractor, we hooked up the chains and were able to easily pull me out the rest of the way.
🥳
Jim stayed, and we chatted a little bit about the future of the area, Jim showing me a video of a different version of a ram pump an Australian guy came up with that’s supposedly is much more effective. Need to figure out how to get plans for it, though.
My little brain got going with how to improve it as well to make it a destination for the family that they will enjoy, hopefully like the deck area.
The creek area is definitely my favorite part of the whole property, and especially this part of the creek area.
I don’t really remember what I did after that… so that portion much of my life is already forgotten and lost…
Gratitude:
- I’m grateful Jim was able to get me pulled out.
- I’m grateful I was able to answer at least some questions online and make some money on a day when I was mostly just getting exercise digging
- I’m grateful I was able to get the last of the dirt out from underneath the skid steer without the skid steer crushing me 😅
- I’m grateful for Jim for being good natured about rescuing me when he’s always so busy
- I’m grateful I was able to get rocks underneath the wheels, big flat rocks, that allowed the skid steer to have something to rest on to keep it from sinking further
Success:
- I was able to work all day with very few instances of getting frustrated.
Lift the world.
~ stephen
Lift the World 