Race the Rain

 After I installed the first handful of posts for the track, we had a good rain.  It packed the dirt around the posts nicely and really helped to set them.  Knowing this, and seeing the long range forecast calling for sporadic rainfall and one good day of rain early this week, I was determined to install all of the posts - about 40 of them - while the dirt piles were dry and workable.  I was able to achieve this goal with the exception of one root ridden hole that requires a little extra soil.   All that's left to do is put the pipe panel section up, install gates, and start on the no-climb fencing.

 

Not bad for a crippled up old fat broad.  

Also, I swear a week ago everything was green.

Suddenly, Autumn.

Behold!

 Reputa with her new accessory. 

Works pissah!  

Considering it's made to move fluffy snow, it's working pretty good pushing dirt and rocks.  I've put in three posts in the time it would have taken me to do two by hand, but that's mostly because I would have to stop and bitch about how much my back hurt.  With this setup, I'm workin' hard by hardly workin'. 

Anybody need a mountain moved?  😁

Slow going

 I've been busy, but it's not "WOW!  Look what I've accomplished!" busy.  Just getting a lot of little things done as summer winds down and fall sets in. We've had a couple good frosts, so I've started pulling plants in the vegetable garden.  It looks so naked after being so lush all summer.

The track fence is going up very slowly.  I hadn't thought about how difficult it would be to fill those massive holes by hand.  Trying to hold a post in the hole, then using my feet to scrape dirt and rock in to try to keep the post upright, then shoveling in some more dirt and stones, leveling, tamping, leveling, shoveling, rolling large stones back into the hole, leveling, tamping...I'm averaging 2 posts per hour, and my back usually gives out by that point.  I purchased a small snow plow for Reputa with the intention of using it as a grader blade and pushing the dirt, but it doesn't seem to fit, despite the model numbers matching up and everything I've read saying this plow should fit that tractor.  My neighbor is working on retrofitting it to work, so fingers crossed.  In the meantime...

 I purchased a back pack sprayer and tried spraying the vegetation within the track with vinegar, but it doesn't seem to have done much to kill the leaves.  Then again, we had a brief rain shower the next day, so it was probably washed off.  I'll try again.

I've started to tackle the weedy mess on the tiered garden bank, too.  The drought certainly hasn't bothered the crab grass and weeds at all.

About an hour of hand pulling and pitchfork work later...

I'm debating whether to pull that tier out and start over, or leave it and just move on.  I think I'll build the next two tiers and see how much the bottom one bothers me.  

Onward and upward.