Almost none of our homestead is sited on The Mountain’s natural contours. The leach field is an exception, as are the shed and the well. The rest was created or excavated (or both). In other words, pretty much everything is either on a pile or in a hole.
The driveway, for example, is the result of importing more than two dozen truckloads of material — clay, rock and gravel. The flat spot where the cabin sits was carved from unyielding dolostone ledge. All of the material from that excavation was used to build and widen the driveway to the west, including the pad where our camper is parked.
What we ended up with is a terraced affair — the natural grade descends from The Amphitheater, drops to the level of cabin and the driveway, then drops again to the leach field and the road.
It’ll take a few years, but The Mountain will heal and accommodate what we’ve done, and the place will look more natural again. We’re helping it along, of course. That’s occupied much of my time since we moved here, especially lately.
The outcome of what I did today probably is less obvious than any other work I’ve done. When the spoils from excavating for the cabin pad were bulldozed over the downhill edge of the driveway, it wasn’t what you’d call a precise operation. Lots of rock and other debris tumbled off the artificial bank and onto the lower level. That didn’t do any harm, necessarily, but the chunky clutter had the potential to impede further development there (gardening, etc.).
I took care of that today.
The leach-field level covers about a quarter of an acre. I started at the north end and worked methodically south. Re-homing hundreds of wayward rocks was easy — I simply pitched or carried them up onto the bank, reuniting them with the rest of the spoils.
Brush and debris were moved to existing piles. I didn’t go crazy cutting back live vegetation, because we need it to “take” and help hold that bank. What I did cut — pokeweed, bushclover — I tossed where seeds and berries have the best chance to sprout come spring.
I could’ve waited another day or two to do this and give the bare ground time to dry out. It was a muddy mess today. But when I finished and looked over what I’d done, it met with the only approval that matters — mine.
I’m sure no one will notice but me. And that’s just fine.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable
#LetsGoBrandon #FJB