I started with only a shovel, literally taking one shovel of dirt and dumping in a low spot. I did that for several months, and requested a cart for Christmas. With that cart and my trusty shovel, I’ve removed all the dirt within the dark lines on the picture:
The pipes laying on the ground were to help me in recreating the original start lines of the pile. It’s at least 10 feet from the original face of the pile to the current location. The dirt ranges from 3½ to 5 feet high. The pile of concrete chunks and old pipe have all been excavated from within the dirt. There’s a crescent in the right side from the one time the backhoe was used to move some dirt. All of the dirt I’ve moved has gone to low places in our yard (which is most of the yard, actually), which have been breeding places for mosquitoes.
I remember the day I finished demolishing the peninsula of dirt at the front right. It was quite a feeling of accomplishment to know that while Al Gore was predicting the demise of Florida, I had, in fact, demolished my own little peninsula before he came even close.
There’s a small tree at the top of the pile that used to be “in the middle,” so to speak. I am now digging out the roots. Since I have no chain saw, I plan on removing the trees by digging out and cutting the roots, then removing the trunk as it falls or dies. I also have learned to break up the dirt with a digging fork and letting it sit a day or so, or only move the top layer, which is drier than the damp clay below. When it starts to bake hard in the summer sun, I’ll move to the spots where the vegetation is, where the roots have broken up the soil. Or I’ll sit it out until the cooler weather arrives. Heat stroke does no favors to any one.
Lessons learned? Among others, a little bit at a time with persistence will enable you to accomplish more than you think. Shoveling dirt is good whole-body exercise, as long as I’m careful how I lift the shovel and push the cart. There’s more than one way to skin a cat – or take down trees. I can’t depend on others to do what I can do for myself. Patience is a virtue worth cultivating. Exercise comes in many forms, including exercising determination. Solving one problem sometimes solves others. It’s good to take inventory, so you don’t lose track of your progress. Acknowledge milestones reached along your journey. And, last but not least, having big goals sometimes teaches you that you can do more than you think.
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