I do apologize for the lack of pictures in recent posts, hoping to rectify the snafu in software soon.
Well, I bought a new , used, backhoe, so in theory things should start to move ion a more orderly fashion. The rental routine can be a nightmare with machinery consuming every second of the day, sometimes with split second decision making that ends up being counter productive.
To be able to move a couple piles of dirt and then take time to sort out rocks and debris before actrually using the soil (especially clay for the dam) is an invaluable time and quality saver. Bigger rocks are not optimum in the clay for the dam, and branches etc can be downright subversive. I have barely used the backhoe an hour or two and have already opened up areas for further hand work.
Of course the challenge will be to not try and get too perfect. Hand work is time consuming, and perfection can be the enemy of “good enough”.
Another new development is a working chipper, however this chipper has a 10 horse power motor, only slightly more powerful than the previous chipper, so I am considering a 20 hp chipper that promises to make very quick work of almost everything I can feed into it. the challenge will likely be to keep a perspective and not put too much too fast into it and possibly damage it with inadvertent rocks and the like.
With the influx of cash, I’m also feeling free to purchase things like reinforcing wire for trellises for the garden and gather in supplies that will be useful for longer periods of time. Bill talked about the concept of unused money as a pollutant, and in a very real way, this sort of goes to the axiom that the love of money is the root of evil. Money can be useful when put to use, or it can be a distractant, keeping us from really using it for good purpose, and hoarding it as if it were the actual stuff of life.
At any rate, one more day of travel for yard sales and supplies today, and then settle in for a week of application of these wonderful new tools and supplies.