Ground Maintenance Week
What a week it has been at Boxes in Fields. Last year winter, we decided that this winter we would spend some serious time on ground maintenance. Not one for day to day or week to week ground maintenance, there does come a time when some maintenance is needed for a healthy ecosystem. Unfortunately, if left to its own devices, the non-natives will take over. Having already made a decent cleared area to the left of the chicken coop, the next area to tackle was directly behind the coop. Mostly overgrown non native grasses (growing upwards of 8′ in height) and some tangled natives of yaupon and American beauty berries, this should have been a simple task.
Two hours later, it was anything but simple. It’s a long story, but lets just say that while my hand was greatly smushed, I did not have any broken bones. Just a few pinched nerves and some swelling. A lesson in safety 101 for the Kid and a reminder for the rest of us. An ice pack and a cool down, much to the Planners dismay, I was back at it again. But this time as the helper.
Having mowed all the areas available, it was time to haul out the big guns. Why cut and haul 2′ sections of logs, when the tractor will carry/drag it to the firewood pile location? Less work, more fun.
And when not carrying fallen Harvey trees, it can carry the Kid. Just kidding. The Kid tried to convenience us that he could do five pull-ups. Ha! He could not even do one pull-up with those little twigs he calls arms. Five! What a funny kid.
It is amazing what the brain remembers and what it forgets, even with pictures. In the clearing process, it was discovered/rediscovered how many trees Harvey had toppled over. There were so many it was kinda sad to relive those memories again. Waste not, want not. Firewood for BBQ’s for years to come.
Living a humble life can be difficult. Trying to remind oneself that good does come from bad and that use can come from waste can be challenging. Like this one of the straightest trees that fell. I could say, why did it have to be the straightest, tallest trees? Or I could say, wow look at this amazing root structure! Sometimes it is all about perspective.
Four hours after starting, including the smushed hand down time, the cleaning job was taking shape. Not wanting to waste time, Nosy Nelly and Legs were making head way rummaging around for good bits. Early bird gets the worm and what not.
In spirit of maintenance week, the Planner took this opportunity to clean out the Tractor Box. Tractors in and out with muddy tires can make for quite the mess. Making smart work of the chore, he cheated. See the blue cord?
Many hours have been argued over years and year between the Planner, the Doubter, and several others if using an air compressor is effective at cleaning. Dust goes up, dust goes down. How much dust really goes out?
Debates continue but I can say that enough dust and debris came out of the doorway that I had to move back. Way back.
A few days later, maintenance moved from the trees back to the driveway. With the driveway comes the rearrangement of yet another dirt pile. Dirt collected from the driveway is full of trash. Trash in materials of all types and in all stages was uncovered.
Glass, metal, and plastic.
Toys and home goods/bads.
Whole pieces. Broken shards. Years and years as a vacant lot leads to trash. Trash from neighbors, trash from the road, and trash from Harvey. Lots and lots of trash making the dirt hard to re-purpose.
Not knowing what to do with the unsafe dirt, it was piled up with the unused sand in the field. Working on about 30′ of driveway results in lots and lots of trashy dirt.
Lots and lots and lots. The pile kept growing and growing and growing.
Safe dirt was piled in yet another location. This dirt was free of glass shards, metal debris, plastic tidbits, and grass runners. It was nutrient packed, dense, clean, safe dirt for future usage in the chicken coop. Once a year, the chicken coop is pitched forked loose, shoveled out, and fresh dirt is replaced. The poo laden dirt is then spread around as it solid gold nutrition.
The safe dirt may have been safe but the ground around it was not. Do you see what I see? Dratted poison ivy. Leaves the size of a nickel yet so painful. Good grief. Thank goodness for closed toe shoes.
Many bucketfulls of clean dirt later the safe dirt pile was still growing. Not needing this much dirt for the chicken coop, we now have dirt for some future unknown uses. Maybe this will the reason to transplant all the bucket plants to their final destination and start anew. Nutritional laden dirt to fill their holes should give the potted plants a great head start.
And again, safe dirt, not safe surroundings. This time I was NOT wearing safe shoes. And I was even closer! Only time will tell if I brushed this dratted plant. Crap, crap, crap.
Using the box blade to smooth the ground into submission, the Planner prepared the driveway bedding for the next level. Crushed concrete.
Dirt several layers down is thick and dense making for great impression dirt. Not quite as impressive as native sand but definitely worth noting all the same.
Living hundreds of miles away from limestone, many driveways are made with alternative sources to save on costs. With hundreds of foundations removed during the aftermath of Harvey, crushed concrete is not hard to come by currently and is fairly inexpensive. While it does contain some bits of rubbish, it is easy to spot and easy to collect.
Having installed a much larger, much longer driveway at the Doubters house years and years ago, the Planner knew what to do and how to do it. With the sun rapidly setting, the Planner quickly and efficiently smoothed the crushed concrete into place. Like a pro. Seriously, a neighbor even asked if we did this professionally.
Before the week was over, one more pile of dirt was moved.
Sand originally purchased for the roadway last year has done gone back to the earth. Almost completely covered in grass, it was never used for road base as it was too sticky but it did provide for the longest time a great place for the Kid to play. There were tunnels and forts and booby traps. Rains would come and resettle the voids and the process would start over. Eventually the grasses could not be tamed and the Kid lost a play place. Looking closely, you can still see the ball path labyrinth on the right side as the grass runs up the path.
Now having a central location for materials, the Planner moved this pile of sand to the field with the trash dirt. Leaving only his tracks in the native sand, one would never know a pile of foreign sand ever resided. Not quite beach sand and not quite play sand, Boxes in Fields sand makes for great impressions.
Maintenance work is never ending and usually is worked into free moments here and there. Winter is just a few weeks longer meaning work will have to continue with some more importance if the goal is to be achieved. Some maintenance on the other hand is by nature. Resulting from just one inch a week, or thereabouts, one of the many not long for the world, doomed Harvey trees, have made a come back. While the tops of the tree are still dead and void of leaves, the middle section have bright green, shiny new leaves! Hopefully more maintenance free rain will come and one less tree will have to be hauled away during future ground maintenance weeks.