Hands in the Dirt

The new stones are the perfect prop for any pooch photo shoot.

Before we can start working on insulating the camper trailer or installing our composting toilet we need to repair the landscape around our new home. We tore up lots of dirt carving out a spot for us and want to repair it so unwanted weeds don't capitalize on this new opportunity and move in. Also the freshly dug up clay is super sticky and ends up everywhere. So the first steps in repairing the land are sculpting the dirt to fit the new landscape and mulching exposed dirt.

The mulch we are using is made from debris that settled in local creeks during last September's incredible rains and subsequent flooding. It is interesting to imagine the past lives of the tiny bits of houses, barns, trees and furniture that now line the entrance to our new home.

Sit back, relax and watch us do the hard work of gathering mulch and sculpting the landscape for our new front yard.

Digging It

Right now I'm pretty tired. Let me back it up for a second to give you an idea of what I've been up to the past week.

The place we are resting our camper trailer on is pretty sloped. Since the backyard juts up against open space, this makes perfect sense, but it's not exactly convenient when you're trying to place a camper trailer on it.

A week ago, one of the land owners and myself started digging out a flat spot by hand that was on a hill. It was pretty cool for me because I got to know the owner. Pretty soon after, his 14-year-old son helped out as well. When they needed a driver to take their son to mountain bike practice, I was able to offer to help and chat with the son along the way.

Last Sunday, we put our hard work to the test and tried to back the camper trailer into the spot. To our dismay, the camper didn't have enough of a turning radius to make it work. If we had some way to pick the camper up from the sky and place it in the spot, we'd be golden.

Because it didn't fit, we realized quick enough that we would have to recruit some extra help. Luckily my dad has a Bobcat skid-steer, and it was just what we needed to carve out the perfect spot!

A short time-lapse of excavating the land for a flat spot for our camper trailer.

I sculpted the extra dirt into earthworks that fit into the landscape. Now I'm excited for the next step of planting native grasses in some areas and edible perennials in other areas!

The next step is to revegetate the earth we disturbed and prevent noxious weeds, particularly Canadian thistle and bindweed (aka Morning Glory). Another step on my list is mulching walkway paths.

Stay tuned!