Dig we must.

So this morning I drove M's tractor to shit-shoveling, scooped the manure pile into better shape, then filled the bucket with the first load we'll need for fruit trees. My mission: To dig the first hole of three, for three trees.

M's instructions were explicit: Each hole was to be eight feet cubed. I was verbal on the point that an eight by eight by eight hole would make a respectable storm cellar, and seemed excessive for an apple tree, but that's what he wants. He's been doing a lot of research on soil amendment, so maybe these will work out better than Landlady and T's first attempts did.

Getting the tractor to anywhere from the property can be harrowing because there's a very steep grade on the road and the last time I rode the tractor up it, it kept doing wheelies. That big backhoe is too much weight. So this time, I made a stop at the wash first and scooped up a bucket of sand and rocks. That did the trick. Dumped it at the top of the hill. The second issue to deal with is that, though I have lived a long and sometimes adventurous life, I have no experience with a backhoe. You know the guy you've watched at construction sites, who makes the backhoe look like it's one of his own arms? I'm not that guy. And I was correct in my surmise that it's not as easy as he makes it look. On the other hand, it's basically just digging a hole: It's not as hard as he'd probably want you to believe, either.

I may have to turn in my guy union card for admitting this, but it's really not my favorite thing. I worked on that hole for hours, gradually improving my speed and technique, and thought the noise and vibration were going to make my head fall off. I think next time I'll bring some earmuffs and see if that helps. At six feet I ran into rocks, which slowed matters somewhat, but finally achieved an eight-foot depth. Then I started widening the hole, which went substantially faster.

And then I ran out of diesel. Sigh. I'll bet it's gonna be a bitch to restart: I'll probably have to bleed the whole system again. But M did bring me some fuel cans, so now I have to get into town and fill them before I can continue.

But the really good news is that there's running water at the Meadow House, and I lit the water heater before I left this morning, which means by now there should be HOT running water there! Which means this afternoon I get my very first real bath since late December. Covered with grit as I am, the timing is pretty good.