I slept in on Saturday, and decided to do mostly tractor work this weekend because of the temperature and my tractor has been underutilized this year. I decided to start filling in the big gorge in the backyard where all the crappy fill I put down last year washed away. Since I have a bunch of leftover rock, I used that for the base fill. The driveway task for this year won't be putting more gravel down, it will just be re-smoothing what is already there.
I then covered it with a few inches of dirt.
In hindsight, since it has been two weeks since I mowed, I should have done that first. Oh well.
After the sun moved behind the trees, I also did a little bit of filling of the tractor ruts that occurred over the winter, since I use the tractor to clear the snow off the slab. I also went and seeded these areas.
Sunday I decided to try to do something before it got too hot. That failed, it was in the 80s by 10AM. But I still got a rough frame built. This is a hose holder. I have destroyed two of them the last few years, so I decided to build one of my own.
This is what it looks like. I painted it with some leftover spray paint I had mostly because I like the color and with the faint hope that it will last a bit longer. You may have noticed in the previous picture that it wasn't pressure treated wood; It was built from random scraps I had lying around. I also positioned the cheapo universal holder thing so that the top goes above the board so I can hang it in the carport in the winter.
Something that I had been curious of: the AC works a lot better with the bed gone. Friday was the first time I have turned it on all month, and with it set to 68 it was holding really close despite being 90 outside. Before I got rid of the bed, it would have been holding 72 or 73 when it was set for 68. Not because of a lack of capacity (10,000 BTU is more than adequate to cool 192 sq ft) but because of poor circulation.
Sunday was mostly spent mowing. Turns out there is something not quite right with the lawn tractor I bought. After about an hour and a half of mowing, it started sputtering going uphill. It never stalled, but is something to keep in mind. It is unusual that I do the whole thing in one go, so it probably won't be an issue, but isn't right. Of note, the mower seems to be pretty efficient, it has a roughly gallon and a half gas tank on it, and I didn't use the whole thing mowing.
I also started working on the far back. Where the pipe was installed has turned into a valley as the dirt has settled. I got the first twenty or so feet filled in.
I went until I used up the entire pile of old mulch I had lying around.
After that I went and did some extra leveling over by the well. There was still part of a pile of dirt there from when they drilled it, so I knocked that down with the tractor and smoothed it out some. I also added a couple buckets of dirt behind it so I can drive the lawn tractor through there hopefully.
I also picked up a bunch of rocks out of the back yard. I haven't hit any (this year), but large chunks of the back yard are still push mower only because of them.
I have been slowly working through the pile of dirt I got delivered last fall. At this point I have used almost half of it. I will easily go through the rest of it finishing the far back and back yard though. Even using the gravel to help extend the dirt.
I have gotten a couple of nibbles on the trailer, but most were lowball offers that I would rather keep the trailer for. I am surprised given the current lack of availability that I haven't garnered more interest; utility trailers under $500 are scarce on Craigslist and the Facebook Marketplace thing. I don't need to sell it, it is just occupying space and I use the trailer sparingly at best (the whole if you're not going to use it get rid of it concept). For now though, I intend to mark the trailer as complete. Leveling the back yard is well underway as well at this point. I also have Barry coming out this afternoon to take a look at removing trees since that one is still leaning on the shed. I haven't heard from Ford about my truck yet, even though it was supposed to be built last week.
Summer projects:
Prep truck for trade in- Determine house plans (modular vs mobile vs stick)
- Get my power service upgraded
- Shed floor
- Shed doors
- Concrete shed supports
- Anti-mouse the shed (seal it, maybe spray with pepper spray or something)
- Eliminate pile of crap in the back yard.
- Level the yard.
- Investigate retaining wall construction.
- Install windows in the shed.
Fix/sell the utility trailer.- Driveway round 5
- Get building permit
- Determine the future method of travel. Build prototype?
- Come up with garage plans
- Clear walking trails on lot.
- Build a bridge over the creek
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