Not as productive as hoped.

I wasn't as productive as I might have hoped over the weekend.  I started off working on the area of dead knotweed.  I stopped where I did last time because I ran into a pile of crap that I couldn't yank out.  I noticed as I was heading down there though that there were a couple of spots where it has grown back.  Grumble grumble.  I will spray it soon.

Fortunately the area I did clear is still completely clear of it.

I spent a while trying to dig this stuff out. The green thing is a tarp, and the black thing behind is I think a rug.

I came across some new wildlife this weekend, I have a bobcat.  He was quite close too, maybe 15 yards away.  I heard him walking down to the dried up creek bed, watched him for a short bit, and then when he disappeared behind the trees, I decided to take a break.  Bobcats won't attack humans unless they are rabid, but it was lunch time anyways.

At that point it was getting hot and I went and rescued Anx, he had a brake failure on his vehicle.  He went to go hiking and they were smoking when he got there, most likely due to caliper failure.  I didn't particularly feel too motivated when I got back, so I dug out a few rocks and called it a day.

Sunday was cooler, but it got rainy in the afternoon despite the forecast saying it wasn't supposed to get there until the evening.  I went back to trying to dig that stuff out, and this time brought the tractor to assist.  As I was trying to pull the tarp out, I noticed there was a conduit here.  Not sure what it was for, this is on the other side of the old foundation.  Unfortunately the tarp did not survive the tractor.  I will probably just rip out as much as I can, cut it off below the surface and bury it.

I also got some dirt spread out over there.  I used a bit more than I expected, since most of the time over here the tractor was not on 4 wheels when it had a load of dirt in the bucket.  I only really want it flat enough to use the riding mower, but I didn't want to roll the Kubota while doing the smoothing.  

The pile of dirt is starting shrink vertically, so it is nearing the end.  I do want to get all this distributed before winter if possible though.  

I was about to start raking it smooth when it started raining on me, so I instead went and started working on the shed.  I got another wire rack set up before I remembered that my mallet was no more.  I broke it when I was working on the utility trailer.  Given the age of these racks and the fact that the plastic clips don't hold as well as they did 15 years ago, I decided I should get another mallet and solidify the shelves before loading it up.  I tried using a regular hammer once many years ago, and broke the welds even using a buffer board.  So I will be making either a Harbor Freight or Home Depot run this week. 

I got the abutter's list done and started writing a short blurb for the variance before I realized I don't really know what to put in it, but I will come up with something today since I wanted to turn it in and get that process rolling tomorrow when the clerk's office re-opens.  I have been trying to find my old packet, since they want maps and stuff, none of which would have changed, but I can't find the flash drive that held them, though I do still have paper copies in my filing box somewhere.  I will probably have to give Anx a ride to pick up his car tonight as well.  

We are supposed to be in the 30s later this week, so I am definitely transitioning to winter mode.  It is only one night, but it is still a sign to start thinking about it.  Things like the shed floor can be done during the winter if push comes to shove, but concrete can't, so I might switch to the pilings, though I did the bad ones last year and it could wait until spring if need be.