How I spent my summer - 2006

[cjcocn]

I really enjoy reading about the projects that get posted on here, so I thought that I'd contribute a little something that I was into during the summer of 2006. It isn't directly related to snowplowing, but I think my driveway is in one or two of the pics and I've plowed that all winter, so ....


Here's how it went ....

It was supposed to flood last year so we put this up ...

Excavator starting earthen dike ....

http://www.mts.net/~cjcocn/PICS/Excavator%20Starting%20Earthen%20Dike%20-%20Cropped.jpg

Earthen dike completed .....

http://www.mts.net/~cjcocn/PICS/Dike%20in%20Back%20Yard%2001.jpg

Our septic field was in the front so we opted for sandbags there ......

Starting the process ......

http://www.mts.net/~cjcocn/PICS/Sand%20Bagging%20Started%20-%20Cropped.jpg

3 days and 4 1/2 feet of sand bags later ......

http://www.mts.net/~cjcocn/PICS/Sand%20Bagging%20Complete%20-%20Cropped.jpg

[cjcocn]

Only 4 pics per post so - carrying on .....


It ended up not flooding, so it was time for cleanup.

Wheel loader removing earthen dike ....

http://www.mts.net/~cjcocn/PICS/OCN%20Loader%20Cleanup%202005%20-%20Cropped.jpg

This whole deal really got started on April 12th of last year as that is when everything was melting and the water had nowhere to go. We couldn't find a pump locally so I borrowed one and started pumping water (I ended up ordering a water pump and 150' of hose from Boss Tool Supply. They have a lot of stuff for sale and offer free shipping on orders over $69 ...

I'll definitely be ordering from them again).

Our drainage really sucked as we had no ditch in the front along the road Right-Of-Way (R-O-W). That coupled with the diking that went on in our area basically meant that we were in a basin that was really good at holding water. Two of our girls have rooms in the basement and they had to move upstairs because it was leaking. I didn't want them to have to do that every time it thawed out (they were okay last winter) so I figured I'd do something about it.

Once I decided to fix the problem, I decided not to do it half-assed and figured that I'd start by wiping the slate clean.

Yard during tree removal .....

http://www.mts.net/~cjcocn/PICS/Yard%20During%20Tree%20Removal%2007%20-%20Cropped.jpg

I removed the sand bags with my new quad and a trailer that I borrowed. I started right after work every day so it only took 4 evenings to remove about 2,500 sand bags.

Right around this time I hired a backhoe to come in and dig us a ditch along the road R-O-W and install a culvert on our approach. I don't have any pics of the machine working, but it really happened!

Carrying on ......

Weeping tile & new pump-out septic system going in. The installer needed the house to himself for some of this and I had to go to the city, so while he was working I took my only time off during the process and went to Winnipeg for a couple of days.

http://www.mts.net/~cjcocn/PICS/Weeping%20Tile%20%26%20Pump-out%20Tank.jpg

Front yard before I taught myself to run a D6. The trees are by the barn and will be used as firewood next winter. I figure that there are close to six cords there, but did not actually measure the wood to see if my estimate was close. The branches went to the landfill until I got sick of hauling them and the rest went into one of our pastures. I will burn those before the snow melts.

http://www.mts.net/~cjcocn/PICS/01%20Yard%20Before%20D6%20-%20Cropped.jpg

[cjcocn]

Last post .....

About 1 hour of running time. I was digging a hole to bury my tree stumps that I had already pushed up ......

http://www.mts.net/~cjcocn/PICS/CJ%20on%20D6%20Mid%20Hole%20-%20Cropped.jpg

After about 3 1/2 hours on the D6 - my first 3 1/2 hours.

http://www.mts.net/~cjcocn/PICS/02%20Yard%20After%20D6%20-%20Cropped.jpg

After going through the yard and pulling/picking roots it was time for topsoil.

192 cubic yards of topsoil going on .......

http://www.mts.net/~cjcocn/PICS/192%20Cubic%20Yards%20of%20Topsoil%20Going%20On.jp g

New eavestrough, some of the deck replaced (doing siding/insulation this summer - pending sufficient cash flow - and will put up a kick-ass roofed deck then), lawn seeded and grass starting to come in. It looks a lot better now and I was even able to cut it once before the snow fell in the fall.

http://www.mts.net/~cjcocn/PICS/Grass%20Coming%20In%20-%2014%20Sep%2006.jpg

That's basically what I was up to last summer and after a few months of evenings and weekends it was nice to get done.

The big payoff is that we refinished the basement and the girls are back in their rooms and like it more than ever as we designed the rooms (paint schemes, etc) the way they wanted and most importantly - they are dry!

That's about it.

[Rick]

What did you do with all your spare time? J/K. Nice job. Quite the pile of work you did there. The finished prodject looks nice. Good job!

[cjcocn]

Thanks, Rick!

It was a bit of work, but having to tell my girls to move out of their rooms for the summer was not something that I was willing to do more than once (we had just moved in less than a month before we had to dike). Besides, I hadn't operated machines since I worked on the rail and that D6 was a blast. Next to having my two girls back in their rooms, learning about that D6 was the best part (and now I know why they buy grease by the case!).

I "banked" all of my spare time until next summer. ;) I haven't fished since 2005 and just barely got to know my new (to me) mud motor in the fall. This summer I can afford to pick and choose my house and yard projects, but I already have plans to do a lot more "fun" projects like refurbishing that old MF riding mower that the previous owners left behind. I'd also like to drag an old tractor out of my neighbors field and have a look at that. He went with an totally earthen dike and found it in the trees that he had to remove.

[hlntoiz]

Ya Kudo's Chris. That is one heck of a project. Looks like you did it right! If that area is always flooding.....wouldn't that make a good farming field?

[cjcocn]

Ya Kudo's Chris. That is one heck of a project. Looks like you did it right! If that area is always flooding.....wouldn't that make a good farming field?

Thanks hlntoiz! :D

This region is farmed for exactly that reason and has been since the first grain crop was planted here in 1735. The lands generally don't get flooded like they used to, however, as "the Valley" (that has the most farming activity) has had a permanent dike/man-made channels since the 1950s.

We are in an area where talk is still going on about a permanent diking system and they will not break ground on it for at least a couple of years. It sure beats living in town, tho!

PS .... nice Arctic setup!

[hlntoiz]

PS .... nice Arctic setup!

Thanks! I can't wait to get it painted.