This past week involved moving rock & dirt with a small Skid Steer as pictured below. I’ve mentioned the project before – July 23rd. The idea has two purposes, (1) adding an expanse of gravel for fire resistence, and (2) making a boulodrome (playing surface) on which to engage in games of Pétanque.
The selected area, just south of the house, had a slope and and needs to be level. So, the northwest end (blue line in the photo) was taken down, and the southeast end (purple arrow) was raised. The change in height was over three feet.
The white pole in the lower right photo is the gauge for the
Hilti™ rotating laser level (current models list for over $8,000). A wave of photons is sent over the area and marks on the pole indicate how high or low your surface is. In the photo, the crew found a “too low” spot and dumped fill there. This spot is just left of the tree as seen in the larger photo.
The EBRG company, Ellensburg Cement Products, has a crushing pit 2.5 miles northeast of me, so a run from there to here only takes a few minutes. We had 3 loads of basalt brought for a base. It is not yet evenly distributed. That happens Monday. Later we will get a finer material for the surface, from ECP’s near-EBRG location. Tuesday likely.
More fill was added to the half-circle road being developed as a fire break. The July 23rd post shows that route with yellow dots. Rock needs to go there too.
I am also clearing up rock & dirt piles created 3 years ago when we began with the conversion of the 2-car garage to living space. I am working on those (by-hand) when the places are in shade. All that should be finished by mid-week.
Update: Woody, the fluffy but sick cat, is much better. Sounds of respiratory infection are gone. She eats better and is purring a little. There is a bit of new coat, although with warm summer temperature, she doesn’t need much.
Lightning in the mountains west of Ellensburg on Friday, August 9, started 13 fires in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. The Kittitas Valley had a lot of smoke, but near the ground there was no smoke smell. There were too many spot-sources to claim where my smoke came from.
An earlier and larger fire near Mt. Adams is called the Williams Mine Fire. It and others are in this report: FIRE REPORT: Williams Mine Fire expands rapidly | Columbia Basin Herald
Keeping Track
On the Naneum Fan
John