Boys and Their Toys

Today was a better day! In fact, we made up for all our delays and will probably finish the week slightly ahead of schedule. Firstly, the heavy rain stopped, and the sun actually poked through. Then, at about 8:00 a.m., the first of nine 20-ton loads of cinders arrived. Our contractor had ordered three sizes or types: 6" minus to build up the driveway; 2" minus to buildup the area around the house; and 2" base course for under the footings and the catchment tank.

The second rig to arrive was a rotary drill that our contractor found to drill a hole for the "permanent-temporary" electric pole instead of excavating one. This promised to go much faster and would not require as much concrete around the pole. These guys knew what they were doing and were set up and drilling in minutes!

Here the 21-foot pole is being raised and set into the 5-foot deep hole. Two 8-foot deep ground rod holes were also drilled.

At one point in mid-day, this was the scene! It was a parking lot for "boys and their toys" as Katie put it. All men, big tools, lots of drilling and dumping...she retired to her knitting while I reveled in the smell of diesel fumes. At the end of the day, we actually had hard evidence of progress. Our cesspool was dug; our electric pole was set; and five of the nine loads of cinders had been delivered. Everyone has been so helpful and friendly...and respectful of the land. Matt, Howard, Chad, and David each spoke of what a beautiful place it was, and how Pele had to be honored. "Only in Hawaii"




I have discovered a powerful and fun Google tool called "Picasa2" to manage photos, upload to the Blog and create slideshows that can be embedded into the Blog. Please bear with my fledgling efforts!