Dec 7, 2011

Digging the Trampoline/ playground holes

Typical excavation in these days is accomplished by using heavy equipment like tractors and backhoes. I suppose it was also that way when I was young and I remember cleaning ditches with a blade attached to the back of a tractor and having to be very careful since it had a tendency to pull the tractor on it’s side if the blade wasn’t at the correct angle and you were going slow enough that when it caught tree roots it wouldn’t tip the tractor over. However when I was married and wanting to put the trampoline into a hole so that it would be less dangerous at ground level and when we bought play ground equipment and I wanted to have sand all underneath it, I found that I didn’t own a tractor that I could dig the holes with and also was shy the heavy equipment that could dig the holes. I did have however a strong back, several shovels and some boys who needed to learn how to work and dig holes. It is a natural tendency for boys to want to dig holes anyway just not quite the size I was asking for at those two instances. I did start the holes and did dig them and did have help from the family and not with a lot of enthusiasm. I am thankful that I did it that way because I have heard them comment, again not with a lot of fondness for the experience, to their children that they had to dig the holes for those areas. I know it didn’t hurt them and I know it was a lot  of work but it created some special memories for us as a family. We started with a small hole and then moved the dirt from the hole to create a raised border around each. It has made it easier to keep them from filling with water when the irrigation comes but a little harder to mow the lawn and to water those areas with the irrigation water. I am still grateful for those mounds of dirt though because I have our sons and two daughters that are now not afraid to work.