sewing and shoveling dirt

I managed to get three rows of blocks sewn together. I am going to have to add a couple blocks to make the rows longer. Right now the rows are only 60" wide; I ran out of room on the design wall to add any more blocks to the row! LOL!!

We had gotten some rain so I decided to tackle moving the pile of dirt from my driveway to the back yard. The dirt has been there over a year and it had compacted down. Here is the before

I was hacking at the dirt with a shovel when it dawned on me to use the Maddox. Now I don't know if that is the correct name for this tool, but that what I always heard it was called. It weighs about 9 pounds and you know that you are swinging something solid!

It broke up the dirt much easier than the shovel. I hauled 6 loads to the back. I could only fill the wheelbarrow 1/3 to 1/2 full - that dirt was heavy! I am dumping it where next year I am going to plant more squash and zucchini. The bed looks a mess right now, but I will keep working on bringing it to a point that it will be good for planting. I do need to add more organic matter so I will be mixing in the leaves that fall.

Here is what the dirt pile looks like now. I made a little dent. I figure it is going to take 7-9 hours of work to get this cleaned up.

I am glad it is Friday. I have been extremely busy at work banging away on the computer making spreadsheets, gathering information for the spreadsheets, and entering data. I sat all day yesterday so when I got home I was tired, but not the good kind of physical tired. that is why instead of just sitting, I decided to move some of that dirt. After an hour of that, I was mentally feeling better and the tired was physical instead of mental.

This weekend I am going to try to spend a few hours moving more dirt, work on that flannel quilt, and I need to make a trip to my brother's to finish up the downspout repairs and sealing that joint. Have a great weekend.