MOVIN ROCKS & CACTUS

 Grandpa & Laila on the tractor.

One of the many improvement projects at the Chance Ranch, is to get rid of the front deck that was built on top of the dirt, and replace it with a patio, and eventually a shade cover.  The first step was to remove 5 large cactus, and a whole bunch of rocks.  The barrel cactus pictured below was the largest, and it took some doing to get it rolled into the bucket.  These things don't have much of a root system, and are easy to knock over, but they weigh a ton!

 

The next part of the project was to remove all of the rocks that had been scattered in the area.  Putting the loader bucket close, made it a little easier to load the rocks, but it still took 4 bucket loads before the area was cleared.

I was going to start removing the deck this morning, but have a bunch of errands to run, starting with taking paint samples to the garage contractor.  Fortunately, when the house was recently painted, there was a small amount of the exterior paint left over, and it will be used to match the new garage paint.

Lots of Rocks.

 No rocks, and 3 cactus left to remove.

When the concrete is poured for the garage, I hope to have the front of the house ready, so that I can accomplish a couple of things on the same day.  Once the patio and walkway are done, then the next step will be to figure out the best way to put up a cover.