First Day on the Job

I was curious about what I could accomplish in a two-hour period of shoveling rock and hauling stone. Not to be intimidated by a pile of dirt and rocks, I began to uncover and sort the malpais flat rocks from the boulders. Of course, they were buried in the dirt pile (see previous post), so I occasionally filled up the wheel barrow and made some trips to the back yard. I was starting to feel drained after about two hours, so I wisely called it quits and vowed to fight another day (tomorrow).

Though I am in pretty good shape due to semi-regular jogging and step-aerobics classes, this task clearly brought forth muscles I rarely use. I was mildly sore in the legs, knees, arms -- pretty much everywhere by Sunday morning. I will plan on spreading out this earthen project over a week or two. The photo here shows what I accomplished on the raised bed and wall after two hours. The wall got higher on Sunday. Stay tuned for stories about this past summer's railroad planning and design process! The photo here shows one of the two planned termini for the railroad, this one with a 4-foot diameter reverse loop and station tracks to match the shape of the raised bed.