Third Day and Clearing is Complete

They weren't even full days.  Scott started work with his Track-Hoe on Thursday the 13th at about lunch time, when the rain quit.  We worked for about four hours that day.  Then on Friday we put in a fairly full day, starting in the morning and working for about seven hours until late afternoon.  I did a little trimming work on my own over the weekend, but there was no equipment running.  Then on Monday the 17th, Scott returned and worked for about three more hours.  He took away two more dump truck loads of debris, for a total of seven loads over the three days.  The site is pretty much cleaned up now.  There are a few piles of logs remaining, that will eventually get cut up for firewood.  And probably one more part load of waste to be hauled away when we get into the last of the brush piles.  

I'm really happy with the way things have gone so far.  The site looks really good, and I'm used to the idea of the size of the clearing we needed to create.  The next step will be to excavate for the foundation, and weather permitting, we hope to get that in the next day or so....

Here is the Track Hoe, loading a stump into the Tandem.  This was the second last load of debris that was hauled away to the burn pit.

The business end of the Track Hoe looks very much like the head of a Sauropod Dinosaur, grazing on trees and plants.  Here you can see the new hydraulic cylinder installed, and so far it has remained intact.  Scott and I believe that a log likely got caught between the ram and the hoe arm, bending the cylinder rod.  Once that bend was started, it would easily have become more pronounced under stress.

Here is the seventh and last load, including the huge stump from one of the big spruce trees.  This one, like the others, is on its way to the Community Burn Pit.

And finally, a panoramic view of the building site, once all the clearing was completed.  This is taken from near the property line between our two lots, looking to the southwest.  That is Tamarack Trail, the subdivision road on which we are located, visible in the background.