So far I have about 80 hours sitting on the bulldozer. I am sure if I was more experienced on heavy equipment that the time would be less. I have made a few miss-steps that have cost me some time. One of my topsoil stock piles had to be moved and Management (the Wife) had requested a design change. That took an extra few hours. And the rain has made a mess if the site. I have shaped the deep areas to take the rain fall, so I can continue on with the rest of the pond bottom. I am only able to work on weekends so progress is slow.
The soil on the site could not be better. All clay with a few large rocks. I am pushing the rocks out of the way so I can use them for landscaping around the pond and for bottom structure.
I did cut a key trench for the dam. I did not like the compaction I was getting with the dozer, so I am using a compact tractor with a counter weighs and a full bucket of dirt to compact the clay. It is not as good as a roller but it is what I have available. I will let you know how that works out for me.
I am getting concerned that I will run out of time before I can get the top soil in place to get some grass cover for the winter. I may just seed with annual rye this year and work on the ground cover next Spring.
This is more fun than I expected. I am enjoying seeing the progress from week to week. I can picture the finished project and how nice it will look on the property.
