My friend Len is real busy these days. He decided to give me a quick lesson on the bulldozer and let me push the gravel around today. It was like sculpting with the biggest tool I've every handled. Three trucks hauled gravel in all day and we managed 510 cubic yards into the hole. It will take another 2-300 cubic yards to bring things back up to the level we need for the footings.

I've owned and operated a small tractor with a bucket for nine years but a bulldozer is a whole different animal. It was all hand controls on Len's bulldozer and in spite of moving slow there seemed to be lots happening at once. It took a little getting used to but I managed to flatten each load of gravel as it came off the trucks.

Every few loads I jumped from the tractor to the giant roller/packer we had rented to pound the gravel into place. The roller shook everything around including the old house and all the stuff in it. There is little chance the new house will settle like the old one did. The soils engineer dropped by during the day to check on things and gave the job his blessing. He will stop by one more time tomorrow when the task is complete.

By tomorrow I should be practically an expert on the bulldozer. :) I think I enjoy my regular job more.

-grampa dan