New House Blog: Episode XXXXVIII - A New Season

A new season of Back Yard Archaeology, to be specific.  After the cold, bitter winters, so typical of the San Jose area, we were finally able to officially reopen the main dig site at the mound in the back yard.  And we have already found...well, that would be getting ahead of things a bit.  To find out what we may or may not have found you will have to read through this post or scroll down to the BYA update.  Other topics we will cover in this Episode include: Planting, Cutting down, and Uprooting.

Planting

We were give three flowering plants (of the cyclamen variety) as a gift at our recent housewarming get-together.  We found a very nice place for them where they should get lots of sun and rain.

Cutting Down

Our new house came with several trees in the back yard, one of which was a relatively young willow tree.  Sadly, it's foliage was preventing some sunlight from reaching our garden.  So we cut it down.  It was small enough that we chose to use Buck (the small saw) instead of Bari (the axe).  Cutting down this tree also provided us with some wood that should be useful as firewood come next winter.

This is what the tree and tree corner look like after the down-cutting.  Please note the large, non-branch-blocked area of sky.  Please also note the superabundance of shamrock plants.  Please also further notice the lettuce that is thriving despite these accursed shamrock plants.

This picture shows a closer-up view of Buck among the stumps.  Due to its closeness to the fence, the battle for this stump may be long and difficult.  That's why we're putting it off for now.

Uprooting

We engaged in the Third Battle Of The Stump, although it was more like a large skirmish than a full-scale battle.  In the back yard, near, but not in, the garden area was the stump from the lilac tree that we cut down a few months ago.  It was comprised of several small stumps all stuck together.  This was a young tree, and its root system was not too extensive.  Used for this stump battle were Longspade (the long-handled digging shovel), Spike (the pickaxe), Bari (the ax), and Shorty (the short-handled digging shovel).

The ground was soft that day, from some recent rains, and the stump had no idea what was in store for it.  It had been lying in the ground complacently, never even considering the possibility that we might one day uproot it.  After all, we had left it untouched for some time, and it saw no reason for us to deviate from that policy.  So it was quite a surprise, and a shock, to the stump when we showed up with the stump-battlin' team and engaged it in battle.  Here is what the stump looked like at the start of battle.

Spike was the first to engage, and it was a fierce, piercing engagement that left a trench around the stump and exposed long-buried roots.  Longspade and Shorty were the next to join the battle, but I don't recall in which order.  More dirt was removed, more pressure was exerted on the root system, and the root's weaknesses were discovered.  Bari swept in to sever those weak ties and to separate the stump from the ground it so loved.

Here is the aftermath of the battle.  The defeated stump was added to the pile of fuutre firewood and the stump-hole has been filled.







Back Yard Archaeology

And now for the update you've all been waiting for - Back Yard Archaeology's new digging season has officially opened.  Digging on the mound has re-commenced and discoveries are a-plenty.  And in this case a-plenty means three.  During three short digs I uncovered three previously unknown concrete post foundations.  All were completely hidden by the mound, and all came out of the ground relatively easily.

Here is post foundation #1.  It was found near the edge of the previous season's digging.  Note in the pictures below that it was apparently poorly poured around its wooden post.  So poorly was this post foundation poured that one end of it was not securely attached to the rest of it, and this end piece fell of as soon as the post foundation was lifted from the ground.

Sticking out of the ground

Out in the open

With end cap intact

With end cap detached

 The next two post foundations were normal and not unusual in any way that we know of.

Foundation #2 in the ground

Foundation #2 unearthed

Foundation #3 in the ground

Foundation #3 unearthed

What secrets does the mound still contain?  Will I ever complete my recreation of the old pre-Bishopian tile mosaic?

As we wrap up another exciting Episode we want to remind you that there are at least four stumps in the front yard that will need battlin'; also the willow tree stump will need battlin'.  That's at least five more stump battles to look forward to.  We also want to look ahead and give you a little bit of an idea of some of our plans for our New House.  In the front yard we have some exciting planting and bricking ideas, and one word to keep in mind is "succulents."  Our back yard plans are also starting to shape up, and one word to keep in mind is "cactus."  We are still awaiting the John Deere backhoe promised to us for Christmas by a certain family member with the initials of DR in the RV, but we will not let this lack of backhoe stop us from moving forward as we continue to develop and improve our New House.

Does John Deere even make backhoes?
      bIsh