Wotcha foggers......
Sorry about the delay in posting a proper response in respect of the weekends events....I was gonna do it last night after sal went to bed, but fell asleep on the sofa and woke up at 5.45 this morning
Right then, firstly my apols if I get any of the details wrong as the weekend is a kinda blur when it comes to the details!! Lack of sleep might have something to do with it, 48hrs working the digger with about 8 hrs sleep over 3 nights dont help
Friday evening...
Digger arrived late afternoon, and sal soon after joined me...Had a play in the clearing first to get familiar with the digger before tackling anything in amoungst the trees...Graded out the rutted bottom of the horseshoe bit and put a hole at the bottom to help drainage...Sal then gave me ideas and the humpy bits near the pond got improved.. so blame sal for that! Graded the caravan entrance...
Steve 2much then arrived in his snot green as we made a start improving the left hand track which runs to the far end of the bottom of site after sorting the route at the last workday...basically it was very sideslopey and kinda threw you into the trees when it was wet down there, so needed cutting into the bank and leveling so the main track at the bottom that we made which the farmer now uses doesnt get so chewed up through over use...Pete then joined us...Pete steve sal and louis cleared the way for the digger and worked out other routes in the woods for the top track to be done much later when I felt brave!
I cracked on with the digger doing the track and Steve then drove it to bed it in and test for tree clearances...
This was the first late one, pete and I finished just over half of the new lower track by stupid oclock, and decided to call it a night...
We tracked back to the clearing and I got ready for my first night in the woods...
I stupidly didnt park the car very well, so was kinda sleeping upside down, was freezin cold, my head felt like an ice cube (i foolishly got my hair cut earlier that day...no1 up the back and sides wasnt the brightest idea!)
Needless to say I managed about an hours kip and about 5.30am decided to get up as couldnt sleep and loads to do...
Saturday...
Started work early joined by Map racing paul and Retro pedro and Krusher Kel and later on Sally...
we finished the track to the far end of the site, by about lunchtime (no time for lunch breaks though!) kel drove it in his lwb to pack it in a bit....and then we borrowed a 2 tonne thwaites dumper of the landowner to shift earth...This dumper had to be tow started and was a cranking handle jobbie but it had so much compression you couldnt turn it over by hand even with decompression valve open...Kel tow started it with his 2.8 and I nearly rolled it as the steering didnt really work without the engine running and kinda crossaxled it up a pile of roadstone in the farmyard...
It worked well though, apart from refusing to idle and the handbrake not working...but paul mastered the beast
We dug out and graded the stump garden so now the farm track/extraction route is smooth right to the bottom of the site... the earth removed was added to a big pile already in the clearing by the horseshoe from the landowner...
When then modified the under tree track and the bottom of the very final track...
After Kel and Pete had gone home, Paul and I shaped the pile of earth and nearby holes so that track was again driveable and interesting...The bottoms of some of the other tracks where modified to make them more interesting and stop cars risking sliding into the trees...Dug a tyre changing hole in the clearing also..
It was getting really late and Paul went home to grab a bit of sleep, and grabbed a brew then set about the tedious job of regrading and removing the rutts out of the upper farm track...it took ages, finished about 1.30am...
Tracked back down to the bottom and grabbed a few hours sleep...actually managed to get some to, albiet against the wishes of a woodpecker who I must have p1ssed of somehow...
sunday
Got up bright and early at 5.30 and started getting sorted, sharpening chainsaws etc, refuelling the digger...then paul arrived with brecky, followed a bit later by pete with more brecky!
Sundays efforts were concentrated at the top of the woods improving tracks and adding loads of really interesting bits...ch3f darren and sally cmae up later as did my li'll bruv...the bomb holes where all reworked, stumps removed and several new tracks added...
Pete and Paul shared dumper duties and both did really well considering how tight and uneven it was up there...
Final job was the new top track through the woods...something I wasnt looking forwards to as it meant working 2/3 of the way up a 30 degree sideslope, basicically cutting a ditch infront of the digger, piling the spoil to the lower side, grading with the bucket, and then carfuling dozing it with the digger and tracking onto the new level bit...this took ages, kinda 10ft at a time, with the digger precariously balanced at the top of a severe incline....didnt enjoy this bit at all, and thanks to petes assistance we managed to finally break out onto the main farm track after many "Moments"...
We then called it a day and had a well earned brew...at well gone midnight...
Monday
Got up at 5.30 to try and get a bit more done, tidied a couple of bits that were difficult on the new lower track, cleared the clearing, and expanded the parking areas around our communial area.. felled that awkward tree that was in the way in the clearing, and dug out all the stumps in the clearing, and dug/loosly refilled and area where we can now easily bury the bbq ash...Didnt want to venture too far from the clearing as thats where they knew to collect the digger from...
Digger was collected and had a final tidy up and loaded all the gear into the car and trailer and left the woods about lunchtime....knackered!!!
Well there you have it....had some right laughs and got loads done, thanks to everyone for their help over the weekend, and bringing me supplies...
Had a look tonight with Paul when he bought his front diff down for me to weld up...and its looking really good,
well done and thanks to everyone for their support in making this possible....everyone get your names down for the next picnic and weekender to see for yourself the improvements we have made ...
Laters
Gregster
