The Last Load

We built the house we currently live in. Well, WE didn't. More specifically, I didn't. I was 8 1/2 months pregnant when Salisbury Homes built it. Its a nice home, we rather enjoy it. But going back 5 years, we were left with a mountain of dirt in the backyard, literally. The home is built up against a hill/mountain that crests about as high as our home. The "yard" extended level, with a gradual grade away from the home for 10 feet. THEN it sharply inclined to roof top level.

This was a problem for us because we wanted one big flat yard, you know, to throw a ball around, get a real good game of something going on. And so began the "backyard project" or the "Great Wall of Sterling" as some have called it. First up, Sterling rented a dumptruck and backhoe and began hauling dirt out. After 100 or so dumptruck loads, huge rocks began to surface, which required jack-hammers and when those didn't help, air compressor hammer things.

Soon enough, we had the dirt out and began constructing a monumental retaining wall. But we now needed more dirt to back fill the retaining wall and fill in garden areas. And so began the years of 8-9 pallets of Lehi block pallets on the driveway, several 8-ton dumptruck loads of dirt and 8-ton dumptruck loads of pea-gravel. This lasted 4 years, every summer!!!

Long story short...Sterling cleared off the last dumptruck load on Saturday (June 7th). Let the day go down in history. He swears that was the last. Dusty, our dumptruck friend, thank you for your years of service but I sincerely hope we never talk to you again.

(The following pictures were taken July 2007)

Here are Sterling's words on this momentous occassion.

Here are the retired wheelbarrow and shovel.