It has come to my attention that at least one person in the world was actually interested in the continuing saga of me vs. the stumps. That's all the encouragement I need to keep writing!
I took two more stumps out on the relatively warm days last week. They came out super easy. Partly this is because these two were small and shrubby -- lots of small branches sticking out of the ground rather than one big stump. But also I think the ground being wet made a big difference. I know, I know, never cultivate wet ground, it's supposed to be really bad for the soil. But dang it, the wet soil was so much easier to dig up. Instead of having to repeatedly stab the digging bar into the ground all around the stump, I could pretty much just dig deep enough to get under the roots, then push the digging bar all the way under, pry it up and the stump lifted right out. Not sure if that makes sense or not. Besides, that clay dirt is so awful that I could hardly make it any worse. I'm going to have to bring in truckloads of good soil before planting.
I've still got three stumps to go. Well actually four, but I'm not sure what to do about the fourth. It may be located right over the sewer pipe, which I obviously don't want to stab into with a giant metal blade. How deep are sewer pipes? If I called the water company, could they tell me? They put it in, they ought to know. Anyway, as for the fourth stump I might just have to cut off that one at the ground and give it a good dose of Round-up to kill it or something.
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