BIG POSTS!

Mac had a long, three day weekend.  That essentially means, I didn't get anything done.  He has this mystical property of sucking all of the motivation right out of me.  I don't know why that it is, but it's a damn nuisance!  Luckily, I set up some time with the neighbor to help me out with some posts before Mac had his weekend.  I was committed and there was no backing out.

I had decided that he, the neighbor, should just help me in two hour increments.  That way I wouldn't be using up his entire weekend and my tasks could be fitted around his other plans.  First, we had to get the auger attached to the tractor.  It felt like it took forever! Eating precious minutes out of my two hour allotment.  Eventually, we did get over here and got the two biggest posts pulled out of the stack.  These were the posts that I had already dug the holes for by hand.  The bases were a good 18-20 inches across, but I'm trying really hard to waste nothing.  Though huge, they would still get used.  Getting the posts to the holes went smoother then I anticipated.  Getting them tipped up was another matter.  I had gotten the holes big enough, but just barely.  The posts stood in the holes but had dropped only about ten inches.  It was a bit nerve racking to see the jumbo size posts barely up.  Finally the tractor got positioned to where it could get it's forks on top of the posts and press them down. There was some moments of worry on the second post as it looked like it might be catching on the tractors hydraulic lines.  Then a little more wrangling and positioning and a bit of finger crossing for luck. The front wheels were completely off the ground as the post "thunked" into position.

The time continued to whittle away and with just about a half hour left we managed to get  nine more holes dug.  No posts were drug out or set or tamped in.  We just went from spot to spot like a hole digging marathon.  But, I keep telling myself. the big posts are in..  the big posts... the ones that look like they mark the entrance to a village.  Posts so big that a hero could stand behind them quite safely while taking potshots at bad guys.  Yes, so big in fact, that I can stand behind them and you won't see my butt sticking out from one side or the other.  That's a big post!  And it's set, and I can move on now.

WHEW!

Louie