While we were busy with the boards, Agent Smith used Bambi to excavate debris buried beneath wood chips and other debris. While the wood chips were our doing–we had a crew on site for 8 days our first winter dismantling the 30 year old trash pile left by the previous owners–the rest of the garbage was behind the stables so long, all that was left were the things that don’t rot. For example, we discovered that the POs simply dumped the asphalt spoils left from repaving the driveway behind the stables instead of dealing with them. Also either the POs or the Doc disposed of a bunch of mattresses there, but all that was left were the binding tapes and springs.
In addition, some random piece of farm machinery was added to the pile, leaving this large and very heavy mass of rusted metal.
Agent Smith also uncovered several old metal drums, all of them filled with water, which meant they could water some of the weeds growing behind the stables when squeezed by Bambi. These were soon inserted into the waiting dumpster.
We ended up filling two dumpsters, bringing our running total to 15. While one of the dumpsters was completely filled by the neighborhood cleanup I led, the rest were filled with debris from the ranch. Keep in mind that number does not include the four dumpsters we filled with debris during the wall project, as they were brought in by the firm we had working on the wall.
Even more insane is the fact that we will add to that total in the spring, as we’re not done yet! The house yard fence is scheduled for renovation this winter, and with the Studio currently undergoing renovations and plans for replacing the furnaces, there will be even more garbage generated. Thankfully that garbage will be something we created and not something left for us.
Lastly, here are some shots of both the crew of guys who helped with all of this and what it now looks like behind the stables–although we still need to figure out what to do with the old chipper (I’m thinking Craigslisting it for free).
