When I last left off, I had spent a little time using our neighbor's tractor to spread the two huge piles of pine mulch over three separate areas that I wanted to cover, at least before I can get around to spreading gravel down over those same areas. Trying to use the front end loader on the tractor or even the grader on the back to level off the mulch piles was more difficult than just using a heavy rake to do the work. I went ahead and spent the time just dumping pile after pile with the front end loader over the areas, spacing the piles out so when I do spread them out, I will get a uniform coverage of the area. One of the biggest areas I focused on was the area around the Shooting Range, as well as the area behind the trees that support the Range. In the dumping of the piles of mulch, I took time to make sure I dumped some along the fence line, so I can get a full coverage from the fence line all the way out around the Shooting Range and the surrounding area, eventually connecting to the path running along the north fence. With the piles situated, I was able to spread them out, getting a coverage reaching out more than six feet from the Range, all the way from the fence line. Even the area that serves as a path going around the back of the Shooting Range to the rear area just before getting to the north fence path was also covered well. This intermediate area has a complete coverage, allowing me to use the area for whatever I may deem necessary. I don't expect to use this area for any kind of building project, but it might serve as a staging area for other things, like surplus truck frames or the like. Now speaking of the north fence area. This area has been and will probably continue to be a problem for us due to its water retention issue. I will probably find myself dumping the remaining mulch over this area and spreading it out by hand carefully, versus using the tractor to drive into the area. Since the ground is so soupy, trying to drive in to dump the mulch will just further dig out the ruts that were previously created, causing me to have to work on moving mud as well as mulch. The mulch will really be a weak temporary solution to the greater problem that would end up requiring something heavy like large rocks or even concrete in unison with gravel to bind this damned mud up enough to make it even be capable of handling anything more than foot traffic. While the arrival of this huge amount of mulch was an unexpected blessing and curse, it will go a long way to improving things around the compound, especially when it comes to "infrastructure". Pathways for different traffic will make normal operations easier, especially as we continue to pick up the pace with automotive projects, among other things. Everything we do around here is a means to an end, and that end may change at any moment, based on new ideas or greater plans.
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