New Driveway

Driveway down in the pecan bottom

It's the new year and we have new high speed internet out here in Jack County!  We are very excited about our new treats like videos, games and Skype - they work pretty consistently with the new service.  Another bonus is that pictures upload so much faster than on dial up.  Last year, it took me over an hour to post a blog, not because it took me that long to figure out what to write, but because each picture took about 10 minutes to load!  Such luxury is worth getting excited for, especially when it only costs $10 more a month.

Freddie and our driveway

 Our family has owned this little place for ten years, now, and we were very pleased to have our driveway graded last fall.  Our drive runs straight up a hill and when the rains come, the water runs straight down the driveway.  Only the most daring visitors would venture up the treacherous half mile driveway up the hill to our humble abode.  On a positive note, the road would keep their speed to a minimum!

Jason's handiwork

Lacey on the drive

 
Jason would go and work on the driveway periodically over the years, by hand with a bucket, sledgehammer and a shovel.  He would fill holes with rocks and crush them flat. 
A local bulldozer operator came out to look at the driveway and I was surprised to learn that he would grade it for less than $500.  He came out a couple of weeks later with a huge motorgrader.  So much for buckets!

Mr. Marley's miracle motorgrader

 I shouldn't have been surprised about the capabilities of heavy equipment, but I was pretty impressed.  The first trip up the driveway completely changed the lay of the land.  After Mr. Marley drove about six trips up and down our tortured driveway, gravel was redistributed, rock was sliced and holes were filled.  The spectacle was pretty amazing to watch.

After the first pass

Motorgrader at work!

After the motorgrader came up the house the first time, Liam and I hiked down the driveway to see the action.  We were already thrilled with the progress.  We jogged down the driveway and proceeded to hide in the trees in the cliffs overlooking the drive so we could watch unobserved.




From our vantage point in the trees, we could see the driveway being reshaped without the unfortunate dust problem that we would be faced with if we were lower down.

I think that Liam enjoyed getting to see a piece of heavy equipment busily doing its job.

After a couple of passes

Dad was the first to try out the new driveway along with his Ford Taurus - he seemed to approve.  Jason's mom visited us at Christmas and could not believe the improvement.   Hopefully, the road will last another ten years before it needs grading again.


Our next professional project - a metal roof for our east patio before summer comes...