The Excavator’s Hunt

Preparing for the Hunt

God made dirt, dirt won’t hurt.

That’s what I used to say to first born son who didn’t care for getting his hands or clothes dirty. I would remind him of that, so he could turn his frown upside down, and go back to playing.

I am now parenting myself with that same mantra.

I generally don’t mind dirt.  At least not outside.  However now that we are on what feels like day 2,200 of our remodel, well, let’s just say I am tired of the dirt.

Load by Load

But the dirt is finally on the move.  And just another learning lesson for me of this project:  septic tanks are something you don’t think about — until you have a problem.

Or, until they are so old that no one knows where they are located.

Or, if you even have one at all.

If you’re lucky, your brother is an excavator and allows you to “help” (aka play) during the search.  Thank you, David and Scott, at Harker Excavating.

See that?  That’s BJR’s happy, kid in a candy store, game face.

After several attempts, David located the drywell.

BJR can take all the camera credit for this next picture.  I was not gonna get that close.  Look closely, you will see that is the reflection of the sky at the bottom of the drywell.  Please don’t ask me to identify anything else in this picture though… bluck.  The only thing ‘cool’ about this ol’ boy is its age and that it had stood the test of time.

Once we they uncovered the drywell, the consensus was that the tank couldn’t be far off.  But then again, when the tank was installed back in the day, when indoor plumbing was a newfound thing, code wasn’t dictating a whole heck of a lot on the rural farm. Even Steve the drywaller couldn’t help but want to know what was going on.

Everybody but me got a turn to dig.  Oh shuck not shucks.

It was then decided to start looking on the other end of the line — where the pipe exited the house.

There is a good joke somewhere here…how many men does it take to find a septic tank?

See that fella wearing an Army hat? That’s Uncle Joe.  He is both crusty and lovable at the same time, a feat most people can’t pull off.

Uncle Joe got a hold of some copper wire and channeled his inner water diviner.

Because we love him, let’s just say it worked.

We they found the tank almost immediately. Just a few feet from the house.  Who’da thunk.

It was made out of iron and completely disgusting. I will do you the courtesy of keeping it as a smaller picture.

But it was certainly cause to celebrate. Because now the dirt can get moved around — which meant the new tank could be installed!  Which means no more plunging the shower.  Can I get an amen?  Who would’ve thought a concrete box could be such a pretty sight.

They are finishing the drain field TODAY and we are almost there.  Almost time to say buh-bye to dirt piles and big equipment.

It’s been a great ride, but I’m ready for some grass.

xoxo from our dirty Dirt Road Farm…