Brushogging in the heart of the city

Even in the heart of Oklahoma City, it's easy to miss the fact that there are empty fields and lots all around us that need regular maintenance.  I've driven by the road that leads to this field more times than I could even count and didn't even know it existed.  The owner of this property is both a nurse and realtor.  This field represents a dream she's always had to develop her own neighborhood.

I love turning this:

Into this: 

Here is a before and after of a grove of 1-2 inch diameter thorn trees:

Downtown drainage project

Talk about a fixer-upper! This customer's house was built in 1911, not longer after statehood.  It is located just a few blocks from the capital building and is in a very historic neighborhood.

The problem this family was having is that their yard was a little bit higher than their their driveway and water running through their downspouts dumps right on their drive.  As you might expect, this is a recipe for trouble.

Here is a shot of the really cool house.  They've done a great job fixing it up and making it very attractive.

It's important to consider the drainage of the entire property before any dirt is moved. Fortunately in this case, the backyard was not contributing to the problem.

The stain on the driveway next to the trash can is evidence of the water that was being retained and the obvious starting point to moving dirt.

It's important to shoot grades throughout the project to keep a close eye on things.

Mid-project...

The final product...now water can move away from the driveway and out onto the field. As an added bonus, I raised the level of the yard where the water was leaving the driveway.  Now it is being properly re-directed onto the street where the city's storm water system can collect it appropriately.

On the steep in El Reno

This rural customer on the far edge of El Reno has a large, steep drop-off at the back of her 2.5 acre home site.  Because of the slope and the busyness of life in general, she had let it grow up beyond the capabilities of her riding mower and needed my help.  She was thrilled with the work and we have a backhoe project coming up next to manicure the rest of her property.

In total, the mowing area was probably only about 1 acre but there were lots of down limbs and debris to contend with in the mowing process.

Here are some consecutive before-and-after shots.  Remember, the camera can't capture the depth of field necessary to fully contextualize the steep slope here.

Brush Hog in da Fog

MAN THIS WAS A BEAUTIFUL START TO THE DAY!!

There were a couple of times on the morning drive where visibility dropped to below a 1/4 mile.  It was extremely dense, to say the least.

But, while that made for some slower driving, it also made for a dramatic sunrise.  Here are a few pics of the day as it got started.

This was one of those mostly flat fields with only slight elevation changes that look so well-groomed when finished.

I. Can. Drive. 55 (post holes)

This is actually the second phase of a project I did for this wonderful customer and now, new friend.

The first phase of the project was documented HERE.

This time around our goal was to dig post holes...and I mean lots of 'em.  In total, we put in 55 post holes with most using a 9" auger and the rest using a 12" auger.  The larger holes were to give extra room for adding concrete around the larger diameter corner and anchor posts.

Per customer specs, these holes were 36" deep.  There were only a few places where we ran into a solid rock layer and once where we sheared a pin on a very large root.  Over the course of the project, we averaged about 11 minutes per post hole.  Many of the holes took  3-5 minutes but, as ALWAYS, there were some difficulties that arose with hidden obstacles.  Even then, we were able to power through and accomplish the task.

The night before...equipment loaded and ready for pre-dawn departure.  Also included were extra shear pins and backup augers, just in case.

The view of downtown on my way to the jobsite.

The 'boss man' pointing to the next location.

The north-south run where we battled lots of tree roots and had to go a little slower in places.

This was the east-west run where drilling, for the most part, was much easier.  It was a mix of top soil, clay and a few spots of sandstone.  We had to relocate one hole by about 8 inches due to something underground that was tougher than we were. Actually, we could have dug it up but speed was more important than that specific location.

This was a precision endeavour, after all.  We had 1ft increments marked on the auger so we could make as precise of placement as possible.

It was a very nice setting for the work and the weather was perfection.  You can't really see it in this picture, but the land just below this pic was very steep and required a little extra attention when drilling. You can also see some of the dirt work and leveling we had to do on the hill.

A quick lunch of leftover pizza, carefully warmed up by sitting it on the engine block for a few minutes!

I can't wait to see the finished fence and the customer has promised to send pics when he's done.  His animals will love having the extra room to roam.

Bush hog, brush hog, brushhog, rotary mower....shredder???

Every now and then, people refer to brush hogs as shredders (you did know that, didn't you?)  In case you were wondering why, this before and after pic will give you an idea.  It took less than 15 minutes to shred this entire pile of limbs, some of which were oak of almost 2 inches in diameter.

One of the less obvious complications of having something like a brush hog that goes by so many names is when you're a Craigslist addict like me who is looking for a good deal on a used one.  There are no less than five search terms that have a reasonable chance of turning up the bargain I'm looking for.

And there is your brush hog/shredder lesson for today, friends.

Mud Bog Brush Hog

I've had some muddy tractor jobs before...like this one:

But this was the first time I'd ever brush hogged moss!

The customer owned an area of land that is basically a city drainage retention pond and it was a MESS.  The cattails are absolutely horrible about sending out seeds that can clog a radiator and cause a tractor to overheat.

The other tough part about this job is that the field was still littered with tornado debris from the 2013 tornadoes that ravaged Moore.  There's nothing like cruising along and BAM BAM BAM...hitting a chunk of metal buried in the weeds.  No matter how closely you watch for such stuff, sometimes you just can't see it.

Here's the tame view of the job when I first showed up.  Boy, did things change quickly!

I immediately hit this:

And at one point, the water had been standing there so long I actually brush hogged...MOSS!

I had to run with my bucket up (not ideal) in many places just to keep the bucket from knocking dust and seeds up into the radiator.

At one point, my tractor was actually practically floating over the mud on the very very thick reeds. Had I had skinnier tires or a heavier tractor, I would have sunk to the axles instantly.  It was very deep, thick, mushy mud.  You can't tell from the pics the danger that mess that lurked below.

Here's what things looked like when I was done.  It took me an hour to get the mud washed off!  Too bad I don't get to count that as part of the billable time. ;)