Digging out Part of the Mountain of Dirt left under the House by Contractor

 Yep, after living and working in Indonesia, we still did continue doing consulting work but no longer than 2 or 3 weeks at a time.

So we finally since early May of 1992, could start working on home & garden...

Our contractor left us with a huge mountain of dirt UNDER THE HOUSE!

While we were working/living in Indonesia, he started constructing the house, which Pieter had designed, by making the drawings all himself.

Two levels on the driveway end and one level on the kitchen side.

The contractor did ask if we wanted a wine cellar but we said no, we don't need that.

Not realizing by not wanting that, he also bypassed any concrete flooring...!

Oh dear, when you're not physically present at times; big problems can arise that need to be dealt with later. 

Neither was there Internet for quick communication...

Always harder too, for correcting a problem like that later, as you barely can access the area for a fast and efficient excavation.

But we needed to get rid of the musty heap of 60 tons of dirt!

In August of 1991, I've dug out already a big section, as much as we needed to fill in for washed out dirt that Pieter rode then out in the wheelbarrow... See: The FIGHT of Growing Grass in Subtropical Georgia/USA ←click it.

This time, Pieter himself dug out a lot more, as we planned to build our pantry.

You can best watch this on YouTube, and use the clickable points that I've inserted and written about, below video.You can see the start of the digging and wheeling out, in the beginning, on a nippy cold February day (my Birthday) and next the construction of our pantry in progress.Having a dirty house, at least downstairs, I only kept up with the extra laundry and also captured our Garden Critters in-between filming Pieter's hard labor.Pieter indeed has been a worker bee; all his life and he's done it ALL.At the end of the video, you also see at clickable 38:07 after 20 days of labor, the completion of the construction of our pantry. At clickable 39:16 Pieter lets the viewers peak behind the added door from the pantry underneath the house, where the remainder of the mountain of dirt remained, till he dug it all out in 2004 for constructing our Rose Suite.With those 60 tons that came out, we could nicely grade our garden.At clickable 42:18 showing garden with wooden walkway, our wood trail on the left of our gazebo. You also get to see the ditches, dug for draining the swampy section! They were by then nicely clad with mosses!
Related links:The FIGHT of Growing Grass in Subtropical Georgia/USA | previous post Non Glamorous Wheelbarrow Job for Filling and Raising Swampy Parts | previous post{The Construction of Our Rose Suite - Part I} | previous post by me where Pieter dug out the 60 tons of dirt{The Construction of Our Rose Suite - Part II} | previous post by me

Cleaning Our Pond and Fountain

 Not an easy task for keeping the fountain on the rock island in our pond running smoothly, as seen in the Middle Georgia Magazine Video that starts with our fountain.

Also for cleaning up the pond...

Pieter used our inflatable rubber boat to get the job done, using a special foot pump.

Another dirty job...!

Trying to dredge all the unwanted things out of the pond's edge and putting them on the lawn for gathering up later in the wheelbarrow.

This is also the way how Pieter had to peddle up to the island that he'd build where the fountain was placed.

Hoisting treated wooden poles into the bottom for building the platform.

On top of the platform natural rocks got placed, that we found on our property. In the center the fountain got placed.

The filter of that fountain often got clogged up... so he had to go there and take it out for cleaning.

Our pond is BIG, in this photo you can still see on the left the rock island.

SEVERAL times, his boating adventure went wrong...

Pieter also used to tie a rope on the oak tree for holding onto.

And another rope onto the willow tree that we had in the back of the pond.

By working on the fountain's filter and fastening it again in the center of the rocks, Pieter pushed the boat away and ended up in the pond.

This happened after lunch, as I still was cleaning up dishes before joining Pieter in the garden for weeding...

When I came downstairs, his jeans were hanging over the retainer wall alongside our driveway... all wet.

What happened?!

Oh, I fell into the pond... was Pieter's reply.

And you did that without me being there, seeing it and laughing my head off?!

Pieter quickly did hose down himself and his jeans, on the driveway and changed into dry clothes for the next attempt.

Oh, by doing this, he also lost several of his tools, they're at the bottom of the pond...

When the snapping turtle started knocking off the big rocks by climbing onto the fountain's platform, Pieter gave up going there for straightening the fountain and for cleaning it up.

He finally removed the entire platform.

Also because mice had chewed holes into the no-longer-inflatable boat!

Oh, keeping up with a nice and romantic pond can be so much fun.

Do you have a pond?

Related link:

Our Garden at the Time we had Access to Spent Mushroom Compost | video showing our pond's fountain at beginning...

Non Glamorous Wheelbarrow Job for Filling and Raising Swampy Parts

On May 1 of 1992 we had come back home following our Exodus from Indonesia after being robbed and we thus quit instead of going back a few more times for 2 months. See links below post.

That meant that here on May 23 of 1992, we both started developing our Estate.

Me in my SWAMP UNIFORM... Haha!

Dumping load after load, that got dug up by husband Pieter. To fill in this really SWAMPY PART around the gazebo where you would sink into before.

There seem to be several underground springs that caused these excessive wet spots.

Also keep in mind that both of us were the very first human beings ever cultivating this lot. Nobody ever had lived there and we never found any native American artifacts either...

So we really did some land reclamation!!!

Pieter was digging up some dirt here, where the pipe from the pond overflow would end into the creek.

All I had to do is wheel the wheelbarrow uphill and dump it around the gazebo.

Lucky Pieter, for being able to work in the shade but I got exposed to the sun and hence my SWAMP UNIFORM

Ready to go uphill again.

Wearing the hand knitted socks done by my Mother–in-–aw! 

Putting them to very good use.

Wearing my Campbell cap...

As you can see on the table in the gazebo, we did stop for a break in–between our hard labor!

On May 27, a pallet with square exposed aggregate concrete step stones lay already waiting to be worked in...

First on May 29, Pieter had to build a little patio at the end of the stairs from our veranda for starting the walk towards our gazebo...

Yes, he also was digging in all the piping for the lawn and garden for being able to use with hose and portable sprinklers. Since we live on a slope, fixed sprinklers would not work.

A short break after I did bring him some refreshments to enjoy...

Hard work and mostly back breaking!

Working in the square exposed aggregate concrete step stones...

And making sure they were all level!

Now on May 31, it was my turn for getting on my knees and washing them in with sand...

Step by step we accomplished all the heavy jobs!

July 17, 1992 Pieter started painting the ginger bread from Vintage Woodworks, high on a ladder on the driveway side...

Fighting the elements in a subtropical climate is not easy.

Here you see that our pond is too high, as the overflow into the creek is not working with the flooded creek, visible in the back.

Later, with the 60 tons of dirt dug up from under the house for creating the Rose Suite, we did fill in that low area behind the pond, for avoiding flooding.

😉Oh, those glamour jobs before you turn your land into an estate as shown on the video below in link...

Related links:

{Pieter’s Tanner Krolle Attaché - Royal Gift purchased at Harrods by English Friend} | previous post after we quit work in Indonesia because we got robbed three times...

Floriade 1992 on a Cold and Windy Day after Earthquake in Limburg | previous post about stop in The Netherlands after our Exodus from Indonesia, before flying back to Atlanta, GA on May 1st

Our Garden at the Time we had Access to Spent Mushroom Compost | previous post with video where we mention the Vedder Estate

The FIGHT of Growing Grass in Subtropical Georgia/USA | one year before; fighting to grow grass...