Day two

Having done my duty by visiting my beloved mother on this special day, I returned home with good intentions.

I set to once again with my trusty mattock and tackled the clay layer. I had dug down about 150mm in some areas, but due to the rocks mentioned in the previous post, I had to abandon the mattock in favour of my spade, as I needed to feel for the rocks in order to lever them out. A mattock bouncing off hard rocks soon loses its appeal.

I tidied the exposed surface with a rake and was pleased to see that the heavy clay layer was receding in favour of friable soil, making up 2/3 the area.

An hour had quickly passed and I was exhausted. I was eager to measure how I had got on.

I need to dig to a depth of 340mm so that the pond liner will seat itself correctly. To check for depth I wrapped a ring of blue tape on my rake handle, the bottom edge measuring 340mm from the head.

I placed the rake vertically in the hole and was pleased to find that I only needed to dig a further 100mm or so, but that will be for another day.

I now have the problem of how to move a tonne of pebbles as well as a tonne of clay. The pebbles will be placed around the pond upon completion but as for the clay I am momentarily at a loss.