Raising the entrance

Last summer, the floods were so high that we couldn't walk down to the riverbank without wading through this. It stank and there were dead worms floating on the top. 

The floods happen here because the water table is so high that the groundwater percolates through the top soil and makes its own little pond. When the river goes down, so does the flood, but not before. And since the river has been high pretty much constantly since 6th June 2012, the flood has proved a serious hindrance to craic by the river (not to mention grass mowing, wheelbarrow wheeling, buggy pushing, etc). 

I was not prepared to suffer the fate of another soggy summer, so last week the decision to raise the entrance was made and our neighbour Val Walshe came down with his dumper truck and mini digger to sort it out. They say that fossil fuels multiply the physical force of humans by 70. After just 11 hours, the job was done! I may be an environmentalist, but boy, do I love plant machinery.

Peeling back the topsoil

Squishing down the 20 tonnes of subsoil

The gravel arrives from Brennan's Quarry, Lismaine. I was very impressed by the driver's precision reversing. There were literally *milimetres* between the lorry and the gate posts!