A big pile of dirt

Robertson, my home village, has been promised a sewage scheme for 20, maybe 30 years. A year ago we were told the new tank would be in by Christmas. Then at least 4 weeks ago that it would be in that week.

Yet I got a shock when I got up one morning last week to see this happening in my backyard.

 We were asked what we would like to do with the left over dirt from the hole for the tank. Being keen gardeners, naturally we said we'd use it. I didn't think it would be such a BIG pile!

The lawn could do with being top dressed and re-seeded. That won't make much of a dent. So I'll transfer some to my garden beds. That's going to be a very big job. Shovelling and carting.

Then yesterday afternoon I was putting away the chooks when a backhoe drove past along the back fence. I looked up in surprise and was greeted by a laconic wave. A few minutes later he was back, "Would you like me to put some soil into those garden beds for you? Its like caramel, such good soil and its going to get dumped." Sure why not, terrible to see it go to waste. It turns out that a lot of people couldn't find a use for their soil so it was dumped over the back fences. This man was collecting it to be trucked away.  He neatly deposited one bucket of soil in each of the four beds closest to the fence. The soil level was very low and a bit compacted.

Now all I have to do is rake it flat and mulch over the top and there's another four beds all ready for spring. 

A nice little bonus and helping hand for my garden.