May 14, 2026
On May 3, Bruce went all pickaxe on the Pine Tree One’s stump!
Bruce pulled out the visible roots from the hole and the mounds of dirt. He piled the roots into two separate piles. He moved one pile to our branch storage area. This pile was left and still needs to be moved.
Using the tractor, Bruce filled in the hole left behind from the moat and stump removal. He got to use the front loader to push the dirt piled around the hole, into the hole. He was not completely done with the leveling, but it was good enough for Bruce to work around the stump safely.
When I looked at the stump with Bruce, we could see that the stump was in two sections.
Pickaxe Time!!!
The stump split into two chunks. I will not say it was easy, but it split fairly quickly. In the picture on the right, the second half of the stump is behind the visible part.
Mission accomplished!
Bruce’s shoulder showed its appreciation of pickaxe time by throwing a fit. He took an OTC pain pill and put the stinky stuff (Absorbine Jr.) on. The next morning, the shoulder was well behaved and no longer crying.
In the evening, we sat on the front porch and watched the sunset and fireflies. The sunset was a glow of orange across the horizon; I didn’t take a picture. The sunset provided background beauty as the fireflies started flashing for their lady loves.
We had a great time talking and watching the fireflies.
Blackberry Homestead 