Worked on removing the tree stump on Saturday.  I learned one giant life lesson. I will never live in a home that has stone over plastic in any part of the landscape scheme.  Large river rocks, boulders OK, but stones that are the size of a babies fist, No!  (OK I hate using the babies fist as a size reference to talk about some so evil, but that is best size comparison.)  All around the tree stump are baby fist sized rocks buried in 30 years of pine needles.  You can't stick a shoveling into this stuff.  You have to rake it with a hoe into a big pile and then sort of push it over onto the shovel.  If you stick you hand into it you discover an interesting feature of pine needles. The last part of the needle to rot into soil in the very sharpest point of the needle.   Argh!

The best comments from neighbors this weekend was, "You're doing this yourselves?"  It is just amazing to people that we are undertaking such a large yard project.  The best was the young kid who was hanging  hand bills for a landscaping company on mail boxes.  He was talking to Louise, she motion for me to come over.  He was telling her I was swing the ax wrong.  I was twisting to much in my lower back.  When I came over he very sincerely explained I needed to bend my knees more and not twist my back.  That it would end up hurting me.  This sound very much like the lecture my father had given me.  So I tried to hold my back straight and bend my knees more.  But I kept slipping back to the twisting my spine method.  I would catch myself making the mistake about mid swing and totally lose focus miss my target.  That kid so got into my head!  It just made me want to call his landscaping service!  Drat!

Need less to say the stump is still there.  We did fill the dumpster with tree roots.