A man came out to check the location to see if it was feasible and he said the bottom was all sand, therefore it would not hold water. I wonder if this man ever thought of our oceans. What lies beneath them other than rock and sand?

This left me little choice and I began to work the area of the pond with the pan plow, moving the soil always to the outer side of the tractor, giving me a dam of sorts. I could work all day on a gallon of gas and the old tractor did the job as expected. As with every other thing I tried, neighbors came and went, telling me a dozer would do the job faster, if I would just find someone to do this. But, I didn’t want such a heavy machine on the land for fear it would pack and never give me a drainage downward.

Before the pond was totally finished, I had laid out the ditches I wanted and I acquired another tractor. This one had the lift mechanism and a drag scoop I could use on the pond.

The scoop helped in ditching the property as well. I ditched the north side all the way back to the edge of my property and the other side went to the pasture I had set for that side, the eastern most side of the property. With the torrential rains we have, I knew this would help keep the pond full and trap some of the organic nutrients draining off the land during these rains.

A connecting ditch across the back of the property and I was in business as to keeping the land drier. By the way, that pond was always full, even during the hottest and driest summer days. Several kinds of fish were grown in this pond for the table and some little relaxation after a hard day.

Every time I turned the ground, I tried to have some kind of green manure or even some cow or chicken manure. When the silage was available, I put this down as well, giving the land the tilth I needed for the optimum growth I wanted and needed.

During the summer months, the worm business slacked and I worked up a little route , selling excess vegetables from the land, thus giving us a little more money.

That first tractor I had was so old that neighbors called it Noah, because they said it came over on the Ark. I didn’t mind because it gave me a kind of service I couldn’t get otherwise. I had tried hiring some of my work done, but no one ever showed up, even when they said they would. I suppose they were afraid of getting stuck on the land.