Yesterday I went digging. A friend came and picked me up and off we
went to one of those ubiquitous oversized subdivisions where the city
pushes hungrily against former ranch and pasturelands. We walked
through the upscale 'backyard' zone, with barking dog and chiminea to
the liveoak that marked the border of thicket and brush and whose
roots twined down into the same crevice that we were interested in.
An easy sloping depression funnels into a massively bedded slot 8
feet long, 3 feet wide and after many dig hours on another day, 4
feet deep. Glorious rich black clayey soil tantalized at the bottom
of a crack which clearly gathers a substantial watershed,
replenishing the aquifer.
We were there to remove the last soil and see what lay beneath. It
was a cold hard clear blue day, we were bundled in several layers.
Alternately, we squeezed into the narrow slot, crouched on a ledge
and digging prying scooping out soil from foot level, then passing a
small bucket up to the person on top who went off and emptied it. As
the dirt receded, our optimism waxed and waned. We worked
companionably for a couple of hours, talking of books and movies, of
ideas, of the uselessness of the pot metal gardening tool which
immediately curled up, of how nice a pair of loppers would be for the
thick tree roots that ultimately penetrated further than we did. Our
efforts warmed us up to shirt sleeves and used combinations of
muscles rarely called on. Finally we agreed that we had reached the
limits of our exploration. Thoroughly satisfied, we trudged our
muddy tools back to the truck, drove off to get some food, discuss
other possible digs.
It was just such a day as this, of pleasant easygoing companionship
in the woods many years ago, when we discovered what is now the one
of the largest caves in travis county. but that is another story.
If you believe there is nothing left of value to find, that is the
experience you will have.
Nancy
- [Texascavers] digging Nancy Weaver
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