Mud Butt

We have been keeping our fingers crossed that the weather would hold and not get too wet too soon. After a very dry summer and September, we started getting a little rain off and on about 2 weeks ago, turning the homesite into a much muddier place. We have piles and piles of dirt and topsoil stored under plastic sheets trying to keep them from washing away.
This is a picture of what happened to Becky's backside today while visiting the site after yesterday's rainfall (thus the title Mud Butt). The next picture is the front view (note the muddy left hand - the blaze orange is because it is hunting season and James thought my brown coat might be mistaken for wildlife):

I was next to the home site taking pictures, and stepped into mud that turned out to be nearly quicksand (while holding a phone in one hand and the camera in the other, so I figured when I needed a 3 point landing my seat was the best option!) James didn't warn me how bad the mud was...

This is the main part of the (future) basement, waiting for the inspector before pouring the footings (ie the base of the concrete walls); after the footings are poured we get another inspection before the walls are poured (and of course the County gets paid every time they come out for an inspection..) As you can see, it started raining 2 weeks ago and the basement is not nearly as dry as it used to be. It turns out there is actually a small spring in the NE corner of the house (a dry spot in the basement that started getting wet before the rain started; it's located under the future laundry room, how fitting!)

I convinced Patrick to climb down into the "basement", so I could use him as a foreground prop for pictures. The wall behind him is the same wall that I posted a picture of Katie in front of (the picture she had a red bathrobe on). It's starting to look a little different.

The short stretch of driveway from the logging road (the landing) to the homesite measures 16% grade, it turns out, which is too steep for many vehicles. Our Jeep has made it up; the concrete truck can't, so will park on the landing and pump the concrete up the last stretch. We will have to figure out something before we need more trucks coming (like the lumber delivery, the roofer, delivering the bathtub and bathroom fixtures, eventually the piano..)