Adventures in Gardening - Pt. 4 From Grassy Spot to Garden Plot a.k.a "Can you dig it?"

Perfect Grassy Spot - check
 Soil Test - check
Following the Rules for Gardening with Clay - check

For weeks we dug off an on as time and weather permitted.  We took the garden section by section.  Digging the clay, amending the soil, breaking up clods and tossing the worst clay chunks aside.  My little guy had a blast digging into the soil with gloved hands and his tiny little guy sized shovel to mix in the compost and break up the chunks of clay.    

Once a section was prepared it was planted and watered. We made use of the bricks and pavers, left by the previous owner, to create a border and pathways.  In the center, we created a mulched path edged with brick to provide a knee friendly work area.  

Everything was coming together so well, and I thought to myself:
  
"Nice!  But......."  

" if I extend the garden another 4 feet off of the closest paver path, it would look even better and we'd gain 24 ft of planting area."
"Yep, I'm sure I can knock out that last section in an hour or so."

 With Hubby and the kids otherwise engaged, I started digging.  Minutes later, I hit a little snag.

3 coaxial looking cables ran across my newest garden section.  buried at a depth that varied from 1"- 6" beneath the sod.  One end disappeared beneath the fence and into our neighbors yard ominously pointing toward the corner of their house, the other end pointed to a distant utility pole.  

Theory 1:  That's my neighbors cable line.  
(I like them, better safe than sorry.)

I put down my shovel and picked up my phone.  The next few days saw a parade of utility trucks and technicians with their brightly colored spray paint cans.  Each utility marked their lines and a week after the digging had stopped the verdict was official.  

Theory 1 was busted!  

No one had a clue what these lines were for, or why they were there.  ATT didn't claim them.  Our WOW/Knology/Cable technician said "Yep! They look like cable lines, but they don't feed your house or your neighbors.  The only way to tell is to cut into them, and I'm not comfortable doing that."  He also said that distant utility pole they seem to go to is too far away to provide a strong enough signal for either house if they were connected.

Technician: "Just try to work around it."

Me to myself:  "Seriously?!  That's all you've got? I've been twiddling my thumbs for a week for this?"
(Shaking head thinking about the wasted week when I could have been digging.)

Then it rained and my little hole became a little pool. 
Sigh........ 

While I waited for things to dry out, I worked on some other projects including one involving power tools and wood stain, which I might show you someday.  While working, I  came up with another theory about the cables.

 Theory 2:  Garden Gnomes are stealing cable from the neighbors.

(hmm....  now that I'm typing that something else occurs to me.  Perhaps I need better ventilation for those projects involving wood stain.)

Eventually, the ground dried up and I was able to "work around the cables" to finish the garden plot, put up a trellis, and get the last section planted.

I can't wait to see what it looks like all grown up!