Digging deep

I dug some holes this weekend.

Digging holes isn't as bad as it sounds.

It was a pleasant, cool, day, and I wish I could say the hole digging went easier than it did, but it didn't.

My yard is a rockpile, with a little dirt thrown in, so the digging didn't exactly go easy. Plus, while yes, it has rained, the moisture hasn't gone down very far, so you dig through some fairly easy stuff only to find this dry rocky hard pan underneath.

The reason for the holes was four new trees. An oak. A willow. A Doug fir and a mountain ash.

They were all pretty cheap.

They say the best time to plant a tree is in the fall. It's also the best time to buy a tree because planting trees is about the last thing people think about.

From what I understand, planting trees in fall is good for them because they grow just a little and then go dormant.

Then spring rolls around and if winter wasn't too tough they have plenty of moisture and they're sort of established and they're supposed to grow well.

I guess that makes sense.

I've always sort of enjoyed digging holes.

Sure, it's fairly mindless work, but it's mindless work with a purpose and there's something to be said about that.

There's no real science to a good hole. Just persistence. Dig a rock out, dig another rock out, shave the sides. Dig another rock out. That's how it went.

I then had Boy Wonder jump into them to see if they were deep enough.

If they were up over his knees, I knew they were good. If not, I needed to go deeper.

It took the better part of the afternoon to dig four holes for four trees.

I probably wouldn't make it as a professional hole digger.

Not mindless enough.

On the other hand, you can work out a lot of other problems digging a hole. All your frustration goes into your feet and hands and rocks become the enemy and you sort of channel your energy to the point where you can't quite remember what was rubbing you wrong in the first place.

All you know is you're taking a tree and putting it upright into the soil and then filling in the cracks around it and things are better than when you started. You get the hose and water the tree for a few minutes and then it's onto the other hole.

Like I said, mindless, but mindless in a good way.

Beer tastes sweeter. Birds sound clearer. And you recognize the wind for what it is.

Your pants are dirty. Your shoes are dusty. But there's this tree now rustling in the breeze. Just maybe, you could do this all your life.

It is, as they say, a hole-some experience.

Sorry. Couldn't help myself. Holes. Go ahead. Dig one.

Chris Peterson is the editor of the Hungry Horse News.