Comment by mattwdelong
5 hours ago
About a year and a half ago, I cleared and rough graded my land for our house build. I rented a kx40-4 for about two weeks and put about 140 hours on it. That was pure meditation. The hydraulics became an extension of my body, with the immediate gratification of instantaneous change, I was able to shape the land as I see fit. My wife asked me what I was thinking about and my response was “dirt dirt dirt..rock..dirt” and that was wonderful. I have not had that feeling since I was completely disconnected for a week on an island in Belize. Very calming until the tap root of a big oak tree wrapped around the bedrock 6’ underground. Then you’re reminded that every task has its challenges. I’m now on the look out for a good deal on an excavator.
Otherwise, I enjoy flower farming and grow about 1/2 acre of flowers and sell wholesale. Close second. Sometimes it is stressful in the midst of July/August weeds but then once you come out the other side, it’s all worth it.
Motorcycling gets like that for me, flying down a wide-open highway out in the countryside on a clear day... The bike ceases to be a machine I am operating and becomes an extension of my self, my mind immersed in the experience, full of the shape of the land and the curves of the road and the wind and the light.
> “dirt dirt dirt..rock..dirt” and that was wonderful
reminds me of discovering minecraft for the first time a long time ago
I have always dreamed about operating an excavator and learning to do so well. I am not sure if it was a midlife crisis or what but I ended up buying a Chinese 2 ton excavator. I live in the suburbs but when I just want to clear my head I go in the backyard and play around with it. My skills have improved a little but nothing like putting 140 hours on a project good. The one I got was about the same as a U17 but less than half the price.
There are places in (or around) Las Vegas where you can operate heavy equipment in a playground setting. You can dig holes or smash cars or just push dirt around. I'm thinking about spending an afternoon there next time I go.
So the TikTok memes about an "emotional support excavator" are real!
See I can totally understand the excavator story. Would love that too.
Picking currants? I dread that every year. Same with the raspberries and the cherries and ... It's a chore, I really don't like it at all. Especially having to make sure there's no little green stem left on the currants. That work drives me nuts. Only thing worse is puzzles.
I don’t know if this is established technique, but I’ve settled on taking a pair of scissors to the base of the berry bunch and letting it drop into a bowl. I pick the stems off after the fact.
> completely disconnected for a week on an island in Belize
I used to enjoy 18 hour flights to Asia pre-WiFi for true disconnection, plus time zone difference to US East Coast made the time spent on the ground there feel at least half disconnected
I just go for a walk in the woods.
I believe ability to shape our immediate surrounding is deeply placed in our brains.
Not really much different than many of our close mammalian relatives, like beavers (rodents and primates are very closely related).
The more interesting thing is the use of "exoskeleton" type tools like excavators , automobiles, or even things like forks. Our brains basically consider them an extension of our body once we learn to use them. Fascinating stuff!
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