Pad Construction - Day 24

The day started off cold and didn't warm up much for the day. A couple of snowflakes were spotted in the morning but the rain held off for most of the day. With the drier conditions, the dirt was moving.



Dirt was being moved from the uphill (east side) to the southwest corner of the pad.



Two CAT D8s and a CAT D6 were lined up and moving dirt.


View from the west edge of the pad area looking toward the stream crossing.



Looking southeast across the pad area.

Goose Nest

I drove to the cabin today to get some photos of the progress on the well pad construction and found the goose was off her nest and swimming in the pond with the gander. It didn't take the pair of geese too long before they were back at the nest.



The gander didn't come on shore but did follow me as I walked around the pond.



The goose was back on the nest when I returned from the well pad.

Pad Construction - Day 23

Blue sky, white clouds, low humidity and sunshine. Kellogg Mountain, almost 20 miles away at Monroeton, is visible in the center of the photo. Back at the well pad the dirt is dry but the rocks continue to grow bigger and in a greater quantity as they dig deeper into the hardpan.


View from the southwest corner marker of the pad looking toward the northwest shows the amount of dirt that needs to be moved.



Wide angle view of the pad area looking south. The northeast corner marker for the pad is on top of the mound of dirt in the center of the photo. The mound also shows how much dirt has been removed from this corner. Click on image to enlarge the view.



The southeast corner of the construction site is still a little moist ... It's beyond moist ... In places its liquefied mud (see definition of thixotropic).

Pad Construction - Day 22

Yesterday's rain moved out and all of the equipment was back in action at the pad today. Three CAT D8s, two CAT D6s, two rollers and an excavator were busy today.



As two CAT D8s worked to move dirt a third D8 was working hard at busting up the hardpan with rear mounted ripper. The deeper they cut into the hillside they are finding more and larger rocks (boulders) mixed in with the clay subsoil.


Moving the dirt to the lower side of the pad.


View of the pad area from across the valley as three CAT D8s are lined up side by side to move the dirt. The wellhead marker (center of the pad when finished) is located to the far right.

Pad Construction - Day 21

When I arrived at the entrance to the well pad they were loading the large excavator on a trailer for transport to another site.



A long load to haul.



At the well pad site it was quiet and the dozers were lined up near the stream crossing.


The rain for the past couple of days had created some mud in the southeast corner of the construction site. The new silt sock, installed yesterday, is seen at the right.


View of the pad area looking west. The wellhead marker is to the right of center in the photo. The only activity at the site was repairs to a CAT D6 which hasn't moved since yesterday.

Pad Construction - Day 20

The mallard ducks were back at the cabin pond visiting with the goose, sitting on it's nest, and watching the well pad construction. (Click on image to enlarge the view. The black dot to the far left in the photo is the goose's head)



View of the pad construction from the pond, looking south.



View from the top of the dirt mound (east side) looking west.



Three CAT D8s moving dirt and rocks. The D8 on the left is using the ripper to loosen the rocky ground.



A wide angle view of the pad area looking southwest. The northeast corner marker for the pad is on the mound of dirt (to the right of center). Click on image to enlarge view.


Another CAT D6 dozer arrived today. The driver backed up the rig the full length of the access road.


Unloaded D6 at the stream crossing.



The silt sock crew was on site today installing another silt sock in the southeast corner of the construction site.


Filling the silt sock with wood mulch.



Anchoring the silt sock.

Pad Construction - Day 19

Yesterday's rain and wind was not friendly to the "Porta-John" at the construction site. We stopped at the site in the evening to find the "Porta-John" on its side.



The silt sock at the northwest corner of the site was overflowing yesterday evening and the heaviest rain hadn't started yet. Our rain gauge at the house recorded 2.3 inches of rain.



This morning the crew was back moving dirt and the "Porta-John" was back in an upright position.


By the afternoon it was time to check the elevations on the pad area.





Checking the elevation on the northwest corner of the pad.

Killdeer Nest

While walking up the road to the cabin we noticed a pair of killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) near the food plot and located their nest. The killdeer is a ground nesting bird and their eggs blend into the surroundings.



The killdeer's nest is not easily visible but the birds will do their "broken-wing act" when you get close to the nest.



At times the birds charged straight at me to draw my attention away from the nest.



Within minutes the bird was back on its nest.

Pad Construction - Day 18

The weather changed from warm and sunny to cold, cloudy and windy, with a forecast of rain coming soon. The only equipment running this morning was two excavators at the top of the pad area.



The dozers sat quiet today by the stream crossing and I had a chance to walk on the pad area where the dozers were busy yesterday.



Wide angle view from the northeast corner of the pad looking west. If you click on the image to enlarge it, you can see the wellhead survey marker on the left next to the light stand and the northeast corner marker for the pad in the mound of dirt on the right.


Southeast view of the construction site. The wellhead marker is on the left, next to the light stand and the southwest pad marker is to the right of center, near the trees. (Click on image to enlarge view.

Goose Eggs

A pair of geese have been on the pond for the last week and today I found the nest while the bird was laying an egg.



Five eggs so far.

Pad Construction - Day 17

Another dry day and the CAT D8 dozers were busy moving dirt.



Rain is in the forecast and dirt is being moved from the northeast pad area (uphill side) to the northwest corner.




The northwest corner of the pad continues to build.


Grading the north slope of the pad and creating the access road into the pad.



More erosion control on the south end of the site.



Looking west from the northeast corner of the pad toward the stream crossing. This area will be the access road into the pad.