We are currently working on a small shed to store some of our things. We're building this shed out of CMU (concrete masonry units) blocks, because that's what we'll be building the house out of. This shed is therefore practice for the larger project. These blocks weigh about 37 pounds each, and we can purchase them by the pallet, each pallet contains 90 blocks. To bring 3330 pounds of CMU blocks home we use our truck and trailer, we are very lucky to have the trailer, but it is not always easy to bring it up our road. The road has a 14% grade in places on the down hill; one of these spots has about a 2% grade going sideways as well. This can cause the trailer to slide off the road, especially when it has a lot of weight in it.

Rob has been using the tractor to decrease this grade, but with heavy rains the dirt and rocks that make up the road erode. In addition to erosion, the road becomes very slick when wet. The tires become caked with mud and it's difficult to get any traction. We are finding with these conditions it is not possible for us to drive the fully loaded trailer up the hill. Our solution is to park the trailer lower down and make several trips, loading up the truck with blocks and driving them up the hill.

Muddy tires make it difficult to gain traction when pulling a heavy load.

Side quest

We saw our first snake when leaving to get blocks. These snakes are not native to the island, and are unfortunately invasive. We called a neighbor who hunts them to help us.

Snake found on the side of the road.

Extra work

When we came back with the pallet it took us three trips up and down the road to bring all the block up. The last trip was made with the trailer reattached to the truck, with the last remaining blocks. We were in the process of parking the trailer, a maneuver we have done a hundred times, but this time the trailer didn't want to turn. This may be a side effect of rust. The road is fairly narrow because we are the only ones that use it, and brush grows fast here, keeping anything clear on an ongoing basis is challenging and time consuming. As a result of these conditions the truck side mirror was damaged and so we decided the only way to get the trailer parked was to stop and clear a larger area so the truck could maneuver better.

Truck and trailer parked so we can transfer block to the truck.

This is a challenge of living out here, to do the chore or project you planned on you need to do two to three other things first. It can be discouraging, and sometimes costly. We have been out here a year, these experiences add up and it sometimes feels like you aren't getting anywhere. At the same time I do think I am learning to handle failure and setback a little better. I also think this experience is teaching me to anticipate and plan things out a little more.