It begins

The lilies have been temporary relocated underneath the lilac. The pond is now roughly 5 feet by 8 feet, and the first shelf (8″ deep) has been excavated. Also, the honeymoon’s over: after an easy digging in soil and sand, we hit clay. Hard, compact, stone-encrusted clay.

At the end of the day the second shelf (roughly 16 inches deep) was also done. At the back, we hit a pocket of clay with small mussel-like shells. Could be old denizens of the Stony Swamp, or perhaps fossils of the St-Lawrence sea. Either way, it brings an aura of archaeological mystery to the digging. A clammy aura, maybe, but an aura still.