Paying Attention to Details, Especially Under Pressure

January 25, 2021

It's interesting what you can find if you pay attention to your surroundings, even when engaged in strenuous activity. I'm erecting a noble stall at my DoD SkillBridge internship with Starfire Farm in Lakewood, Washington, and have been working on the foundation the past few days.

This stall will provide horses an area to retreat from inclement weather, and to eat meals when turned out. The foundation will be gravel, covered by thick rubber mats, and since the horses can weigh in excess of 1,200 pounds, we were concerned about the pressure driving the material out from under the mats and stall along the edges.

Anchoring 4x8x12 and 4x12x12 lumber beams in the ground was our solution, but this required some digging to achieve a level surface. As you can see in the headline photograph, the ground is a hard mix of soil, clay, and rock. Under the weight of 1,200 lbs. horses, and pressure that 100 years of their steps have generated, the soil has been transformed into a dark, super-compact, back breaking layer of earth, more akin to the Spartan phalanx at Thermopylae, than dirt that needs digging!

As I picked away, making trenches for the foundation retaining walls, I heard a different sounding 'chink'. When the pick end strikes the round rock here, it sounds more like a hammer on metal, but this sounded hollower, like a cracking bone.

I stopped for a second, thankful for an excuse, and saw a piece of rock with a white streak. I squatted down while tilting my head back to gulp some water, and patted my hand around, feeling for something other than round.

The arrowhead shaped piece was caked with black earth, except for a clean facet, exposed to earth by the striking pickaxe for the first time in millennia. On that facet where thin curved lines which I immediately recognized as the fossil remains of shells. The search for its mate was on!

I found the other half protruding into the churned area of the new trench, held in place by the solid pack. They fit together perfectly, and provided a glimpse into what this place was before being occupied by equine and those who care for them.

I gave the find to the owners, who grew up playing, riding horses, and digging up rocks. In his words, "This is the coolest rock that's ever been dug up here; probably ever. Definitely a conversation piece."

Hopefully it holds a special place on their mantel. For myself, it was an interesting break in hard work, but also a reminder of what can be discovered if we pay attention to our surroundings. That's especially true during times of duress or while under pressure. What could have been just another swing, ended up being awesome for the children, now adults, that have lived majority of their lives playing in the dirt, one foot above a geological mystery.

Note: this article was originally published on my LinkedIn page on January 25, 2021.