It was a simple task.

Install a new mailbox at our property so that we could start receiving mail after we move up there.

I borrowed a post hole digger and a pick.

I measured the height of the other mailboxes there and decided that 39″ above ground and 18″ below ground would give me a nice base and put the mailbox at the proper height.

I measured and cut the treated 4×4.

I began to dig with the post hole digger.

The ground was hard so I broke it up a bit with the pick.

I continued to dig with the post hole digger and hit a few rocks.

I used the pick to get them out.

Post hole digger – more rocks.

More rocks.

More rocks.

Larger rocks.

I can’t work the pick in a hole that’s only 8 inches across as I go deeper.

I look over the meager tools at hand – mostly carpentry and a few electrical.

Hmm…a screwdriver…and a hammer…

In the end, I dug most of the whole with a screwdriver and my hands.

I scratched around with the screwdriver until I’d broken up the dirt, then pulled it out by the handful.

I scratched around rocks like an archaeologist trying to get enough free to pull them out.

I occasionally used some well-placed pick blows to break loose extremely recalcitrant stones.

It took me 90 minutes to dig an 18″ hole.

But, here’s the end result:

I wonder what it costs to rent an auger…