I'm digging another trench... this time in the back yard. I'm finally going to fix the electrical line run to my pool pump. So I start digging on one end, and find the original conduit that was run to feed the pump umpteen years ago. Not very big diameter, but I think... I should at least find the other end to it and see if it might be useable. So I start digging at the other end of the yard.

I find that not more than half an inch below the surface there seem to be a good number of rocks. Not pebbles, but those nice rounded river rocks people use in Arizona as a substitute for grass. I think... ok, so when they soded the back yard they didn't get up all the old rock. I keep digging down. I hit rocks. I switch shovels because the sharp shooter just doesn't do well with rocks. I'm 5 inches down, still rocks. These have to stop somewhere. 12 inches down, the rocks finally start to let up and I find the pipe. I now realize the pipe was sticking up above ground. Looking at it closer, I realize there's no way I can get the wires I want through it, and it's half rusted out anyway. I decide to stick with plan A.

What perplexes me more, thou, is how in the world the grass grows with all those rocks. I'm not talking one or two here or there, more like 30-50% of the volume of ground is rock. I guess I'll sift them out, I can't bring myself to putting those back in the ground... if nothing else, it makes digging a seriously major pain.