If it were me I wouldn't be digging it up either. But before I tired the Bobcat thing I'd talk to a knowledgeable excavator about the possibilities. I'd go with continued watering, hoping for some good natural rainfall to help out. I built a new 6' x 40' 12" raised island bed over the past winter. We filled it with 6 yards of premium soil, and tried to settle it without compaction as we did. I watered for several weeks and not much settling. Then we got our first good Gulf coast storm system (aka toad strangler). The result after that was a solid 1" settle. Be patient, it will settle. In the OP you mentioned irrigation and sod. I trust you haven't installed the irrigation yet, which is fortunate. An option you might want to consider for now, while you wait for nature to do the work, is to seed the area with an annual grass. Not sure what grows in your area, but there are several decent annual ryegrasses that could be used. Some local turfgrass experts should be able to guide you. Not only will that give you neat short-term coverage, which will please Ms. Punkaweedus, but the root growth action may help settle the soil. Then in the fall or next spring you can easily get rid of it and finish the project. BTW - Bobcat has many models, including some with ~ 36" width. This post was edited by TXEB on Fri, May 10, 13 at 19:03

My favorites of my just-planted-this-spring: Tamora: I appreciate the fact that it starts putting out new shoots and buds even while it's already got a flush going on--my Heritage and Scepter'd Isle don't start regenerating new shoots until their flush is over and I deadhead, so I end up with a big gap in blooming. Sophy's Rose: Ditto--strong grower. (Gorgeous blooms, but don't last long). Bonica: Double ditto--tiny plants, but always have new growth and blooms. Wish it had fragrance. Country Dancer: From Chamblee's--Took a while to get going, but starting to go gangbusters now. BIG blooms, beautiful form. Just OK-- Blanc Double de Coubert: Pretty much still spindly one-cane wonders that I have to stake (they were mail order from Forest Farm), which I guess is understandable, but the way my rose books raved about how vigorous and fast-growing they were, I expected them to outpace my other new roses of the same size. Pretty blooms (the few I've had) and wonderful scent. Mary Rose: Finally starting to grow. Finally. Very small, no buds/blooms yet. Foliage is about the ugliest of any rose I've ever had--dull yellow-green that the leaf-cutter bugs love to eat circles out of. Biggest disappointment: Marie Pavie! 3 from Chamblee's, they are growing and blooming very well (shook off an initial bout of blackspot), but the flowers (which last about 6 hours) nod, droop, sag, and flop face down on the ground so that I might as well just cut them off and grow the damn bushes for foliage. Why are the flowering stems/pedicels so spindly and weak? Even when I try to stake them up, the blooms face down. They are small, so I will give them time, but if this is the way they are, they are outta here.

I don't pay too much attention to pure yellows in the garden, and I hardly ever photograph them unless they're gigantic or have an amazing edge. But I do use them to separate the colors I like in the garden. LOL They seem necessary, but they don't get my love and devotion like the pinks and purples. Most of your yellows, however, are not plain. They have eyes or edges that make them not just another yellow. My favorites of these are Alexandra Paige and the Princess Diana X Green Illusion crosses. Those make me sit up and take notice. Debra

What a beauty, asters have to be my favorite flower, At one time I had over 60 different cultivars but have yet to grow 'Bluebird'. I lost most of mine due to two extremely wet winters but I've started replacing the ones I've lost that is when I find them. Of course when I see new to me varieties they seem to follow me home. Mine are just about finished for this year but it was nice to finally see some honey bees working the flowers, it's the only time we see them nowadays, they must be from a hive that has been brought in for the winter. Annette