It was an engineering challenge big enough to excite any man.

A challenge that turned into quite an afternoon!

It started the other evening when our dock was sitting patiently on the side of the pond waiting to be installed for the season. A storm hit bringing torrential rainfall. The rain came so hard and fast that the overflow couldn’t handle it fast enough and the pond level rose quickly.

The next morning we found our heavy wooden homemade dock on the other side of the pond, completely turned around and sitting with one end on shore as if placed there.

That must have been some rain and some wind!

The dilemma was how to move this extremely heavy dock from the overgrown and inaccessible side of the pond where it was currently resting to the other accessible and mowed side.

It couldn’t be carried – it was too heavy.

It couldn’t be transported on a trailer – the tractor and trailer would never get to it.

Our only solution – float it.

No worries – my engineering husband and sons had a plan and an entire Saturday afternoon to try them out.

By the time the girls and I got there, all three of them had sheepish grins on their faces.

I discovered that they had somehow gotten the 4 wheeler through the underbrush and fallen limbs to the other side of the pond (the overgrown inaccessible side) – where no 4 wheeler had ever gone before.

Then the 4 wheeler had promptly died and would not start again.

What function the 4 wheeler had in floating the dock – I don’t know and I didn’t want to ask!

But they had managed to get the dock floated across – tied to the paddle boat with Dad laying on the dock to stabilize it while the 2 boys paddled. (Somebody was thinking ahead…)

So now they had the dock on the right side – but just floating in the pond with a rope tied to a tree to keep it there – and the 4 wheeler stuck on the other side.

Now how to get that heavy dock pulled in to shore and one end pulled up on shore – without getting their feet wet or hurting themselves.

Their answer – another machine! This time they used a tractor and a wench to pull the dock. I will admit to closing my eyes for this one.

They had the tractor facing backwards on a steep, muddy hillside just a little way from the swollen pond. It looked like an accident waiting to happen – and my boys were grinning from ear-to-ear!

Thankfully the dock was pulled to shore and secured temporarily.

Nobody was hurt.

Nobody got wet (well except for some damp socks).

The dock is back on the right side.

The 4 wheeler started again – after another paddle boat ride across the pond and some tinkering.

And I have 3 pretty pleased guys.

All’s well that ends well.