Not here. We have gotten 10 yards many times and the pile has stood for the whole summer and the only issue is dead grass underneath.
I built a storage shed which holds about 6 yards. There is still a yard in it and nada. Maybe being in a temperate climate helps. It seldom gets into the 80's here.

With a shovel and wheelbarrow. All by hand. The best depth is 3".

@JackPedigo I’ve always thought I had border-line too much garden to keep up. Now as I age it really is a bit much. I assumed we might be close in age but either not or else you’re just holding up one heck of a lot better.

@MarkWD I am 5 years older. When we moved here my better half was a super gardener. We ended up with 3 large gardens and I had a separate orchard. Now she's gone and a large ceder has sent it's roots into the main garden (in the background of the pic). I have the front garden and a side garden just behind the pile. It is a lot of work and I also help maintain a labyrinth a short distance away. Going to our gym helped keep me in shape but now it's closed for a while so I to find another way to maintain my energy.
don't know, I have always had a high energy level but this island inspires many to excel.
Thanks for the compliment.

@JackPedigo I had missed that you were in Puget Sound. I got through there fall before last. Spent a few nights on Bainbridge. Not sure how far that is from you. Met a friend who volunteers at Windcliff who arrange for my wife and I to tour it with her and also visited Heronswood nursery. Both were amazing. I can see why you like the area. Where abouts is your island in relation to Bainbridge?

I meant to ask what your aspirations were for your garden. What sort of garden are you looking to make?

@MarkWD Herronswood is an amazing place and was originally created by two guys. It was sold but the new owners vowed to keep it was before. We are about 60+ miles north of Bainbridge. Never cared for Bainbridge as because the ferry goes straight to downtown Seattle it has become just another suburb with lots of fast food and other urban amenities.Vashon/Maury are also in the area and are more like an island should be.

I am not looking to make a garden but to maintain the ones I already have. Here are a few pics of the front garden. I am including the plan for a side garden which a friend drew. I managed to get the paths laid and some plants in the ground but when my partner died everything ground to a halt and it's all I can do to maintain what I have.

@JackPedigo thanks for sharing the drawing! I like the stroll pattern very much. When did you do them or did you get them done?

We stayed at this wonderful AirBnB while we were on Bainbridge. They had a very nice and very large garden. Seems the husband is a garden designer. The lodging was in a separate building with a studio/workshop below, across the driveway from the garden and their house beyond. They had a very friendly Australian Shepherd named Rudy (I think) who came by everyday to see how we were doing and relieve us of any treats we might be encumbered by. The dog I had with us is half Australian shepherd and they got along well.

@JackPedigo These are photos from that AirBnB we stayed at on Bainbridge. Not the best photos as we were always away during the middle of the day so we only saw the garden & Rudy in the early morning and late afternoon/evening.

@MarkWD Really nice. I am a member of a travel organization SERVAS Int'l. We have annual local meetings and my late partner was an area coordinator. For once she decided to not have the meeting in Seattle but Bellingham. There was a couple with a couple of acres of land and he took one of those acres and created a garden similar to this one.

A close HS friend is a landscape architect and came over and did the drawing. There are over 75 plants listed many of which won't work here. On the plan is a rectangle in the lower right which is a propane tank. We moved it up and this allowed me to take over more land (about 30' to the right. I modified the passages to add a straight one from the top of the left corner curve and it went straight to the new area. This area was once a terminal moraine. It had a thick layer of gravel and sand over a compacted base (not very good at drainage). It was supposed to be a rain garden but didn't work out that way. Instead of many of the plants drawn I added a lot of sedge's and grasses and plants that could handle wet feet in the winter and drought in the summer.

And possibly Honey Fungus.

Never thought of this. We don't really have a termite problem here but there are carpenter ants. This is a common practice and I've been doing it for years with no problems (except an occasional backache). I even built a shelter for extra chips.

Wood chips for spreading over gardens to keep the weeds at bay. One guy here has a service. We load up our trucks with branches or excess wood and haul them to his farm and dump it in a special spot (for free). He has a giant mulcher and grinds everything and sells it.