Construction near us

The area around us is really beginning to build up. There are currently at least a dozen houses under construction within a short distance from our house and at least 5 or 6 others that have been completed withing the last year or 2.

Now, they are preparing the land just across the street and down a little from us. Our neighbor, Mordechi, says that they are building 8 duplexes. Since the hill slopes down from the street, they have been digging out a lot to make level plots. Probably these will be 2-story buildings with entrances at street level to the 2nd floor. The first floor will be a basement on this side but will be ground level at the back. At least that's what I think they'll build.

To prepare plots around here, they have to do a lot of digging, and the ground is very rocky (and red). So they bring in one of those big earth movers with a huge scoop that runs on tracks (like a tank) instead of wheels. We call it "The Monster". They parked it up near our neighbor's house, to the west of us. Then, each morning, they opened its huge "hood" (presumably to check all the fluids etc.), started it up, and drove down right past our house and around to the work site, which is east of us. After working all day moving dirt around, they drove it back up to its nightly parking place.

This morning has been quite rainy, so I was surprised to seem them start it up. Then, they only drove it to the end of the road, just north of our house and stopped. An hour or 2 later, I found out why. Its work here must be finished, because they drove it up onto its flat-bed truck carrier. The Monster is now on its way to its next job. We're going to miss her (I say "her" because the Hebrew for "The Monster" is המפלצת HaMifletzet, which is feminine.).

The rain is supposed to clear by tomorrow, so they'll no doubt be back at work on the construction. We'll see very soon what form these new building will actually take. Obviously, the construction slump in the States has not affected us here at all!