You are right.Backhoes are cheap but right now so am I. I have had a hemorrhage of money this summer and it is still not clotted up yet. I need to shave a few bucks off where I can right now. Still too much going out the door in the next two months. Besides the digging is not that bad at all where the hole is and the two boys need something to do besides X-Box and PS3. I can dig a neater hole than a backhoe can anyway and a backhoe can't finish the flared portion at the bottom anyway.