7/22. Pam figures out how to use the sod-cutting machine.
7/22. Andy helps to roll up the cut sod.
7/22. Andy helps to roll up the cut sod.
7/22. Pam cuts the sod into downhill strips.
7/22. Mara helps to roll up the cut sod.
7/22. All finished removing the sod from the work area, by 10:30 in the morning!
7/22. Kids watch as a dump truck delivers 12 tons of hardpack gravel.
7/22. The gravel pile instantly becomes a place to play and dig for gold.
7/23. The job site is ready for digging; the stone walkway above the deck is removed.
7/23. The cut sod rests under a tarp and the basement-door patio is ready to receive sand and stones.
7/23. We needed a place to put the sand and stone from the old walkway, and decided to build a patio outside the basement door. Andy helps to roll out landscape cloth.
7/23. The old walkway is removed; now we need to dig out the sand and prepare for a new walkway.
8/5. The gravel is in place for the walkway; David runs the compactor.
8/5. Mara and John get some more sand for Mommy.
8/5. Pam lays out the edging for a new walk.
8/5. Pam lays out the walkway edging on the compacted gravel.
8/5. Pam has removed some of the old walkway and laid out the new edging.
8/5. The hillside is marked and the first ditch is dug.
8/5. The first ditch has been lined, gravel laid and compacted.
8/5. David uses the tractor to dig another ditch; the walkway has sand and is ready for pavers.
8/5 end. Pam has paved the first stretch of the walkway.
8/5 end. The remainder of the walkway awaits.
8/5 end. First ditch ready for wall blocks; second ditch dug and lined.
8/12 start. Three ditches in various stages of progress; bottom ditch is only roughly dug.
8/12 start; the walkway, fully paved, sanded, and compacted, was completed after dark some days ago.
8/12 start; the walkway is beautiful.
8/12. David lays out the base for the second wall, a slow and tedious process.
8/12. Detail of the drainage pipes between the first (top) and second (bottom) walls.
8/12. Andy's job today was to pound in plastic brackets he named "fairy torx". These brackets keep the wall aligned.
8/12. Andy adjusts a "fairy torx". He calls these "fairy" torx because they have wings; "torx" because, um, it's a fun word to say.