Argenta Gardener

Some Progress

2010-10-30T08:50:00.000-05:00

I got the east side bed done in front. All in all it will do. This type of construction is very easy to undue, but I think it will be durable enough to last until I can upgrade the materials to a better quality. I think this is very close to the permanent layout. I will want a be and a walk here permanently. My ultimate goal is to be able to walk all the way around the house barefooted and not get my feet dirty. But I want the system to be more creative than a ring of concrete around the house.

I have been the object of scorn because I screen the soil as I excavate. However, I am steadfastly sold on the idea because the process produces uniform materials which, with the coarse screen, sort three ways. On the very top is the organic stuff like roots and the grass. On the bottom of the screen is the rubble, the rocks, concrete chunks and heavy trash like plumbing parts. The soil in the pan has small pebbles and the worms and grubs.
The rubble can be used for fill and the roots go to the wood pile for compost or the fire pit. The soil is splendid and easy to work. Eventually I will have the top ten inches of the entire property screened.

The Wrestling

2010-10-26T09:08:00.000-05:00

I removed the ornamental plants to other areas for temporary storage and excavated for the wall. Then I moved rubble from the rubble pile to serve as the base for the wall. Since the wall will be composed of chunks of the former footer on this site of a wall long gone, I think this type of footer will serve just fine. There will be settling but this will be fine for a couple of years. When I can finally demolish the old porch deck and replace it, the brick works here will be redone and new caps placed on the walls. At that time the landscaping will have to be removed and re-done as well. A big part of this project is for me to increase my experience with the set of materials and prepare me for the time when I will be using mortar to permanently set the things I am building.

Other Side of The Walk

2010-10-25T08:13:00.000-05:00

East Side - Before

Now I've got to address this side of the steps. So I sharpened my shovels, brought out the tools, studied the lay of the land and made some notes. The thing has to be clear to me. I will have it in mind where I start and where I want to finish. Being finished is where all the tools are put away and nothing is left to come back to. This is a place that is entirely relative but must be defined with a finality like death. There is an art to that.
No matter how carefully a project is plotted and planned I am blind to what the thing wants. Then in the first 5 minutes of the work the extra things that will make it dramatic begin to be revealed. When this happens I get a rush of excitement and a feeling of gratefulness that it is being revealed. But this has to be tempered with the realization that this is going to be more involved than I had expected in order for it to reach my expectations.
Then the project becomes like a sculpture which is revealing itself to me and that makes it art. Being an artistic production the excitement causes the pain of labor to be unknown to me as well as any idea or thought of failure or fear of criticism. But this costs me in terms of my being forced to buckle down and dig deep to deliver the goods. It means not slacking up until it is done absolutely. But the creative excitement makes this easy.

Next Thing

2010-10-24T11:20:00.000-05:00

Here is the other side to be reworked as the other side of the front as outlined in the previous post. And a step back to see what needs to be done:

I suppose I will just take the gravel I need from the patio in back without remorse. I think I get a better deal putting it to use out front. I can take it from an area where it won't really be missed for a while. I got some positive strokes from folks on the walk to the car.

Finally Got Something Done

2010-10-23T11:18:00.000-05:00

This is a before picture of the area targeted for renewal:

I wanted some definition and elevation here and this is what I came up with:

This picture shows the composition parts. The "wall" the hose is resting on are chunks of concrete from an old wall footer that was in the same location. In the next line is Agrape(?) border grass which were the individual clumps in the before photo. I cut each clump into four or five pieces with an old hand saw and lined them out. Next is a brick border, then the walk made with gravel screenings I took up from the patio in back. Then another brick border with screened soil fill on the outside taken from the newly created bed on the left.
The project took about 16 hours over two days start to finish. Becky was ecstatic.
One secret to such uniform results is the use of two screen sifters I have previously explained. I used the coarse screen for all the soil I turned and the medium screen for the gravel as I took it up. I found an old horse shoe and a red marble. I plan to fill this bed with leaves as they begin to fall. It will make for some good mulch.
I love doing this type of work and I can only imagine what I could do if I had some money to spend on materials. Let me say it again, I did not lay out a dime for this construction. Do you think it adds value?

Long time - No Post

2010-10-03T12:10:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted in a long time. I have been doing work in the yard, though. I really like building things and I did these two little beds around the Azaleas in the front:

I had some some border grass that I separated into pots this year to propagate and I planted three in front of each bed. All this brick work is temporary in nature. I did these very hastily, but I still used some of my underlayment gravel material under the bricks. Mostly I had a whim and acted without measuring or doing any layout. The need was to bolster these Azalea bushes in their struggle to be established here. Later, I mulched all around the Azaleas and the border grass. Maybe this winter I will redo this into something a little more thought out.
We were working to get the house and yard in shape for the annual neighborhood yard sale and the "Block Party" which we hosted in our back yard. I get more done and I feel more creative when I have a deadline looming.

Garden Produce

2010-08-22T09:42:00.000-05:00

We put out two tomato plants and now the tomatoes are coming in. They actually taste like tomatoes. I've never grown stuff on purpose. I have focused on infrastructure improvements up to this point. Over winter I plan to rebuild three beds in the back corner there visible behind the tomatoes ripening in the window. I plan to use 2 X 12's and fill them with good soil. Next year we will plant some more stuff and see what happens.
We have these tomatoes and this okra in the photo below. It's been neat. I think I could grow stuff. We also had some flowers planted. We got some flowers out of there. Becky cut some and put them in a vase when some friends came for dinner.

Progress on the next project

2010-07-11T11:08:00.000-05:00

Up until this minute I was thinking about all these complicated things to do here when all I am looking to do here is to get rid of the obstructions and get grass growing here.
The pile of concrete is from the drive way lane on our side of the line. I suppose there is another lane on the neighbors side of the line. At the far end of the excavation is the dirt that came from between the lane and wall.
I relocated the Mexican Petunias to the back by the fence. This already is an improvement. Just getting obstructions out and grass growing is a huge, but cheap, improvement.
I want to put a brick landing under the wall drain up high enough to establish a grade to carry the rain runoff away from the house. A neighbor gave me some dirt that will come in handy here.
There is probably the same amount of concrete in the area where the dirt is piled, and the same around where the concrete is piled to the gate. I will see how difficult it is to bust the concrete into small chunks with a sledge hammer.

Next Project - Review

2010-07-03T09:38:00.000-05:00

The next area that I think needs attention is the side yard in the front. This whole area is very rough as the picture shows:

The property line is very close to the house as the fence references. There is about one foot between the bottom of the porch wall and the concrete strip on the right side of the drive. The other strip on the left side is on the neighbors side of the line.
I think I will excavate the dirt between the right concrete strip and the bottom of the wall and pull up the concrete strip, or what's left of it. This will leave an excavation where the concrete is. I think I will put the concrete chunks in the excavated area and beat them into the smallest chunks I can with a sledge hammer. I will use the ensuing rubble to back fill along the bottom of the wall to just below the top of the foundation on which the bricks lie. Then depending on how that goes I will do the same with the other lane. I will also finish clearing the concrete in the area of the foreground in this picture.
I will need more dirt to fill in with. There are some mounds in this vicinity that I may try to cut down somewhat. Basically this will probably mean that I will use my garden spade and my pick to till the ground and then use the steel rake to contour an acceptable grade with the high spot being beneath the drain hole in the porch wall. I would like to put some kind of landing there for the runoff water to help it quickly drain away from the house.
I want to see this whole area smoothed over with a thick grass turf covering it. There is a lot of rubble piled around the base of the tree. A year or two ago I set out to clean it up. After taking away two wheelbarrow loads with still an unknown quantity to go, I called it good for the time. Now I want to get it cleaned up once and for all. I have plenty of room for rubble back fill along the wall. What I can't use here I can use somewhere else.
I saw the same basic technique in use at the Clinton Presidantial Library across the river where they demolished something concrete and then further busted it into smaller chunks. Then they used it for back fill along a new sidewalk by the river.
I can visualize the finished look of this area.

Short Term

2010-06-29T07:05:00.004-05:00

This is a high priority area. I need to put this place in shape for the work to come on the wall. I believe that I can get a great return on some effort expended here. The conversion I hope to make here is to a grass lawn with the high point under the drain hole in the wall, yonder. I think fescue grass will thrive in this spot and I have plenty of that on hand so this won't require any money.
There is a concrete car path mostly covered over with grass about 10" away from the wall. The path is an obstruction and has to go. Perfect. I need to bolster the concrete footer wall, the top of which is exposed. So here is my plan of attack: First, remove the ornamental plants to elsewhere in the yard. Excavate grade to a line three or four inches below the top of the concrete footer wall and back fill with busted concrete chunks to just below the top of the footer wall. I want to see if I can't put some kind of brick or stone landing for rain runoff through the porch drain. Then, I need to get a grade going that will move the runoff away from the foundation. This might require a good bit of spade and rake work. After I get a grade I will seed it with fescue.
My intention is to cultivate lawn in this area out from our house and into the lot next to us. I have the owners' blessing in this. On our side there is only about four and three-quarter feet to the boundary line. This area, on the east side from the fence gate to the curb has been a shared space with the former house next door since this house was built. I keep a swath on their side about equal to the area on our side, plus three-quarters. The only monetary cost to me is the water. I have faith that the cost of effort will be returned ten or twenty-fold in what I will call curb appeal. I approve this project because the area is ugly now and I believe this improvement to be an excellent investment to make at this time.

A Big Project

2010-06-25T06:00:00.000-05:00

I have some ideas about essential improvements to our house to make it more livable. A garage with a place to park four bicycles is one of them. I want to begin transferring ideas in my head into tangible drawings. A method that has worked well for me is to take a picture of the area under consideration. Then, I convert the photo to a drawing on the computer. Then I use the paint function and cut out the part I want to address. I print the result and take it to my drawing board and draft in the improvement onto the drawing. Then I scan the drawing back into the file.
In order to get a good picture all obstructions and unnecessary elements in the landscape should be removed. I am thinking that I will photograph the back fence from different angles and select the angle that best suits a drawing for the proposed garage and bike park. The last time I looked out the back gate the alley area around the fence is really ugly with overgrown weeds and trash. So, a gardening clean up project is in order so that I can get some good pictures. Then it's back to the drawing board.

My Reward

2010-06-24T06:00:00.000-05:00

We had a little dinner party last night. I get great satisfaction when people enjoy the hospitality we can provide.

Next Thing

2010-06-23T06:00:00.000-05:00

While doing some grilling I saw the planter box. Realization came to me that it was time to do something with it.I also saw that the Lariope ring under the fig tree on the right needed re-doing.

I was looking around and I saw the empty spot in the corner of the yard where the bricks I used out front had been stored.

All week before I was thinking about building a planter over there, so it dawned on me that I already have what I need in hand. It will be a temporary anchor in that corner. I also decided to pull up the Lariope grass. I got eight 1 gallon plastic pots with the intention of getting eight plants from the group. Then I would enlarge the ring, pull apart the clumps and re-plant it. There are three additional clumps in the front yard that can be removed and used here.
My tasks for that morning:

Remove soil from planter bed, screening it into the big pan to separate the bulbs and debis.
Clear out the new location for the box and prepare a minimal footer on which to set the planter.
Move and set planter box level.
Dig up Lariope and remove to screen.
Dig new bed for lariope replant.
make eight small pots of lariope from the stock.
Re-plant Lariope around fig tree.
Bury bulbs in new location.
Recover former location of planter box with fresh, screened dirt and grass seed.

I wanted to be done by 9:30.

Time Frame Review

2010-06-21T06:00:00.013-05:00

I took the first photo on June 3rd. I was beginning to produce the photo drawings for the plan

I withdrew a very large pile of soil from this account. I deposited this base here in place of the soil.

I collected some interest off the back patio and spent it on the pavement sub-grade.

I had to push myself to the finish line and get every last detail done, according to what the plan said was 'done'.

Now, two weeks have passed since I pointed the camera out the upstairs window and told myself, "I'm gonna do that." I am hopeful the investment will pay some good dividends in the future.

Street Side Bed - Done

2010-06-20T06:00:00.002-05:00

This is the bed. Now comes the nurture part to get the Jasmine thriving, like the concept drawing, below.

Side project

2010-06-19T05:55:00.001-05:00

Removal of the concrete drive strip left this big, ugly scar. The photo doesn't reveal the contour of the ground, but this area has been pitiful. What to do. I have some all-purpose grass seed on hand, so after back filling with the excess soil I took from excavating the bed and raking it to a better contour, I seeded it with the grass seed, then covered that with some medium screened soil:

Becky freaked when she saw this. She wanted to have this area for parking. I reminded her that the corner of our property

Some Side Projects

2010-06-18T06:00:00.001-05:00

The project to refurbish the bed in front spawned several other projects around the yard. I had careful plans for the bed, but for the other projects I just created a basic mental picture of how I wanted to finish the areas based on what would take place there. Thinking back now, I know that I was well aware of these areas being affected. In fact I had named them. I had formed rough estimates of each sub project. However I did not create written plans or draft any drawings. The next project that spawns sub projects will see separate plans drafted to spell the sub projects out in detail.
Some of the sub projects:

These projects have suggested further projects. Projects of substance come about with the aid of solid planning.

The Plan Sees Me Through

2010-06-17T06:00:00.000-05:00

With the plan I had so carefully drawn up I know what I must complete at each stage to say I am done. Here is the representation of the work done to the point of ready for the brick and the plantings:

And here is the photo of what I managed to wrestle into being to fulfill that vision.

I know there are lots of people who do work with plans everyday that would make all this look like child's play. I want to get steady-on in my ability to plan in detail and create the improvement, following through to the nth degree. I think I hit the bulls eye on this.

Power of the Plan

2010-06-16T06:00:00.026-05:00

From Becky deciding on doing Jasmine ground cover in the front bed, I produced a plan consisting of a written plan and drawings. Given my state of development, creation of the plan took a great deal of effort and patience. Through the creation of this plan I learned in advance of the actual work that renovation of the curbside bed was a large undertaking. Renovation of the one bed spawned several side projects that would either consume or produce materials related to the bed. The idea is to make all the materials into assets, rather than waste. Then these newly minted assets, not used in the primary project, are applied to some other useful purpose, not merely piled up as dead dreams.
Knowing from the plan that I must also start and finish roughly four other projects gave me foresight to set up the various work areas; the tools, the equipment with patience. I set a mental picture of the developed state of each area that I would affect to handle the material needs of the front bed. I had two quarries from which I took the broken concrete rocks. Ragged holes were left when the concrete chunks were pulled. Those areas had to be reclaimed. I had two quarries which produced crushed stone. I had two brick stockpiles which were removed. I took three large piles of dirt taken from the bed and put them in the back yard. All these areas required attention in order that they not look like perpetual construction sites.
The written plan and the drawings of the specific construction phases keep me on track. I have worked three straight ten hour days to get the bulk of the improvements completed.Up to this point in all the gardening I have focused more on infrastructure than on living things. I have an abundance of rich, clean soil. Spreading that into barren areas and seeding it with grass is simple enough but it is a huge leap for me. The infrastructure is the framework for an orderly garden, but the garden is about life and growing. I takes time to develop. I went from being shy about planting anything, to having the sure knowledge of how to create a lawn. Now I know to keep a bag of the sun & shade grass seed handy. I got a large pile of rich top soil from this project which I can now employ for living things wherever a little life needs to be introduced. As I gain confidence I will get better.
The plan has power. I think it is similar to taking out a loan from a bank. An instrument is created in clear written terms. All details are spelled out. The loan document is agreed upon by all concerned parties. The capital is delivered and the installments are made until the loan is paid in full. The bank earns a profit for the risk it takes, and the borrower has financing for his purpose. The thing is a living relationship until the date of maturity. Once the loan is closed it begins to be some "thing".
The same is with a plan such as the one I made for renovating the big bed in front. It came to the point that the thing left to do was to actually get to work. Once I began I could only succeed or fail. The plan has power. By the plan I know I am not quite done with it yet, but I have earned a breather.

Sub Project

2010-06-15T05:31:00.001-05:00

I had another purpose in mind with the street side bed renovation project. I have all this concrete in various areas of the yard that I want to get rid of. The city will not pick up concrete rubble. I had some hauled off last year and it was costly. So, I done me some thinking and that is where I got the idea to use this concrete rubble as the underlayment base to the paver projects. At the same time, I will use about 75% less crushed stone. I end up with 3-5" of concrete stone and 1" of crushed stone. So the minimum thickness of the base is 4". There were stones that were five or six inches thick. So, just speaking of the base, I think the outcome meets or exceeds my expectations. My main concern is how the base settles, and if it stays put.

This is it going in. I covered it right up with fine, screened soil as I went. I constructed a screed board using a 1x8 that spanned the curb and sidewalk. To that I tacked a 1x6 set at a depth of the brick, plus one inch, for the crushed stone back fill. I laid the stone to come as close to the bottom of the screed board as I could make it. I found that the smaller stones were much easier to handle.

First Step, First Phase, Part One?! Something Like That

2010-06-14T06:00:00.001-05:00

I finally finished laying the broken concrete rocks to the sub grade. It was a massive effort for one little guy. Here is the excavation, now at the sub grade:

That is this:

Next step:

I will top the concrete stones with crushed stone and make the grade for the brick pavers, something like the drawing represents.

Final Step

2010-06-13T18:00:00.004-05:00

Here is the final drawing of my project. Here is the brick landing and the beds of Jasmine. I have some planning to do for the methods for construction.

Next Step

2010-06-12T06:00:00.014-05:00

After the mosaic sub- bed of broken concrete and mud are set and the rest of the excavation is back-filled with screened soil, I will add a base of crushed stone, here called 'screenings'. The top of that grade will be for laying brick pavers on level with the sidewalk and curb. I will make sure this grade is as flat and compacted as I can make it.

After I accomplish this I can lay the brick and do the final fill of screened soil in preparation for planting the Jasmine. It was our decision to plant this wild area with Jasmine that created the need for all this work in the first place.

Sidewalk Bed Project

2010-06-11T06:00:00.019-05:00

I have done some preliminary excavation work, some work to prepare materials and I have done a series of drawings that outline and detail what I intend to build out front.
When I am finished with the excavation I will construct a sub- base using chunks of concrete that I plan to take up from the former drive on the east side of the house. Here is the drawing:

My plan is to lay these chunks in screened soil made into a mud. Then I will grout the edges with mud leaving a fairly flat grade. I have ideas as to how to set a good grade. It will resemble a giant mosaic made from concrete chunks and mud.
When I am satisfied that this is good enough, I will back fill the excavation to the base grade with screened soil. That is the end of this stage of construction.

My idea

2010-06-10T06:00:00.000-05:00

I was thinking that I'm not really wanting to dig out much more of my gravel patio to supply other projects until I get another truck load. While I was digging and transporting the dirt to the back yard I was thinking that I wish I could use some of the concrete chunks so abundant around the yard.
I got this visual image of using some pieces for a foundation under the bricks. The problem is filling in around the chunks. I thought what if I took some dirt and put it through the medium screen? Then take that dirt and mix it up in the pan with a little water until it is a good mud. And how about if I troweled that mud in to lay the concrete chunks like you would a rock patio?
There are a couple of sources for the concrete. There are two concrete strips on one side of the house about 70' long that used to be a drive way. The concrete is about 3" thick and the strips are about 18" wide.

So, I got a brick and an average piece of the concrete and photographed them with a tape measure. Here it is:

So, the two together are around 8" thick, on average. So, I excavate about 9" to 10", or so, then lay the concrete "stones" using the mud and a trowel leaving the top below grade just a little more than the thickness of a brick. When I have the stones laid and filled in completely, I will put just one inch of fine material taken from the patio screenings that have been put through the fine screen to lay the brick exactly at the grade.
Then I back fill the whole bed with the top grade leveled by a screed board drawn over the edge of the sidewalk and the curb. I'm going to try and draw up something that makes sense of this scheme.

Okay, So now, I'm going

2010-06-09T06:00:00.002-05:00

I got started with excavating the street side bed. Progress is slow on account of the bed being threaded through with roots. But I have got a system going. When I got started, I was thinking that Maybe I could get it all done before 3:30. I realized that this is going to take time. It is going to take as much time as it takes for me to get it right. While I was digging I done me some thinking about how I would solve the problems of laying a solid brick pad there. I think I have just the thing, Here is the progress so far:

I've got a large pile of dirt in back taken from here. I have those stakes and the rope there to keep people from stepping in there accidentally. That compares with the before like this:

Now, A Drawing

2010-06-08T06:00:00.000-05:00

After I had raised the water meter pipe came the trash day. It was when I was wheeling the trash can to the curb that I realized that I would have to have a platform of some kind to set the trash cans and recycle bins on. Also the postman and anyone parking on the street would need to be able to get to the walk without stepping through the jasmine.
I would be making a big mistake to not revise my plan to take this requirement into consideration. So, I set to my drawing board and produced this drawing to try and visualize what I hope to achieve. I also could get Becky to sign off on the plan.

This is what I came up with.

Water Meter Pipe Pick- up

2010-06-07T06:00:00.000-05:00

So, I got my spade, my wheel barrow and large Screen and I set to digging out the water meter.

The pipe thing was pretty broken up. What I did was to dig it all out very well. Then, I dug up enough of the gravel screenings off the top of the patio to lay in about a 3" base at the bottom of the excavation and around the meter. Then I carefully set the two pieces back in and lifted the pipe and pushed the gravel around until I was satisfied with hoe it was set. Then I bacl filled it with clean dirt and planted three jasmine plants around it.
Here are the photos:

And again, a little further away for perspective:

Now, the next obstacles to over come. I'll have to rest my spine a couple of days.

I'm going to do that, but first, this

2010-06-06T06:00:00.005-05:00

I was all gung ho to do a hedge row, but I actually started work on street side improvements. I have every area of the yard categorized with ideas and maybe some plans for improvements. I am currently calling the strip of yard in front between the sidewalk and the street: Street Side Improvements. Here's a before picture:

There is an excess of soil in here and, as you can see, The rain run off backs up and stands on the walk. We decided to put a ground cover in here. Becky bought a flat of Jasmine for it. I've been thinking about what to do here for a long time and now we have come to the time of decision. So I have been re-thinking and studying how to do this in a way that is of the highest possible quality.
You can barely see the water meter cover this side of the Dogwood tree. I have known that it is below grade and that when it rains the water pours in and fills it up. There is so much silt inside that the cap of the meter is just visible. So it really needs to be raised and reset. That is going to be a bit arduous, but for this to be a done good jobby, I have to do it.

Hedging Our Bets

2010-06-02T06:00:00.001-05:00

Note: I have lifted this out of a post on my other blog, Our Argenta Craftsman Home: http://argentacraftsman.blogspot.com/
Here is the first official document of: WEST FRONT PROPERTY LINE HEDGE

Becky and I plan to put a hedge of Youpan Holly bushes along the property line to the right, centered between the open gate and the corner of the fence. The planting line will extend to this side of the tree, maybe as far as the side walk which is just behind and to the right of the camera position. I'm going to take a print of this picture and a measuring tape and mark where each shrub will go. That will give us a quantity and a basis for cost estimates. We can take the drawing to experts to find the exact right kind of shrub to plant for our wants. It's an empty lot next door for right now. This hedge is in anticipation of a house being built there in the future. The top of the brick on our house to the left is about twelve feet, so we are thinking of a hedge that will grow about that high to suffice. Here is where consults with various experts will pay. But this is talk. The next act is to draw up the plan and create the frame work for finance that we can carry to shop.

Memorial to Skepticism

2010-06-01T06:00:00.003-05:00

I went back in the archives and found a picture of the second grill I built. The pictures are from a study for what I, and others, thought at that time was impossibly out of reach; a plan to fence in the back yard. At the time it seemed like an empty endeavor, planning for a fence, but I went ahead with the plan, anyway. We call the fence the "Maryann Ragsdale Memorial Fence." She was a good soldier.
Next in importance after the fence is the gravel screenings which is the base of the patio and other areas. I found the post in the archives where I introduced the gravel screenings. I LOVE THIS STUFF! Here is the picture:

This whole gardening thing for me began as physical therapy for a debilitating back injury. Some, including some of the Doctors, supposed I would never be able to really walk or be able to live without a great deal of pain. Now the garden has become an important part of my life and an avenue of contribution to the tribe. I think I have grown deaf to the skepticism of others towards me. I have come a long way in a short time. I feel like I have only begun to work.
If I have ever been skeptical of your dreams, I give you my sincere apologies.

Wood-Fired Oven

2010-05-31T08:39:00.000-05:00

The grill currently in our back yard is the fourth or fifth generation of grills which I have constructed. Building them is enjoyable to me because I get an idea for something better and then I have to struggle to think through the concept while pushing myself to overcome procrastination. Once I get a good idea I know I will eventually follow through and build it. Anticipation is a feeling that motivates. Somehow there is this thing that truly exists in my mind that others may scorn. Anticipation is that feeling that keeps the vague concept alive and being alive the concept must develop and grow. Then, anon, with a little labor and sweat, a new baby is brought forth into the world with joy. If the project is well-crafted, the skeptics are turned to advocates, especially when supper is served. It is not just the structure, but also the fire and the reactions taking place in the cooking process that invite communion. Then, most important, the hospitality, the fellowship around the table which make the experience rich and rewarding.
The very first time I fired up my new grill I sat in front of the hearth nursing the coals and heating the grill into perfection. The hearth is now about chin level when you sit in a chair. All of a sudden - KAZAAM! Everything I had ever thought, studied and considered about wood-fired cooking flashed through my mind in an instant and, DING! The idea for a new and improved outdoor cooking and hospitality station popped into my mind. I had never yet gotten the grate hot in my new grill and I had an idea for a new one. I'm thinking a grill with a griddle, a shelf underneath and best of all, a wood fired oven.
Days later I got online and looked up wood fired ovens. Much to my surprise and delight I found that they are closely associated with the Rumford fireplace. Then I saw the hand of Providence, my destiny. Here is a picture I found of a wood fired oven with a Rumford fireplace built next to it.

This is another photo I found of an oven under construction. I envision something like this as part of a cooking and hospitality area. There would be a fire table for a grill and a flat top griddle, a bin for the charcoal, a preparation station, an oven and an outdoor fireplace within a gathering area. There would be a high roof covering everything, and it will be easy to go from inside the house to the outside, no matter the weather. Underfoot it will be clean and smooth for bare feet. In the middle of it all, a big table.

FINISHED CONSTRUCTION - AT LEAST FOR NOW

2010-05-29T06:00:00.001-05:00

The brick stack is smaller and there is the finished flower bed. Now we need to get some soil and do the planting.

Here is the new and improved grill and the retaining wall.

So, here is the present state of the garden.

I LOVE BUILDING STUFF

2010-05-28T06:00:00.001-05:00

Here is my start on the projects I had envisioned. I did not spend a penny.

Change Is Brewing

2010-05-27T06:00:00.001-05:00

I stacked this brick here last spring after putting in the fence. Now that the growing season is on, I saw the time had come for change. We wanted some flowers, so I thought I would construct a flower box.

We went to New Orleans a couple of weeks ago and I got some landscape construction ideas after our tour of the Garden District. I was thinking of a border between the gravel and the grass. I also wanted to update the grill. It's useless to just having the brick unemployed, so this work could bring the brick into usefulness, even though the applications are not permanent.

So I done me some thinking...

2010-05-26T11:19:00.005-05:00

Yesterday, I got out my pruning pole and lopping shears to do some much needed pruning around the place. While I was at it I cut back the low branches that impeded the sidewalk on either side of us. It is just aggravating to have to duck under overgrowth on the sidewalks. Finally, I did something about it. I think I trimmed up every tree on our property.
I put all the stuff out at the curb and this big, white truck came down from heaven and carried the problems away. End of the pruning.

2010-05-24T21:26:00.000-05:00

This is what I started with.

Latest Back Yard

2010-05-24T21:21:00.002-05:00

I put in the retaining wall around the terrace boundary. I also constructed a flower bed in back. I am working towards getting all the brick cleared out of the yard.

Becky's talking about grilling out tomorrow evening, if it doesn't rain

Next Project

2010-05-20T12:00:00.002-05:00

I have been working up plans for a system of first rate walks and car park for the house. I am about ready to set the plan in motion. In this area I want a walk from the brick apron under yon gate to come around the front and meet up with the front side walk. The walk will also connect with the car park. The car park strips will also be excavated and filled, leaving the grass in the middle. I plan to widen the areas by the car doors so that there is plenty of room to get in and out of the car. I aim to have the whole excavation and fill engineered as smoothly graded surfaces in a unified whole with good drainage for rain runoff.

My long term plan is to have 4" of the compacted gravel screenings base topped with brick or some other kind of paver the same thickness as brick. So the fill will be 6" thick to begin with. The fill will have a year to settle and then when I get ready to lay the pavers, I will shave off the top of the gravel and re-grade to accommodate the pavers. I will have the excess gravel for some other area and the base will have excellent compaction.

2009-10-30T06:00:00.000-05:00

These are views from the top of the old quarry not far from downtown. This place is probably a two or three mile hike from our front door. One thing about the urban area of the downtown s of North Little Rock and Little Rock is the many hiking and biking trails. Across the river is a Little Rock municipal golf course and there is another golf course on our side of the river across from this golf course which is not visible in these photos. We had parked the car in a lot for the river trail just yards from the first tee box and hiked here in mere minutes.
There is a bike and hike trail several miles long that starts on the north side (our side) of the river and goes way up to the lock and dam which is not quite visible in the top photo beyond the golf course. There is a pedestrian/ biking bridge that goes over the lock and dam to the south side of the river. That bridge is called the big dam bridge. It is very high and it is impressively big. The trail comes all the way back downtown winding by the golf course and through the city to cross the river again close to the Clinton Presidential Library back to where it starts.
Over here in the quarry and Burns Park there are numerous side trails, an equestrian trail and many other recreational opportunities besides golf. Strong selling points for the area.

Ivy league

2009-10-28T11:20:00.005-05:00

Becky wants this ivy cultivated to tastefully line the wall. Sam started to prune it, but he ran off. So I got up there and did it. It is not hard to do. It just takes little bites. Having experience in the field it took me less time to do it all than it took for Sam to get that little bit he did in the top photo.
I can only handle a short, lightweight extension ladder that is not tall enough to reach the highest vines. I am going to make him get out the tall ladder to remove the ivy up high on the stucco. I spent nothing on this. I put out the trimmings on Wednesday and the city picked it up. - Done good jobbie, almost.
I could not do this just a couple of months ago with my back and all. Now I can handle the light weight ladder. I will have to stay on top of this work to keep the ivy from getting above the brick again. I watched helplessly as the ivy grew up. I couldn't get anyone to prune it back. I feel some satisfaction to be able to attend this. And some folks thought I would never walk again.

West side

2009-10-25T10:06:00.002-05:00

I decided to go ahead and completely underlay the gate area with brick. Now it is a solid landing. The top photo is of this side of the house taken just before we closed on it. Note the bricks stacked up. The location of the gate can be judged in the top photo by the air conditioner.
I would join this landing with walks made from concrete tiles. A tile would be about the same ratio of its area as a brick. I haven't measured to know for sure, but if a brick is twice as long as it is wide, then that is what the tiles will be, only something like 1' x 2', depending on how wide the sidewalks need to be. I would also cast half tiles. I want them to be the same thickness as the brick. I would lay them on a bed of gravel screenings as this construction. They would be laid lengthwise across the path with the half tile alternating on either end. As you walked it would be half tile on left, whole on right, next, whole on left and half on right and so on.
I need to survey the walk ways currently proposed to get my dimensions and quantities. Assuming a whole tile is 2'x 1' and a half tile is 1'x1' and using a factor of 1-1/2 tiles per running foot covering a distance of 120 feet I would need 120 whole tiles and 120 half tiles. This would give a walk that is 3' wide. My lawn sweeper is the widest wheeled tool I have. I will have to measure to see if the walk could accommodate it.
I will need a whole form and a half form to begin manufacturing the tiles. The operation would see the forms used like cookie cutters. I think I could devise methods to make a half-dozen of each tile at a time with relative ease or whatever 2 sacks of ready-mix will make.

Poor little Red Tip

2009-10-24T06:00:00.003-05:00

First thing this morning I got out my bow saw, my loping shear and my pruning shears and went to work cleaning up this misfit of a red tip bush. I am gradually getting it into shape. While I was clipping away I remembered the year I spent working at Cantrell Gardens when I got out of High School. One thing that I got very high marks for was pruning. The old man that was part owner told me I had the touch. He did not have to tell me, because I discovered it myself that I had a talent for shaping and bringing out the natural best of a bush. From that point on he had me doing all the pruning. I have to admit that I felt pride when I heard him bragging on me to the customers. It is just that he was bragging on something that he considered to be his property and not mine and that I found irritating. He was a pecker. But I am glad that now I can connect with that happy time and translate it into ability for the here and now.
I have been waiting a long time for the right time to do a little work on this one. I'll see how it comes through the winter.

West gate fall project - Done

2009-10-23T06:00:00.002-05:00

Here is the finished west inside gate landing. I covered it with fine sand and dragged a plastic trash can half full of sand over and around on top of it for compaction. Then I swept it with a counter brush. This exposed some joints that were not filled completely so I repeated troweling sand into the joints and compacting it. Then I swept it off again and that was that. I ended up completely re-shaping this area from two feet on either side of the gate forward two feet past the end of the brick.
I love this kind of stuff. It is like doing sculpture to me. But it is a creation that is also handy as hell. This is exactly what I dreamed of when we first began to think about a fence a couple of years ago. If I want, I can do the same on the outside of the gate, butting that brick with this brick to make a continual landing from this point to a point equal on the other side.

West gate: finishing up

2009-10-22T06:00:00.001-05:00

I used the little broom rake and the concrete float to back fill and grade around the new brick paver gate landing. I took my trowel and sliced through all the joints to create a little space between the brick and to even them up a bit. I thought maybe this would be good enough. I ate some lunch and decided to get some fine sand and grout the bricks. At this point I liked it a lot, but it just isn't quite done.

Gate path construction

2009-10-21T06:00:00.001-05:00

In the previous post I showed the gate before and after this fall's improvement. I did this improvement in two stages. The first stage I removed the soil and put down gravel which I took off the top of the patio. I described this in a couple of posts from 9/21 to 9/24. I was not completely satisfied with this. I had the idea to install bricks at a certain grade there.
In the top photo I have cut into the gravel base and set the first course on a grade. I would continue to pull the gravel back and form the base on which I set the pavers. In the bottom photo I am setting the last three courses. I used an old concrete float to smooth the base and form the grade to my liking. It was fairly easy.

West Gate

2009-10-20T06:00:00.001-05:00

This past summer I began to make plans to do a bunch of projects. I plan to complete all the projects by New Years. The projects are categorized by area. The definition of complete is a moving target. The best I can to is decide to take on one of the projects and do it to the best of my ability with the materials I have on hand. My budget for new purchases is very low at this time.
In the summer when I was assessing projects I took pictures and wrote a brief description of the project. The top photo is for the project:West gate. I planned to improve the path through the gate. I had some ideas. Basically I felt I would finish it with some kind of pavers on top and that is about the extent of my planning at that time. The bottom photo is the current state of that area, and I am calling this project done.
Although it is done, the area is still subject to further improvements.

Overcoming Uncertainty

2009-10-19T06:00:00.001-05:00

I went outside and I saw a lot of junk piling up. In the bottom photo there is the old kitchen sink and the counter tops and the hibachi stuff. In the top photo there is the stack of bricks, the piles of rubble and compost and dirt. There are also two pieces of rain gutter I would like to put up to temporarily keep the water away from the back door. There is other stuff in other places. It has rained so much I have been kept out of the yard. I'm feeling shy about getting outside and doing anything. I will go back to my fall season plan and pick up the thread of projects which have real value and do something. There is benefit in creating plans. When I made the plans I was thinking clearly. I just have to trust that and persist. Fear, doubt, worry, uncertainty - Be Gone! Let good work be done.

More Block Party

2009-10-16T06:00:00.000-05:00

The band was set up on and by our porch. Our friend Laura is their sponsor. They were very good. John, in the brown hoodie in the bottom photo, got the grill guy and provided the keg of beer and the inflated bouncy thing for the kids. The city provided the tents, tables, chairs, and electricity. They set up the big tent and put in a temporary power board. We picked up the tables, chairs and small tents from the city services shed. The city folks could not have been nicer or more cooperative. Laura got the port-a-potties. There was also a hand washing station with that set up, as you can see in the photo.
You can see in the middle photo that there is a vendor in the small tent on the left. There is an empty tent to the right of that tent. We had three or four more of the little tents available, but no takers. This would have been a good opportunity for neighborhood vendors to get exposure. All in all this block party event is a lot of fun.

Block Party

2009-10-15T12:01:00.005-05:00

This photo was taken at Sunday's annual Argenta Neighborhood Boosters block party. We had it in the empty lot next to our house. Becky is the current Booster President. The party was a lot of fun, but she is relieved it is over. There was a break in the rain for the party but it is still raining. The keg was in our back yard, so I had raked and mowed in preparation for the party. But other than that I haven't been in the yard.
I am tempted to go through the pictures and find something to write about, but I want this publication to give an accurate reflection of what I do in the yard. I have not done much of anything in the longest while. I am forced to spend time in recovery from the work I did for this party. I feel more active, but the activity has the price of pain. I get these thoughts that if I am not careful something could go "pop" in my lower spine and all my gains could be instantly lost.
This has been a very wet fall. I think I heard on the weather last night that it has rained 19 days out of the last 30 days. I have also been busy with things that have kept me out of the yard. I am way out of touch with the work. However, I have this plan that I created in the summer. I can just go back to that and keep working to get the things done that I want to have done by the New Year.

What to do?

2009-10-06T06:00:00.000-05:00

It looks like it is going to rain all day. I have been fretting over what to do. But I look at it like this: The yard, all in all, is in pretty good shape. Worry because of a fear of criticism is no good.
But there is a lot I would like to get done, but fretting gets in the way. How better to deal with fretting than deciding on a definite course to achieve a desired result? The compost pile looms large. I have also collected a large pile of dirt from various projects. I must get rid of these piles because soon I will have a large pile of leaves.
There are reasons why I fret over this:

The spinal injury thing I got going on. The work is heavy.
The soil I produce will be full of weed seeds.
The work will produce a large pile of detritus consisting of rocks and concrete, pebble size to large chunks.
The process will produce large branches and roots that are not composted.
The process will produce a large pile of soil.

Here are my decisive answers point by point:

Heavy work: Get it done in small, manageable bites. Make the work rehabilitative exercise.
Weeds: There won't be anymore of this rough material once this is gone. Process and recover the soil. Spread it out in the low spots and deal with the weeds. Worst case scenario is that it takes a year or two to make good grass overtake the weeds.
Detritus: Pile the stuff in a spot accessible by truck and call the man who hauled the last pile off. Save up some money in the mean time to pay him.
Limbs and roots: Pile out by the street on Wednesday and the city will haul it off.
Soil pile (with weed seeds): This is the asset. Spread it out and go on.

Yet another post about my grill

2009-10-05T06:00:00.000-05:00

I did not realize that my hibachi would fit so well on the new top beside the grill. Yay! The piece of concrete under the hibachi was one of the kitchen counters that was replaced. I did not move the others, but I was eager to have this one for my grill. I carried it out and later set it here. It only weighs about 50 pounds. When I lifted it to set it here I felt that old feeling. The one that feels like a cold electric shot, shooting out of my lower spine, down my left leg to the top of my foot. This is another reason I have not gotten much done. I am forced to recuperate. Injury comes like a bolt of lightening, but recovery is slow like the changing seasons. Young people beware! It is a time-out punishment for being stupid. I could have used the hand truck to move it, and lifted it up with a lever and a fulcrum. I was told 35 lbs is the absolute maximum I can lift, and that I should avoid doing that as much as possible.

Slogging forward

2009-10-04T09:39:00.002-05:00

The weather is getting cooler and some leaves are beginning to fall. I reckon that this is the middle of the transition from summer to fall. I would like to publish posts that make it seem like I have been busy working away, but that would defeat my purpose. I want a factual account. I want to be able to have an accurate record that I can judge the work of next year with. I know I am subject to nature, so I want to see the natural patterns. But I want to do more. I want, I want...wah, wah, wah! Put a nipple on that bottle for the baby.
A good, clear, detailed plan would make all the difference in what we end up getting done before winter. Because I know if I can draw it, I can do it. Becky and I did get over to a nursery to look at plants. I took pictures of everything that caught her eye. I also took pictures of two areas where they have many different plants stored. I figure I can go back and zoom in on anything that got digitized for a closer look. If you are reading this and you don't already know, you can left-click on the pictures to open and view them more closely. My purpose is to get the landscape roughed in and create spaces for plantings. I want Becky to get a vision of how she sees the landscape develop. She has a naturally good eye for that kind of thing. I really want to produce drawings and a schedule for our landscape plans before we buy anything.
I will have my hands full keeping up with the falling leaves beginning in a week or two. After that, but before winter is the time I want to carry out the plans for the work of this fall. So we need to get ready and save our money.

Officially Fall

2009-09-30T12:42:00.002-05:00

Fall has officially arrived and even though I have been preparing work for this time I am still having trouble believing it is here. I have to figure out what I will do with all the leaves that will soon be falling to the ground. I need to rake now. I need to fertilize now.
I gave myself some pain lifting the small piece of concrete into place on the addition of the grill. It has taken some time to get over that. I'm in the mood to procrastinate. Fortunately I have put myself in the position that I must force myself to act. I set goals and sitting on my thumbs means failure. So I have to get my mind and body up to do what needs to be done.

I grilled some chicken yesterday evening. Only the second time I have used the new grill. It does take time to get up a good fire in the grill. With a gas grill you just fire it up and it is ready in minutes. But you have to deal with gas cylinders, unless it is hooked up to the house gas. But all in all I like taking the time to do it right. I have to start early so that we don't eat late. Everyone raved about the chicken. I fixed it two ways: half was marinated in Italian dressing and the other half got bar-b-que sauce at the end. I have had shortcomings before by having the chicken under done. I use a cooking thermometer and at 160 degrees the chicken was underdone. This time I went to 180- 185 degrees and it was perfect.

I did not do a thing in the yard except take the blower and move the leaves off the porch and patio. I sat by the fire thinking about all I could have been doing instead of staring at the charcoal. I've got to get the energy up in my mind to get up and get on with the work I want finished this fall.

Grill Add- on

2009-09-28T06:00:00.004-05:00

The top photo is the new grill when I had just finished building it. The brick stack supplying the project is just visible beyond in the extreme left, next to the fence. The bottom photo is with the addition of the piece of old concrete counter top incorporated into it. The brick stack has shrunk noticeably.

The brick was formerly a patio. Before the patio, this brick was part of the front and back porches. It is the same brick the house was constructed of. When I pulled it up from the patio I ended up stacking it in that back corner. Then I took some of that and stacked it up for a pedestal to set the steel tub on and screen soil which is the stack in the foreground. I make believe that this brick is a capital store similar to silver ingots. Just sitting it is worth whatever this type of brick is worth- maybe .50 to .75 each. Employed as a temporary grill, this brick is still worth the .50 or .75 and it is also useful in additional ways.

Experimentation in grill construction imparts insight useful in building something first class. This hands-on exercise stimulates insight into understanding masonry discipline. This construction also enables me to reign as the grill master serving our table. At the same time it still serves the purpose of storage for the brick until I can employ it in some project worth more than a temporary grill. So was this effort worth the exertion? I think so.

This exercise should lead to a greater project on the house which will require all the brick in a permanent construction. Something that will see these brick employed with mortar in the joints and incorporated into the house. That project should add some real and lasting value to the property. At that time I will be done with these bricks and I will be finished with the struggle of employing them most profitably.

Progress is pushing me

2009-09-27T06:00:00.002-05:00

I have only fired up my new grill one time since I constructed it. Mostly because most of the weeks of days since have been rainy. I had planned to use a piece of the old counter top in the grill when the time came that the job was done. Now that is done and I have these pieces out back.

I was at a loss as to which piece to use and how to incorporate it into the structure. I had that gnawing anxiety that these pieces may lay like tombstones for dead dreams. But then an idea came to me to use the small piece leaning against the grill as a side counter and a picture of how to do that sprung to mind and I instantly thought, "I will do it that way." Then I remembered that I wanted to use the rectangular piece on the front of the stack as a top for a work bench in the basement. This grill as an intangible idea begun in my mind many years ago has taken on a life of it's own and is now driving me instead of my pursuing it. Now I've got to get up and do some work.

Lemon Tree- crop report

2009-09-26T08:31:00.005-05:00

This spring our lemon tree flowered and then set fruit. A month or so later all but about 5 lemons dropped off. That's what it did the year before when we first got it. But mid summer it flowered again and set several more lemons. They survived the falling off time and are now ripening along with the original fruit.
In the bottom photo are visible the more mature lemons on the lower left. The smaller late fruit is to be seen all over the tree. I wonder if the late fruit will reach maturity? And to think that I pooh-poohed Becky's desire for a lemon tree and that it would produce anything in the middle of Arkansas. Last year we harvested a dozen lemons. A neighbor told me the grass I have cultivated in the pot would starve the tree, and that I should pull it out. Well, the grass grows around the lemon trees in Florida, does it not?

West gate improvement final

2009-09-24T06:00:00.004-05:00

Here is the completed project. I know that this is substantial construction. It is not a little gravel sprinkled on the ground around the gate. If in a year or two there is call to further improve this gate for some reason not knowable at this time, I know I can build on this. Ultimately, my standard is to be able to walk all the way around the house on some kind of improved surface, while pushing the lawn sweeper, and not be impeded by anything except the gates.
When we first moved in the only things here were the little pad under the air conditioner, two very large holes like from an old, collapsed septic tank, which slowly swallowed large concrete chunks, a large pile of brick, and weeds growing in profusion. I'm really itching to connect this footing with the patio. Hopefully all these separate, small projects will begin to crystallize into a whole, well-fitting landscape that adds value financially and improves our quality of life.

West gate site work

2009-09-23T06:00:00.007-05:00

This is the completed excavation. I have this nice, little garden spade that works wonders. It made short work of getting down to business. It is leaning against the grill in the photo. The photo can be viewed by left clicking it. The spade is a Rigid tool. The business end of it is a little thicker than a shovel and the edge is flat and serrated.

Scraping an inch or two of the gravel screenings up was not difficult, either. The material came up in the same condition it was spread- perfect. It has rained for ten days. I now know that this material is best handled damp.
And here I am filling it in. It has to be filled in and raked out, tamped down, dump in some more, rake out, tamp down, more material, rake, tamp...until it is worthy. The only hard thing about this was going back for more. I told myself, "One more load ought to get it." about ten times until I was satisfied I had not cheated.

As I review these photos, I realize that this process would have worked better had I dumped the material in the middle of the excavation and spread it all the way out to the corners, building the whole level up gradually. Instead I dumped the material in piles and then raked off the top to level. Then dumping another pile next to that. While doing the final loads, I kept finding soft spots. Tamping a layer a half inch thick will have more uniform results than tamping material two or three inches thick.

West gate ground work

2009-09-22T06:00:00.001-05:00

Today I decided to do the west gate project. I want to excavate under and around the gate. Then I want to back fill the area with the gravel screening material from the patio. My son, Sam came by and I told him that I had planned this a couple of years ago, long before we even had the fence. I believed that one day we would have a fence and that there would be a gate here on the west side of the house. I had excess screening material on purpose for this project. Even so, I was hesitant to do it, because it felt like I was losing something. I think it was greed. It is strange how the mind works. But I had these plans laid for a long, long time, so I forced myself to follow through.
Even though I know all this well, I still took a survey. Here's the gate, and here's where I'm getting the gravel. By my estimate I have at least two inches of material to take off the top.

Gate on the west side

2009-09-21T06:00:00.004-05:00

I want to use the gravel screenings I quarry from the patio around this gate. That has been my intention when we first began planning to install the fence. I planned to have excess material for this purpose and others. In this stage of the project I want to get these projects right the first time. I could easily use all the material I take from the patio around the gate and alongside the utility porch in the top photo. But I have this feeling that I want to skimp and "go cheap". I want to hoard as much material as I can for something else. Skimping may bring poor results, if I want to take that chance. Maybe that boils down to just plain laziness. If Sam was here he'd say, "Do I detect a note of timidity?" (That's a line from the movie "Bedknobs and Broomsticks", I think.)

But there is this Dudley Doright side of the human psyche that challenges the hero in us. I should enter into this improvement to do the thing right so that in the future I'm not sorry that I skimped on an important improvement. If it turns out wrong for some unforeseen reason I have the ability to recover the screenings. I just want to do this once and I want it to result in an improvement with far more value than it cost. Is that too much to ask?

Searching for the way

2009-09-20T08:56:00.002-05:00

Rain has fallen daily for at least ten days. I am feeling out of touch with my garden project. More rain is forecast the next couple of days. There seems to be no end in sight. I have been searching my photo albums for direction. The photos of the back yard in the morning sun brightened me. I could do some grade work on the patio without getting muddy and soaked, so maybe that's what I should work on now. The conditions for moving the gravel around could not be better.

The photo reveals the grade work I did yesterday in the lower left. There is a swath about four feet wide coming from the gate into the patio and grill area along the fence that I consider close to the final grade. The swath meets the grade of the new grill just as I want. The runoff flows between the grill and fence into the compost area.

To the right of the swath grade the patio area remains about two inches high over almost to the white chairs. Maybe that area is about twenty feet by ten feet, two inches deep... that makes something like thirty three cubic feet of material? I'm not sure about my math. Anyway, I will have a good, little pile of gravel screenings freed up for other purposes. First on my list for this material is the gate on the west side. But that is a study in itself.

Shaping the Landscape

2009-09-19T12:07:00.003-05:00

We have had nine consecutive days of rain with more forecast. I managed to mow the yard yesterday. This morning I observed rain runoff patterns etched in the gravel. I discovered that the conditions are excellent to grade and contour the gravel screening patio base. So I set to improving the grade in this area. There is a gentle slope down from the gate to the grill. The area was high to the inside so I worked on establishing a path from the gate to the grill by cutting down the high side and spreading the material to the outside by the fence. This created a flat berm which is slightly sloped away from the fence, sort of down the middle. This will keep the runoff water away from the fence and moving past the grill. The area past the grill is way low. The runoff should flow down there and gradually migrate out of the yard along the back fence. Eventually I hope to have a drain path which will move all the runoff water to funnel out of the yard under the gates in back.

The top photo is my start to re-shape this area from the gate along the fence. The bottom photo is how I left the area. The material was easy to loosen with the spike sandals and easy to rake. Breaking up the material like this, with it wet, keeps the fine material from separating from the coarse. I raked a rough grade and then soaked it with a hose. Then I better shaped the area, according to the water patterns, with the steel rake. I soaked the area again and repeated raking and shaping, then soaking again four or five times until I got as good a slope as I could get for the time being. This process evens and settles the very fine material and leaves a thin layer of coarse material, which is fine gravel, on the top. By then the gravel on top is clean and crunchy.

I had the fence put up a little high along this line. The gravel creates a dam under and along the fence three to eight inches tall with a twenty inch wide base to buttress our yard against the low area in the lot on the other side of the fence. This is the high baseline. From this baseline it appears that I may be able to remove, or reclaim, two inches of material off the top of the patio to form a good overall contour. It was my intent to have extra material on the patio which I could later reclaim for other projects, like a path in the front yard, when the time comes. I had to get all the gravel material I was getting into the back yard before the fence went up.

Rain

2009-09-16T06:00:00.000-05:00

Rainy weather the last few days have kept me indoors, except to clean off the back porch and the door mats. The kitchen floor gets tracked with mud when it rains and that is something which I am working to eliminate. The rain is forcing me to work on my plans. The yard will be in need of mowing when it finally dries out.

Give me what the ancients used.

2009-09-15T06:00:00.001-05:00

I have begun to level and grade the patio in preparation for construction of the table. It is like a game to me. I aim at something I call "Egyptian Quality", or, "How would the early builders solve this basic problem?" I can only use the tools and materials I have on hand. The primary tool is my imagination.
I took everything off the patio and put on my spike sandals. I walked all over the patio until all resistence to the spikes was gone. Then I began experimenting with different methods which will not strain my back.
First, I tried a flat shovel. Then a flat piece of steel. Then a board. Then a thing I once built to use as a tamper. I tried dragging, pushing and pulling these "tools" back and forth, but none of these things really showed promise. Then I realized I needed an instrument. I needed something better than my eye to find the level grade. So I set up this string line level. That was when I realized this first attempt was an exercise in engineering. The first thing is accurate measurement with a definite grade target. Mastering the level is not as easy as it seems. Yet, wisdom will make this simple.
First I diddled around. Then I got smart and realized I was dumb. But I read somewhere that wisdom is everywhere trying to enlighten hearts with knowledge and understanding. That's what I need for this project. I need some wisdom, knowledge, and understanding.

Love Leads The Way

2009-09-14T06:00:00.004-05:00

I understand that a plan of any undertaking has to be definite and plans have to be clear. Actions must be taken. Failure is to be avoided. But, the plan must be fluid. It is easy to confuse definiteness with rigidity. We are making definite progress. We had a general idea and when a step is taken new possibilities arise which were unforeseen. Rigidity causes blindness. Real progress requires definiteness and action and fluidity.
Becky was blown away when she saw the new grill. She was standing on the spot of the former grill, which in this photo, was in the middle of the patio between the table and the swing. She looked around and said, "Put the table right here!" She gestured lengthwise parallel to the house and said, "Put it here, this way, right in the middle." With the grill over there I agree totally. This location is better than under the tree. It feels like a final decision.
This experience inspires me. Our marriage gives me part and gives her part. The two parts work together and make a greater whole. Trust, hope, faith and love are the true ingredients of success. These are things that come alive in activity. Causing these things to come alive are like doing anything worthwhile - it takes work - a labor of love.
So with a slight course adjustment, we sail on, more sure of our way.

Grill - Fini

2009-09-13T06:00:00.006-05:00

This is the finished grill with the top course. Looking over the pictures I saw an error. I discovered I made a mistake in the directional orientation. Fortunately, it is easily remedied. Looking back over my drawings I saw my weakness. Those marks were fuzzy. I was not clear about north or south or east or west. But I got it done and I can't wait to try it out.

With the old grill gone the patio is clear to re-grade in anticipation of the new table. And, oh yeah, I did not lay out any cash to construct this grill.

Grill Going Up

2009-09-12T06:00:00.002-05:00

This is how I constructed the grill. I stacked a square wall and filled in the interior. I alternated the directions of the inside brick each course. This part is seven courses high. There is a top course to finish it off. That course will have some fire brick for the fire box. I also want some space around the fire box for trays, cold beverages and cooking utensils.
So far, so good.

Grilling Up the First Course

2009-09-11T06:00:00.003-05:00

I used this piece of steel and the torpedo level to survey the site for the grill. After putting on four or five layers of screening material, and soaking with the hose in between, the spot came out level. I checked, double checked, and triple checked my drawings and I made double sure of the orientation. Taking time to make sure everything checks out in the beginning is essential. I found a couple of errors in all this that would have thrown me off.
I used the iron and a rafter square to mark the layout. I set each brick with care and squared it up. Then I stood back to go over everything one last time.

Grill Construction - A Firm Foundation

2009-09-10T06:00:00.006-05:00

I used a flat piece of steel that is about three inches wide and forty five inches long with a small level to survey the area where the grill is going. Based on those readings I began to shovel the material into the area. Then I raked it out as level as I could get it. I stepped back and sprayed a shower of water all over the area until the water puddled up good. I waited a few minutes for the water to soak in and then I shoveled in some more material and repeated the raking and the sprinkling. I did that four or five times and each round required less material. I wanted to avoid getting too much material on the spot so I started low. Gradually the bubble found the middle and I was satisfied the spot was level and large enough to start stacking.

New Grill - Location and Design

2009-09-09T06:00:00.001-05:00

In order to set the table I must re-grade the patio but the grill is in the way. I decided I had to do something or be stymied. I took the pencil and paper and just drew it out. That probably took me all of fifteen minutes. When I had it drawn I looked up and realized that all my uncertainty had disappeared. I thought to myself, "I can do this." This is the first time I used graph paper to draw a brick design. This was very easy to draw. Using pencil, paper, and imagination is much better than scrabbling around in the dirt experimenting with bricks trying to figure something out. DUH, REALLY NOW?!

I decided that I would put the grill this side of the table in the picture. The next thing to do is to lay a solid base on which to stack the grill. I will take the freshly loosened screenings I was going to use for the table to do the base. I feel rich having all this gravel material and bricks at my disposal to do whatever I am able to dream up.

Garden Table - Feasibility Study - #1 What about the grill?

2009-09-08T06:00:00.008-05:00

The top photo is the view from the kitchen sink. I placed the grill so that there is an unobstructed view of it from the kitchen sink. That has worked out well. I don't think there is any call from any quarter to put the grill anywhere but where it is now. I plan to use a piece of concrete from the kitchen counter when they are replaced in the new and improved grill. This will be the third grill I have constructed so far. All have been temporary being made out of crudely stacked brick. Seeing how construction of a righteous table requires grading the entire patio, I think it is time to think about a permanent grill. I love having a fire pit lined with fire brick. That makes the heat so very even. With a concrete counter top on the side I will have enough room to place the hibachi there. I think, "Yeah, it is time for the real thing." But the thing is, once you start out to do something real, the possibility of failure becomes real. I could fail. What if I choose to ignore the fear of failure and set out to build the grill I know needs to be built?

The table will find it's exact spot. Meanwhile I won't be afraid to shove this one around with the chairs and mess up my nice, neat pile of gravel. It can't be lost.

Garden Table - Preliminary Plan

2009-09-07T06:00:00.004-05:00

My first thoughts of building our outdoor table were weak. That's not so bad. On the one hand, my first idea got scrapped. On the other hand, I have been alerted to new and better possibility. I accept that this process will take time. Therefore, I will create a deadline of Thanksgiving to complete construction of the table. This is the best idea I have had on the subject so far.

This project requires me to re- grade the whole patio. I have to invent a method to level the whole patio and provide a proper foundation to bear the load of the table and pedestal while not overloading my spine. There's the slab on the porch in the top photo. I want to put it where the table is in the bottom photo. I have to cause the slab on the porch to float down the steps and across the patio to the base. Then the slab has to be turned to the horizontal with all the care of a space shuttle maneuvering to dock with the space station. Finally, the slab has to be set in place on top of the base and this job is done.

I may use something other than brick for the table pedestal. Becky may want the table lengthwise parallel to the fence or lengthwise parallel with the house or at some point in between. We have time to carefully consider the details.

Garden Table - First Step: We Agree and Believe

2009-09-06T06:00:00.005-05:00

Becky and I confirmed that we both believe the garden table should stand in the location visible in the bottom photo scratched out in the gravel. Our agreement is an important first step. We want our table to provide maximum hospitality. This is the dream and this is the time and place of our first step; our garden table groundbreaking.

The groundbreaking took place while I was getting the grill on for Becky's Booster Block Party Planning Committee Meeting. I took the opportunity to move a little gravel. My spirits were high and I was thinking that all I had to do was move a little gravel, level it out, stack the bricks and put on the top. Two factors popped up to dash my preliminary concepts. Number one, I knew in my heart that this effort would be inadequate. Number two, the sheer weight and size of the concrete top means that to set it on top of a base will require an effort equal to ten stout, young men directed to lift and carry the piece.

During my painting days our crew helped the marble guys on a remodel job years ago move a counter top made from a slab of black African marble. That slab was about the same size as our concrete slab. We carried that slab from the truck to the kitchen. Installation of the counter took every bit of the strength of ten stout workmen to move and set. The boss marble guy had to buy us all a good lunch to get our cooperation. Transportation of a massive, breakable object is a huge and perilous task in itself. Break it and the project is dead. Set the top poorly and it stands as a monument to poor administrative skills. This is to become our outdoor table. I can't let Mother-in-law have anything but good things to say about it.

I am forced to go back to the drawing board. That's a good thing.

Late Summer Clean Up

2009-09-05T06:00:00.001-05:00

Becky is the president of the neighborhood association. Every year the Boosters, as the association is called, has a block party. She had the block party planning committee meeting at our house. Sprucing up for the party I cleaned the patio furniture.
I used a product called Jomax. It is a cleaning chemical that is mixed with water and bleach. Jomax is easy to apply with a garden type sprayer. When I was a painter I always used this stuff to get rid of the mildew, the scale and cobwebs and such, as the first step of preparation to paint.
The photo of the white chair before and after pretty much tells it.
I once picked up one of the black chairs and a giant spider came scrambling out of one of the spaces underneath that serve as supports. It had a nest there. On the top side the chair looked clean enough. I could imagine the event of one such spider crawling out on a neighbor.
This is a photo of my cleaning pump sprayer taken apart, cleaned and drying. I don't use this sprayer for garden chemicals and I don't use my garden sprayer for cleaning chemicals. This sprayer did not cost much and it is now at least 8 years old but it still works good as new.

My Gravel Quarry

2009-09-04T06:00:00.001-05:00

This photo shows how I quarried gravel for the maple tree project. There was about three inches of loose, clean gravel in the area of the shovel marks. This patio is composed of about ten yards of screenings. I was generous with my order for Mr. McCowan of screenings for this very reason. Some water and a rake will bring another crop of gravel.
I calculate that I can remove at least 2" off the top over time and still have a sufficient base. I foresee this area, in it's more permanent form, to be covered with pavers of some sort. My thinking is that with all the raking and messing with the screening base, it will become more level and settled. After some time it will be a fabulous base for a top treatment that is more solid, more clean. While the rest of the landscape is developing, this remains fluid, and that is what I wanted.
There was some petrified cat poop mixed in with the gravel. The cats expressed a little displeasure towards me for taking away their gravel litter.

Maple Tree Final

2009-09-03T06:00:00.004-05:00

To finish off this round of improvements to the Japanese Maple tree I topped the planter off with medium screened compost and raked it smooth and pretty. Then I brought some more gravel from my quarry to fill around the outside of the planter.
To better position the swing I needed to adjust the patio border out a little. The area under where the swing had been also needed re-surfacing. Using my spike sandals I tromped around the area. This loosened the gravel enough to rake it out to a better line.
Brody seems to approve the work. Not bad seeing how I did not spend a cent on this project.

I was told this tree should reach about 30' tall. I foresee people sitting underneath this tree, years hence, in a neat urban design. For the time being we can just sit next to it.

Japanese Maple Planter Construction

2009-09-02T06:00:00.003-05:00

The top photo shows the general idea of the first course of brick on the gravel base. I did not have enough of these whole bricks to lay two courses. I replaced the whole bricks of the first course on the patio side with half bricks. They are below the grade and not visible. With the bricks I took from there, and bricks I took from the fig tree planter I had enough to do two courses with one full brick left over.

The middle photo is my pile of detritus, from which I took enough to back fill next to the brick to the top of the first course. The bottom photo shows the finished two course wall and detritus back fill.

Japanese Maple

2009-09-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

I decided to enlarge this planter by the width of my little shrub rake. The top photo is my mark. Excavation of the gravel screenings was very easy with the garden spade. I added extra material which I took from areas on the patio where I rake the screenings up for use in projects like this. It is my little quarry.
I ended up with a base for the new wall which is much improved over the previous.

Japanese Maple Planter

2009-08-31T16:30:00.003-05:00

Today I tackled the Japanese Maple Tree planter. I enlarged the brick wall around the planter and re-defined the gravel screenings patio to complete the improvement.

Fall Plans for Front East Side

2009-08-29T07:29:00.003-05:00

There is visible the concrete tread of the former driveway about a foot from the wall. Grass grows over it in patches. I was figuring to leave it. I did not have peace with that decision. Peace returned when I decided I would remove all the concrete from this area and anywhere else I find it. When the yard is clear I will call the rubbish man and have it hauled off. I am resigned to having a large, growing pile of concrete rubble for a year or two. The ability to build what I want in the place of this obsolete concrete is worth the trouble.
The fence has ended the use of this area as a drive. The concrete strip hinders development. With the concrete gone I can develop this area which has splendid morning sun. My fall work plan is to construct a bed along this wall about two feet wide. Included here are improvements around the gate. My improvements will not be of a permanent nature as this wall, and the porch need to be demolished and reconstructed. I will do that when I have the money.

Used to be something, soon it's detritus

2009-08-29T06:00:00.000-05:00

The concrete track on the right goes all the way to the gate. This is a favorable spot for a planting bed and the concrete track has to go. Chunks of concrete jut out of the ground between the tree and the corner of the porch. This creates a hazard for the lawnmower and inhibits the growth of the lawn here. As part of the fall rehabilitation of this planting bed and this area, I will have to pull up the concrete from the gate to about the first crack in the drive in the front yard. That will do for now. Eventually I want to get rid of this drive when we have a carport in back. The property line runs down the middle of this drive. I could see having a hedgerow or a short picket fence here, or maybe both. That will be something for the next year's fall projects.

Sidewalk Yard Change of Plan

2009-08-28T06:00:00.000-05:00

I am not satisfied with the way this project is turning out. The final grade is still an inch and a half too high. I am trying to go too cheap by re-using the old sod. The turf being a mixture of different grasses, mostly weeds, is not uniform. Also, even though I have been very careful cutting and removing the sod, I end up being short about 1/3rd to fully re-sod the area. So the resulting turf is uneven and patchy and mostly weeds. I think that the small amount of sod required for this effort would not be a budget buster.
I think I should go ahead and cut down the rest of this area recovering the excess soil. Then, I will pull up all the sod I have put down, regrade the whole area and then put down some decent sod to cover every square inch.
One good thing is the rich top soil this effort is producing. That aspect of this project is on track. I also found a 1941 silver quarter screening the dirt.

de·tri·tus

2009-08-26T16:13:00.003-05:00

de·tri·tus de·tri·tus [di trtəss] n
1. debris: debris or discarded material
2. geology rock fragments: fragments of rock that have been worn away
3. ecology organic matter: organic debris formed by the decomposition of plants or animals
[Late 18th century. < Latin < past participle of deterere (see detriment)]-de·tri·tal, , adj
Encarta ® World English Dictionary © & (P) 1998-2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

You always have this when you work in the dirt. There is a substantial quantity of concrete around the property that serves no purpose. I am going to have to get rid of it. I already had to pay to get a pile of detritus hauled off. I get hesitant to get out the stuff because of the trouble and expense. But I have made up my mind. I am going to get it all out of the yard. When it is all up I will call the man back and he will make it go away. I will write him a check and that will be that.
I am thinking that I will construct another screen to screen the smaller chunks to get some large gravel. I can use that for fill under walk ways and other projects.

Bob's Quarry

2009-08-26T06:00:00.000-05:00

I decided to build a plant that makes processing dirt, compost and gravel easier and quicker. I set the steel pan on a stack of bricks. The screen is much easier to work with it up high like this. I can slide the screen to the side on one of it's long handles and easily dump the screenings out of the way on the ground for later collection or into the wheelbarrow if I want to put it someplace specific. I place the wheelbarrow under the end where I can dump in the screened material from the pan. I no longer have to stoop to shovel out the material. Plus all the material goes out when the pan is dumped, so it is not like scraping out a bowl. Grading and separating material is simple. I can switch from one material and grade to another with no problem.
My first fall project is cutting down the grade of the sidewalk yard. I am half way through with my first execution of this plan and I have accumulated this pile of dirt from that work so far. Much of the work I have planned for the fall involves cleaning out and enlarging the existing beds, and building some new beds. All of that requires processing different types of organic materials in this manner. I also have a couple of construction projects in mind that require gravel. This means that I will mine the patio area to screen and separate the gravel and fine fill. I have an abundance of that material. It is like having money in the bank, or my own little gravel quarry.
When I was a child I liked to pretend I was the County Judge. I would play in the dirt outside the kitchen door with my matchbox cars, trucks and heavy equipment. I built roads and bridges. Eventually my imagination created a county with a city and the surrounding country side with lots of happy people driving in their cars and I was the big boss of it all.

Timber

2009-08-25T06:00:00.000-05:00

This is as close as I had to get to the pine tree when it was cut down, I handed the foreman a check at the front door when he came with an invoice after it was done. It was well worth the cost. The pine tree falling on our house is no longer on the list of things of concern.

The pine tree straddled our property line. Pine needles dropped on the house and collected in very large piles in the valleys of the roof. The tree had large poison ivy vines snaking up it's trunk. From the time we moved in we entertained estimates for the tree's removal. Some were given us by guys in battered pick up trucks who wanted cash and some were from bona fide tree services. All of them were in excess of $1000.
When we decided to install the fence Becky was resolute in her decision that the tree had to go before the fence was put in. So we got one more estimate from a real tree service. It came in at $385. That was great. The stars must have been in perfect alignment that day.

Side walk yard - day 2

2009-08-24T06:00:00.000-05:00

I am past half way with this project and I think the last half will go much faster. I did not disturb the area around the tree. Looking at the areas I have re-done I think the turf I have laid down is still 1-1/2" too high. I would like to have more gravel in there as well. The turf is a mixture of mostly crab grass, a little Bermuda, and a little centipede.

I am going to go ahead and finish this project in this manner, but I am going to make an addition to my plan for this area. I am either going to get Becky to spring for some sod for this area, or I am going to grow my own somehow. By the time I can get either of these things done the sod I am laying now will have grown into a single layer. With the soil under the sod being so clean and cultivated, I should have no trouble removing this sod, adding some more gravel and scraping off another inch and a half of soil and laying down some nice sod. But this will do for the time being. I would like to have this re-done and sodded by Thanksgiving, but if I have to wait till next spring, I should still have a good window of opportunity to re- grade and re-sod this patch with little trouble.
I am recovering some good topsoil from this site which was part of the plan to begin with.

Cool Weather Project #1 - Underway!

2009-08-23T06:00:00.000-05:00

This project has two purposes: One purpose is to lower the grade here so the rain water will drain off the sidewalk. The other purpose is to glean the excess top soil to have for the projects I have planned for the fall. I am happy with the results of both so far. When I began to name and organize all the projects I hope to do this fall I got to this one and realized I would be getting all this top soil from here and therefore I needed to do this one first.

I cut up the sod and removed it. Then I loosened the soil 3"-4" deep with the spade. I shoveled out the soil and wheeled it around back by the compost area for processing. I had a good sized pile. There I screened about half of the soil through the medium screen to cull the stones and clods and wheeled the good soil back to the site. I dumped the soil in the excavation, raked it out and tamped it down. When I was satisfied with the grade I put the sod back and watered it. I put two loads of gravel in the area where there is a chunk of side walk missing. I gently raked the soil up to it, and laid the sod over it. The water drained right off when I rinsed the side walk off.

I got about 1/3rd of this part of the project done. I plan to take up in the morning where I left off today . Maybe now that I have a system I will get the remaining 2/3rds done in the time it took for me to do the 1/3rd. I hope this improvement will suffice until the city comes through and repairs the sidewalk so's it will properly drain. Maybe that will happen within five years.

Fall Project #1 - Locked and Loaded

2009-08-22T06:00:00.005-05:00

We've got a spell of cool weather coming and I intend to take advantage of it. The weather outlook for the weekend calls for highs in the 80's and low's in the 60's. The time coincides with Becky's work week and my spine is rested. In my post of 7/23 I decided that my first digging project in cool weather would be cutting down the turf between the sidewalk and the street curb.

I will remove the turf from the area and save to the side. Then I will excavate the soil to a depth to be determined to accommodate turf and still allow runoff water to drain off the sidewalk. Then I plan to put the turf back. The soil I will remove to the compost area. I will sift the soil and the compost pile through a coarse screen. When I get all the material screened I will have one pile of uniform, screened material and one pile of material which will be the new compost pile. This action is my hard target. Once everything is screened I will probably know what to do next.

Fall Projects - Tree planters

2009-08-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

Landscaping is like sculpture to me. Except that when one sculpts a statue or an ashtray it is cured and is forever the same. The ability to grow and change dies with the birth of sculpture made of clay or carved from stone. With the landscape, it cannot remain the same, even from day to day. Change and growth define the landscape.

When this was a weed lot we planted these two trees in hopes of a better day. The top one is a fig tree and the bottom is a Japanese Maple. We planted both of them higher than the surrounding ground with a view to raising the ground level. I stacked these bricks around the trees because they looked defenseless. Now as the trees are becoming better established I am making plans to rebuild these brick planters this fall. I will make them proportionally higher and wider, probably a little over sized to allow for growth. That's the way my mother bought me a new pair of shoes for school when I was a kid.

What I have learned from my little mower

2009-08-20T06:00:00.004-05:00

The process of gaining experience through trial and error should be quicker and easier for me than it is. I am usually one step ahead of myself in my thinking, but for some reason I put off trying ideas for no better reasons than laziness and lack of self confidence. Part of my purpose of publishing this web log project is to expose my thinking to the light of day. After some seasons have passed I can study and review my patterns of thought. Then with better understanding of my self I may strengthen my weaknesses and capitalize my strengths. Also it requires exercise to keep up a publishing schedule and exercise improves one's fitness.

My little mower is becoming a well-oiled cutting machine. I have wrestled with proper adjustment of both the cutting blade and the cutting height. I generally wanted the cutting blade too tight and the cutting height too low. It's a macho thing. I could not let go of the control and let things be. This wrestling match is not with the manufacturer of the mower, not with Sears, not with any other "they", or "them". I wrestle with my self.

It is easy to think, "That's too tight, loosen it up a bit." It is easy to think, "That's too low, raise the cutting height." It is easy to think, "After cutting the grass, rinse the clippings off the mower with the hose." It takes no divine revelation to think, "Spray the metal parts with W D 40 so they dry and are lubricated." Thinking like that is so easy it seems there is some kind of guardian angel guiding me in my heart's desire with simple and direct ideas. I am sure most people consciously or unconsciously experience this.

These directives can be acted upon easily. So why do I have to argue with my self and make an easy job hard? I am slow to complete simple tasks. Why? With persistence you can't help finally finding your way if you have any sense at all even if you don't catch on quickly. I read somewhere once that God is the God of the quick and the dead. Would to God I were a little more quick than dead. I need all the help I can get.

Little Rock Farmers Market

2009-08-19T10:03:00.002-05:00

We hiked across the river on the pedestrian bridge to Little Rock to do some shopping at the farmers market there. It is a good one.

The North Little Rock Navy

2009-08-18T10:00:00.000-05:00

North Little Rock has it's own navy. The fleet was in at this time and I was lucky to photograph it. The town is full of raucous sailors on liberty from the dangerous patrols on and under the Arkansas river.

Carport Ideas

2009-08-17T08:58:00.000-05:00

Our mortgage banker friend has informed us that covered parking would more than pay for itself in terms of increasing the value of our property. We would just have to sacrifice a major portion of the yard. I am thinking that we could build a carport along the lines of this pavilion. It would be wide enough to accommodate two cars and a garden tool area. On the alley side it would be walled and have garage doors with openers. On the inside it would be open like the pavilion with knee walls. It is this pavilion stretched out wider and longer.
The tool area would be enclosed for security, but there would be wall sections that slide wide open for easy access.
Part of the idea is that if we were entertaining we could use this space as a pavilion and this type of construction would cost less than building a solid structure. This is our non- apartment idea. We are encouraged to add an apartment to a garage for the sake of neighborhood density, but we have an opinion contrary to that.

Mid August

2009-08-16T06:00:00.002-05:00

The other day we saw a landscape setting that appealed to us. That got me to thinking that now is the time to see what will be available in the fall to plant. I must keep my eyes open for landscapes we come across that suggest elements of design that may compliment our garden. I will see if a garden center will allow me to photograph plants for this part of our planning stage. I think if I go to a locally owned garden center they may be willing to make deals on plants and broken bags of top soil and so on in the Fall.

I think Brody likes "fetch" better in our fenced yard than he did in the open lots on the block. I know Becky does. Ozzy is a regular contributor to the compost pile.

Sanitation

2009-08-15T06:00:00.003-05:00

Our refuse container is normally emptied Tuesdays before 8:45 AM . With the container back on the maintenance porch I rinse it out and put a little bleach in with some water and scrub it and the lid with a long handled scrub brush and rinse well. Then I tip it up to let it drain and dry. The next bag of refuse will not be deposited in the container for a day or two so it will be dry.
I much prefer to put forth the effort to start the collection week with a dry, clean container to starting the collection week with a container that is not clean and dry. I would rather the collection men think well of me for taking care. I am saying nobody wants to deal with a nasty trash can crawling with maggots. This is the most simple and direct method to a continual state of good sanitation for refuse collection containers that I know, so far.

Many years ago I experimented with the collection and composting of restaurant kitchen waste. Every day I collected on average five gallons of waste five days a week. I put it in a barrel. It began to add up. I learned an awful lot from this experiment. One thing I learned was how to deal with so many flies that you felt the wind and heard the hum from millions of tiny wings as they swarmed upward and all around.

$ 597 later

2009-08-14T06:00:00.001-05:00

We had a slight indication that our drain was clogged the other morning. The top photo was our sewer drain then. I called a plumber to check it out. What is supposed to be a clean- out has a funky pipe arrangement in it. The "T" was cracked and had silicone caulk holding it together. So trying to wrench off the rusted end cap with the pipe sticking out would probably break it. The toilet upstairs is 80 years old, so taking the toilet off and snaking from there was also out of the question.

So they had to replace this old, cracked cast iron fitting with a new one that has a clean- out. It is the whole "T" shaped cast iron piece with the white, plastic cap on the end in the bottom photo. The plumber confirmed that the silicone was holding the fitting together; that it was cracked like glass. I had noticed this situation when we moved in and I always had this little worry nagging me that one day without warning the pipe would just fall apart.

I watched a television monitor as the plumber ran a camera down the sewer pipe to the main so we could know it's condition. Thankfully the pipe looks very good for it's age. From this cast iron "T" on up all the plumbing in the house is new. and the pipe to the main is good. That is good to know.
Across the river in Little Rock, the sewer pipes have to be inspected in this manner as part of the sale of a home. I think that's a good idea.
Now we have a clean out when we need it and everything is good, but, OUCH! Becky had a $597 nervous breakdown.

This sewer pipe goes out to the main in the alley right through the middle of the back yard under the gate.

Urban Idea- DENSE

2009-08-13T06:00:00.002-05:00

Our back gate is about 100' from the spot where I took these pictures. The top photo I took in March of 2008. The bottom photo I took in July of 2009. They were taken from the same spot, but I used some zoom on the top photo.

It is not known how many of these town homes have been sold. I've heard a lot of talk about "pre- sold units", but I have seen only one closure in the paper. We hope they sell rapidly as the starting square foot price is almost twice what we paid for our house.

The idea the developers are selling is density. The more people per block the more feasible the return of retail of all stripes to downtown, or so the theory goes.

The construction and the street closures are beginning to get tedious. I was looking over the bottom photo and I notice location marks for something sprayed onto the sidewalk. I hope this isn't to be dug up.

Now more than ever I appreciate that good fences make good neighbors.

In the bottom photo the town homes form one long structure along the back of the property. There are two single units on the front on both corners of the block. The plan includes three more double units in front along the side walk between these two corner units to be constructed.

The developers planned to do this on two more blocks of this street to the left. We toured the unit on the far end. It was trendy and neat, but not for us. We would want to have a closet in our bedroom large enough to hold our clothes. We also would definitely need enough space to have a queen size bed and at least a small dresser in our bedroom. We are too old to sleep on a futon and we have more than one change of clothes. We would also want some kind of landing in the front entry where at least two people would not be crowded. It has been awhile since we toured the place but the impression that remains is that going in the front door is like boarding a WWII submarine. Seemed kind of tight. (But I'm getting old.)
On the other hand there are lots of bars within easy walking distance of these front doors. Only on Friday and Saturday nights between the hours of 10:00 PM and 2:00 AM do we hear the sound of revving motorcycle engines coming from the biker bar just across from the far corner unit. Seldom are we bothered by the happy laughter and chatter of children at play. I guess children are bothersome anyway. They make life too complicated for some people.
We hope these urban condos sell. That will raise the price per square foot of our house. This is the development idea that dominates our part of town.
Maybe a few years down the road when the dust settles and the current generation gives way to the next the children and stability will come along. Otherwise this will be a fruitless garden; Just another crop of buildings men put their names on, only to be soon forgotten anyway.

Front walk border

2009-08-12T06:00:00.004-05:00

Becky is starting to see what she wants in the front in terms of new plants. The top photo was taken spring of 2008. The bottom photo was taken July of this year. Becky saw a front walk something like ours and she decided that she wants a border on either side of our front walk and around the azaleas. She may even go for a low hedge row along the sidewalk.

This area is starting to come into focus for me. I think it is about time I sit down and begin a sketch for the fall landscape construction. Along with this sketch I will adopt a budget so that I can put some new and interesting plants in each of the little areas that make up the whole front yard. When I get something Becky can see, she instantly has a good idea of the items she accepts or rejects in the proposal. Once there is acceptance then we go with that and we have a budget, or an idea of how much we can spend. I think we can get a great improvement with a minimal amount of investment, because the living plants grow abundantly when cared for. That means we will start small.

Next spring I want to see a much improved area come to life.

Three and a half years since

2009-08-11T06:00:00.003-05:00

Images like this fascinate me. I am proud of myself for the work I did constructing this wall. I hope it stands the test of time and outlives me. But more than that the images go in through my eyes into my brain and some feel-good center in my brain is stimulated. I feel the anxiety overridden temporarily.

This prods my desire to do more, to do better, to do something for Becky and me that is strong and lasting and of worth. Something the sight of which stimulates gladness in the human heart and brings comfort. Something that will stand as a guide and testament to faith and persistence to our offspring and others that will follow after we are gone.

"A good name is rather to be chosen than fine silver or gold."