Hard Times

Another chance to try something new this week. I worked on a dry stack sandstone wall which surrounds a pond. The homeowner was a bit particular about the look so we did a lot of rock splitting to get a tighter looking wall.

Splitting rock this way involves drilling a series of holes along the line you want to split the rock in, then tapping pins into the holes. The feathers are metal shims places on either side of the pin. As the pin is driven down between the two feathers the rock eventually fails, hopefully along the line of the holes.

It reminds me of old stereotypes of convicts breaking rocks…

Honey do

With the nicer weather we are finally getting a little work done in the yard. Not that we can’t work in the rain. I just don’t want to.

First was to deal with the goofy soil available here. If you grew up in farming country it is not what you would call dirt. Very light weight with lots of compost in it. Maybe I should call it compostable material, because it has a way to go before I would compare it to the product coming out of my composter. The result is that the soil tends to disappear. Our garden beds probably sunk 8″ over that past two years. So, a couple yards of dirt to top up the beds so we can plant.

I also finally planted the apple trees we purchased a few weeks ago. These will fill up the orchard space and will likely be the last fruit trees we plant. Apples, crab apples, pears, peaches, cherries, sour cherries, haskaps, Saskatoon berry, and hazelnuts. Good list. Hopefully I get some produce this year instead of losing it to the raccoons.

Next up was to finish burying the bricks I bought to line the driveway by the lawn. I laid the first one 18 months ago. That’s embarrassing.

Of course you cannot only remove items from the list, you must also add new items. In this case we added a big one. Last month we scored several 8’x3′ double glazed glass panels and an assortment of single pane safety glass pieces for a ridiculously cheap price. They are currently stored behind the shed waiting to become a greenhouse. I hope to get onto this job in the summer. Seems like a good job to do during the summer shutdown when the fire department says no more using machinery.

Mike makes it to the island

Michael wasn’t able to make it here past time Tami came so they kids did a quick trip out during Easter break. The weather sort of cooperated but it sure could have been warmer.

May seems to be patio month.

With the weather getting nicer people are retiring to the great outdoors. For some the first thing they notice is the uneven ground they walk on as soon as the get out the door.

I finished two projects this week. First, new flag stone patio for Marshall. This is the same place we built the rock wall flower bed last year.

Work in progress

Very interesting stone here. It is chock full of mica and quartz so it is very sparkly in the sun. Does NOT behave though, had to use a saw to cut some pieces as they simply would not break clean.

Second project is re-levelling a patio stone sidewalk. This is an assumed job, as in I assumed it from someone else who disappeared part way through. I can guess why. The patio he laid on the other side of the house looks like a rollercoaster.

Pick’em up, fix the grade, and set’em down. Repeat all day long.