The Backyard Project Starts Up Again

The Season of Cobblestone Making has officially begun for the year. Last year, we ended the season in front of the mulberry tree, after having done half the patio with hand made cobblestone pavers. During the winter, we got the bright idea to build a casting table to do the pavers, instead of bending over to do them in place, on the ground. My back, shoulder and knees took a horrible toll last year, and I was not looking forward to the pain, as much as I wanted to finish the patio.



Today, we began the first casting and it went well. My back and knees are not on fire, and while I can tell I've lost some muscle strength from not mixing cement, I can do a little happy dance.

The rest of the patio pavers should go into place much faster than the last session, since we don't have to do all the preparation work, just smooth the sand base and add the stones, paint them, and then fill in with the sand/Sand-Lock mix. Maybe we will have it done before the official start of summer... that would make me very, very pleased.

We bought the Bocce Balls for a celebration (to play, not to eat them....) so when the stones are all painted and pretty, we will throw a summer party.

In the meantime, we've discovered a wonderful new creature that lives in our garden: a "sharp tail snake". The little guy must be all of 9 inches long, and it's a reddish brown, very slender, and lives under things like boards. I'm afraid I disturbed it when I took pictures today, but I'm hoping that it stays. They eat bugs, and this one doesn't move very fast and isn't very scarey. One more thing that makes this house feel like country, along with wild turkeys, skunks, raccoons, possums, etc.

Quick note: we did another two squares this morning. Went well, but I can sure feel the work I did yesterday in my arms. The good news is that my muscle tone should be back to "normal" for this in a short time. Decided to make another casting table, because there is always a tiny bit of cement mix left over, enough to cast one or two stones (three this morning) and I don't want to be bending over working them at the end of the session. Also, we can do three squares instead of two, once my stamina is up.