Thursday, July 18, 2013

Beep! Beep! Beep!


That would be the sound of big machines and delivery trucks backing up all over the property.  It's frequently joined by the Gggnnrrrr sound of bricks getting cut in the backyard--all sounds of activity and progress, so it's music to our ears.  The gravel pathways are beginning to take shape, giving us a taste of what the different areas will look like in the end. 


The lower pond is going in, with the large flat rock as the "fall rock" (I'm learning the lingo) for the waterfall.  What I find amazing is that all of this is just being dry fit and then once they have the placement right, they'll move the rocks again to install the liner and then put them back.  This crew has been so meticulous.


Next to the ponds and waterfall will be another path,


which curves around one side of the rock garden,


and then goes down the other side, enclosing that area.  
I love that so many of those rocks were already on our property.  It feels like I'm recycling......or as I overheard Cholita say to XiXi the other day when she saw him making something out of a discarded cardboard box, "XiXi, do you know what being green means?  It's not saying you're the color green, but you're reusing something, and that's a different type of green, and I'm proud of you."

  

And it doesn't get much greener than a vegetable garden, where Lyle and his crew of teenagers are rocking on the bricks.  


Truly, the little kids are loving all the activity.   I just caught XiXi in a rare serious moment.


That's more like it.


The little kids have been so helpful.  Lyle is hoping to finish with the bricks tomorrow and then needs to rent the compactor again and go over everything and then brush in the sand.  After that, he'll tackle the gates and then I think he can call it good in the veggie garden.

The pond liner is getting delivered later this afternoon and hopefully soon the Beep! Beep! Beep! Gggnnrrr chorus will be joined by the sound of trickling water!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Will your husband making this pond?

Unknown said...

I am very interested in the process to create the raised beds in the garden. What specific concrete did you use? How much concrete did it take for each bed? How long for the concrete to set before the form is pulled off for rebar carving? What are the precise measurements for the individual beds? Thank you for a wonderful blog!

Unknown said...

I am very interested in the process to create the raised beds in the garden. What specific concrete did you use? How much concrete did it take for each bed? How long for the concrete to set before the form is pulled off for rebar carving? What are the precise measurements for the individual beds? Thank you for a wonderful blog!

May 28, 2014 at 4:09 PM Delete

Eileen said...

Marsha,

For the cement mixer you use 1 94 pound bag of Portland cement, 30 shovel-fulls of plaster sand, and water to the right consistency. It's important to only use plaster sand. The bed walls are approximately 18 inches tall by 8 inches thick. Outside edge of the beds is 64 inches by 112 inches. This gives you an inside gardening space of 4 by 8 feet. Per bed I probably used about 6-7 sacks of concrete. You could also have a truck come out and pour it. As far as how long before you pull off the form, it depends on how hot the day is and how wet your mix was. Basically, you can test the top and you should still be able to press your finger into it, but it should be solid enough that it won't collapse. Start by taking the outside forms off first and leave the inside forms on for support. The inside doesn't really need the cut lines. You can take those forms off later. Hope that helps!