Not quite 16 tons, but lots o'dirt

So, I woke up to a surprise in the front yard- This is what 6 yards of gravel looks like:

(J adds a little to his Halloween displays every day. Hmm, and we have to remember to close the chicken coop windows)

I'll just have to keep thinking of the money we are saving while we move this stuff around. Basically, half of the pile has to get over to the left side.

 We have 3 weeks to get it done and may get snow tomorrow- just a little though, and I am still expecting Indian summer to come through for me. Meanwhile, we did manage to get the paint around the front door.

So, not much to say today that would interest anyone other than family. Sorry.

She wanted to do it, honest!

Sorting through some family photos this week, I came across some from the way-back machine.  I was five when these were taken, fifty years ago. Wow, that sounds old when it's written down. It doesn't feel like that long ago. Anyway.

We often dug holes and played with water, but it was supposed to be out in the backyard, over where the sandy soil was. Not at the edge of the driveway where the hose was handy. I do have a vague memory of this, and the most important part is that we (my brother, #2, and I) were happily digging our mud pit, when #4 asked to go in it.

 Nevermind that she was about 18 months old, she was always a clever little thing and knew what she wanted. What were we to do?

My mother thinks we should have said no.

What is it, girl? Timmy's in the well?!?

A wee flutter of excitement here this evening, involving (what else?) the dogs.  We heard frantic barking outside, which usually means someone is daring to walk by on the road, and the animals are warning them to keep off the grass. J went to call them in, and Rosie came galloping into the living room where I was reading.

Just Rosie, and I could still hear Boomer's high pitched yips. I asked Rosie what was going on as she leapt up at me, and turned in circles. When she kept this up, I stood up and her gyrating became more urgent. This is a big lanky dog whose jumping resembles that of a cow. Have you ever seen a cow suddenly run and kick up it's heels? No, well, it doesn't happen often because they look like fools! Rosie obviously wanted me to go outside with her.

We met J coming back in and he informed me that Boomer was outside barking at something. I told him Rosie had already told me that he needed help. Sure enough, Boomer had gotten himself inside the fenced garden area, where they are forbidden to go. Rosie had already been scolded for being in there earlier. The fence is 24 inches high and Boomer, unlike Rosie, can jump twice his height and twirl about at the same time. His captivity was purely psychological (he must have climbed over a board that was leaning up against the chicken wire) and I had to go lift him out.

Both dogs did happy dances and were sent to bed.

No pictures due to the rapid development of events.

Got the green light...well, the orange tag

I went down to the town hall and got our building permit for our new shed today. We are good to go.  Since we first started this project, it has been changed from a do-it-yourself garage to a pre-built workshop.  Finances and a reality check on our actual construction speed/stamina resulted in ordering a 14x24 building. Which hasn't been ordered yet, since there is a non-refundable deposit due, we wanted the permit in hand first.

Next up, order it and get the site ready in the 4 weeks we have to wait. The raspberries are down to a small 8x8 remnant and then we get the gravel base in and leveled.  Finances once again dictate that we will probably be spreading that ourselves, unless we are pleasantly surprised with a price quote.  Not likely.

Now J and I amuse ourselves by discussing size and placement of various workbenches. It will be so nice to have each saw ready to use without having to move the others out of the way first.

J will be in heaven with all the empty wall space.  The attached shed we have been using for tools is stocked like a hardware store. Shelves of screws all in little boxes, flat head, round head, machine and wood screws. Nails from brads to 16p, steel and galvanized. Screwdrivers- straight slot and phillips head- so many of those I don't know why he gets upset when I use one to pry something open!  When all of this stuff gets moved to the new shed, we should actually be able to park a car in there if needed. 

Let the fun commence.