Backyard Report: Reconstruction of the Guest Room Patio

Through the sliding gate, outside the deer fence...

...is where the guest room patio will be reconstructed. There used to be a narrow paved area with a river stone covered garden bed against the house.

The area is next to Gunilla's Garden, a semi-cultivated native plant garden functioning as a transition to the forest zone. 

The Propagation Room wall and sliding gate are part of the deer barrier making the guest room patio open to the forest, browsing deer and the many other animals that live here.

The first task in the guest room patio reconstruction is to move all of the river stone out of the way but not too far away because the stone will be reused. 

Ron lays down the ubiquitous blue tarpaulin to hold the stones.

Ariel view from the balcony above. 

We have saved all of the pavers left over from modifying the walkways along the back and west sides of the house. We would like to be able to reconstruct this patio without having to buy more pavers, following a permaculture principle of using what you have.

The stone moving task in progress.

Backyard Project: BOOM. DONE. AGAIN.

After the rock was broken up on the first site the blast mats were removed and moved to the second site.

This first site is where a tool shed and a garden shed are to be built, beside the garage.

Aaron carefully lifted the mats over the Gravel Bed garden without damaging anything.

Then tracked along the path around the Gravel bed garden to position the mats on top of the second explosion site.

This is the wire that links to all of the drilled hole full of explosive and wire. It is long so the Powder Man can step well away from the site before he pushes the button.

BOOM. DONE. AGAIN.

This is the second site after Aaron removed the blast mats and dug up the broken rock with his digger. As a friend said, "Now to deal with the bits." Yes, it will be a chore but I have plans for them, according to their size. When I told Aaron this he said, "Why am I not surprised?" I have no idea what he meant.

This site had a small mound of granite preventing it being made into a level ground for the construction of a pergola. Now that problem is solved the construction of the structures can begin.

Backyard Project: Finally the Powder Man

The next step in the blasting process was the arrival of this machine to move the blast mats to the blast site. 

The driver is Aaron Yager, Yager Construction, the owner of the construction company working on phase 3 of the Backyard project. They also worked on phase 1 of the Backyard project - the construction of The Green Shed, my studio.

Another vehicle drove up the back track and put out these serious looking signs, one out next to the road and the other a flip-down one on the vehicle.

This is the explosive powder, urea nitrate. 

It can also be used as a fertiliser!

The blast mats were stacked beside the rock to be blasted.

This is the lump of granite that needs to be reduced so we can build on it.

This is the Powder Man and his assistant. Here he is using a steel rod to push what looks like string down into the previously drilled holes. His assistant is taking all of the strings and twisting them together.

The Powder Man pours a measured amount of the powder into each hole. Next, the blast mats are stacked on top of the rock. We all stand well back. The warning signals blast out.

BOOM. DONE.

This is the tagline of the blasting company. I love it because that is exactly how it happened.

HHS Drilling and Blasting - BOOM. DONE.

R & R On the Devon Coast

After a demanding graduation week in London, we spent a relaxing and rejuvenating week on the Devon coast, based in the idyllic beach resort village of Budleigh Salterton.
I like that the woman is wearing the same colours as the beach huts are painted.

 

 

 

Beach art using the famous Budleigh Salterton beach pebbles. 

The vernacular Devon boat

A picture-perfect village.
Again, those soft English colours.

Frolicking on Volcanoes

While on Maui we took a boat tour of volcanic formations along the shoreline where lava had flowed from craters and vents to the sea shore.

The nimble pontoon rafts on a calm day were able to get close enough to the basalt were we could have reached out and touched it. We ventured inside compression chambers and wave built caves.
The most recent lava flow was 200 years ago and the area is overdue for another.
A bonus on the trip was seeing dolphins and whales close by and snorkeling with turtles. It was an exciting day on the water and made up for having to get up at 5:30 in the morning.

We moved from our apartment on the beach up to a B 'n' B in the mountain area, known as Up Country. We drove up to 10,000 feet to the top of the crater then went hiking. It felt like we were on top of the world. I must admit I had a headache which was probably caused by the altitude.

The weather changed every few minutes with clouds coming and going, adding to the special atmosphere of the place. It felt like the place where I was born, the volcanic area in the centre of the North Island of New Zealand.
I loved the whole experience.

Hopewell Rocks, New Brunswick

While visiting the Hopewell Rocks in New Brunswick at low tide, we came across some community/spontaneous/environmental art -don't really know what label to put on it, if it needs one.
Each day, after the tide has gone out enough to reveal the beach, the park ranger collects up stones into a form. Throughout the day, visitors to the beach contribute to the installation.

Some like the challenge of balance, building on the Inukshuk idea.

Others add decoration.

Some are challenged to go higher than those before them.
The tide rushed in, levelled it all and made its own arrangement. The park ranger returned in the morning to rearrange the elements again.
It reminded me of the rise and fall of civilisations throughout the history of man.

Julia Caprara & Symbols

Julia was interested in symbols left behind by ancient peoples. So here are some Canadian petroglyphs and pictographs for Julia.


Canadian Rockies, Alberta

Saint Victor, Saskatchewan

Nanaimo, Vancouver Island