Potager Construction- Day 2, Chaos, mud and aching backs

This all happened yesterday. I was too tired by the end of the day to post. The kids took most of the pictures (147 total, I'll not post them all.)

This is what greeted us in the morning. Scary Chaos and Mud.

We moved a BIT more dirt.

The little yellow digger played a big role in this.
So did the shovel brigade.

For a very long time.


A VERY LONG time!

The little yellow digger did a great job, but it left a lot of tracks
that had to be filled in. More shoveling.


Fortunately we had good supervision.

The little yellow digger helped move dirt back to fill in the tracks.

Then everything got flattened.

Forty dollars WELL spent.

Looks pretty nice.

The kids, Andrew included, had lots of fun while we moved dirt.

Then they had more fun.

After everything was level, sooth, and flattened, the gravel arrived. Only 16 tons
(that's 32000 lbs. of gravel to shovel and spread evenly.)

LOTS of raking, shoveling, and back breaking labor.

The kids had a great time with the 'whisper-ma-phone' while
we shoveled, raked, and hauled 16 tons of gravel.

Some how it all got spread, leveled, and compacted
before the rain came.

Now it is Sunday. A day of rest. We are taking it. We did go to Mass, and return the Little Yellow Digger to its proper home (it gets expensive having one parked in the drive.)

The trees arrived from Miller Nurseries. On Monday we will level their space and plant. The rest of the week we will be forming up the brick paths and patio in our 'spare time'. It was a good weekend, but I'm realizing that I am "not as young as I once was!"