backyard buzz...

We've finally had some progress here at Chez Yogagirl in the ongoing backyard beautification project. The old deck was completely demolished last month and Mr. Yogagirl excavated 510 square feet of dirt, about 5 inches deep, to prep for the gravel base for our new stone paver patio...with a shovel and by hand. If you've seen the movie "300" ...we've got a pile of dirt on the side yard of our house that darn near resembles the wall of dead soldiers that the Spartans piled up to keep Xerxes away from the "Hot Gates".  Well ....or something like that. Yep. Piled up there 5 feet high until we have time to haul it out to our relative's house who needs some good fill dirt.

The paver installation guys came about 2 weeks ago and put down 2 huge truckloads of gravel. But in the meantime we've got a formidable pergola planned (imagine if you will..... wisteria vines crawling all over it) and the foreman recommended that we get our posts set before they continue any work so that they can lay the pavers tight around the bases of the posts. All fine and dandy. In theory. Until you get eight 6 x 6 posts that are 10 feet long delivered and start hauling them around and setting them into place. We spent all day yesterday getting their bases snuggly into the concrete pillar holders (buried in that gravel) and getting each post level and plumb. Then plumb and level to each other and secured into a temporary structure made up of 2 x 4s.

Behold. Something that resembles a stucture you might call..... the "Hall of our Forefathers"?

Eventually the posts will be cut about 8 or 10 inches from the top so that the top of the pergola sits just a bit above the gutter line of the house. Until then the 2 x 4s are pretty low and hopefully nobody whacks their head on them. Eh hem. Okay maybe *somebody* might have already done that.... (((( sigh )))).