Most people undertaking to build a house would get the foundation done first, then the frame, then the finishing, and only at the very end would they worry about landscaping. But then, most people aren't building the whole thing themselves in their spare time.
Which explains why I'm starting a terrace wall to enclose the lower part of my building site. This is the first of two major retaining walls -- one for the building site, one for the path below it -- which I'll be building there. Before they're much farther along, I have to put in some drainage pipes, so that retaining walls and footers don't have to be messed with afterward. This, even though I'm nowhere near ready to do dry well or sand mound (need one of each).
The idea is, if I have retaining walls up to backfill with dirt, then as I excavate the undercroft I can dump the dirt directly behind the walls. I don't have to move it twice. That's important when you're doing most of the work by hand -- possibly including the digging. And it's good to be starting on our retirement cottage, even if only in this minor way. It's going to be a long slog to get to the end, but at least I'm doing something.
In other news, it was a gorgeous first weekend in Fall. The Harvest Moon was huge and beautiful, the daytime sky was blue, the air felt just right, even the weeds looked healthy. It was a tonic for my soul to spend the last two nights in our cabin.
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Autumnal Glory Chantry Lane Sept. 24, 2010 |
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Terrace Wall Now we're getting somewhere! |