Wednesday, December 28, 2011

St. Lucian Christmas Music

We had a special treat after our Christmas feast as Marcy's relatives and friends gathered at her sisters house to make some music. All variety of instrument were used to create a lovely sort of percussion that filled the early evening air. An uncle played a banjo, a Heineken bottle hit with a can opener s gave a tinny ping, from shak-shak trees seeds inside cans made gentle rhythms.

I am sure the evening grew more animated as a wide variety of libations began to control the chanting and song.

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Week One


Merry Christmas everyone. We are just passing our first week in paradise and things are wonderful if you don't count the little wreck I had on Tuesday. I was driving along minding my own business when a pot hole jumped in front of me and swallowed the left front tire and ground effects, (can't imagine why we had a low rider to begin with) the result was a wrecker.

Soufreire is just like a small town back home and after coming here half a dozen times I have Add Imagegotten to know some people. Tony from Cool Breeze towed the car into their lot and within 24 hours Ursula from Budget had another car delivered to our guest house. This one is a Mitsubishi and sits a lot higher. Thanks Tony and Ursula.

Leo and Marcy arrived last Monday and spent two days with Marcy's family then two days with us and we are going up north for brunch with her clan today. Should be swell, lots of good food and cheer.

We have been in the mother once, found a terrific new waterfall in Anse LaRaye, (one that Marcy had never even seen), had a great soak in the mineral baths at Diamond Botanical, visited The Still, Jalousie and Hummingbird Resorts, not bad for one week. Some sad news to report, my friend and talented woodcarver Robert aka Fargo passed away from pneumonia about 5 months ago, RIP Fargo.

Friday, December 16, 2011

Christmas in the Caribbean




Once again the gods of good fortune have found their way into my life and I am off to St. Lucia in the morning. Bruce and I will be spending a couple of weeks together along with our nephew Leo, his wife Marcy, my sister Cass, our pal Carol and an old college buddy and his sister but not all at once. My dance card will be full as friends and family fly in and out for the next month and we all set out to have a grand time on the island.

After everyone clears out I will be returning to Ladera Resort spending a few weeks working with the staff to landscape some newly constructed areas and see what else the boss has in mind for me. This will be my fourth working trip and I am anxious to see what challenges lay ahead. So for the next couple of months I will be blogging from the Caribbean.

We leave in the morning, driving to Indy, flying to Miami and on to St. Lucia the next day. Can't wait to see Leo and Marcy, she is four months pregnant with their first child. Marcy is from St. Lucia, she and Leo met when he was there in the Peace Corps.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Let's Grill










The weather forced us inside to finish the construction of the pergola over the grill surround on the Crooked Lake job. Ryan was able to complete all the building and adhesion of the block before the snow struck. Moving indoors to cut, sand and stain the cedar was always my plan and actually we were right on schedule.








We started in the shop after going to the job site with a couple of mock up boards to get accurate feel for the length and style of the pergola. I had Gary and Ryan make lots of different templates for the design on the end of the boards but we ended up using the clean, classical standard seen in the photo's. The stain color is called Chestnut and is semi-transparent which allows the natural beauty of the cedar grain to show through.








With precision teamwork the 2 x 10" and 2 x 12" cedar began to take shape Ryan using a jigsaw cutting each board and Gary sanding them, rounding the edges and working them smooth. We moved the operation down to the garage for the staining process since it is more economical to heat and we needed to keep the temperatures even for effective drying.

I had not intended to fit the grill into the surround until spring but our clients wanted to use it over winter so we put gas to it and have it temporarily mounted in the surround as we were unable to install the counter top. Looking at the grill surround from the patio doors you would see that it is perfectly symmetrical, well balanced as well as beautiful and functional.

This was Ryan's first really big project he handled from start to finish (except tear out) and he did a stellar job. Ryan just completed paver school were he passed with flying colors. During the construction of this patio, fire pit and grill surround he demonstrated excellent planning, decent speed and stellar construction techniques, good job Ryan. He and Gary worked swell together, Gary handled the mechanical and electrical and was on site from beginning to end.

This landscape renovation is prime example of a wonderful transformation that took a worn out cracked concrete patio and transformed it into a work of art that blends perfectly in its environment. Springtime planting a couple of seating walls will bring it to life.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Goodbye 1974, Hello 2011







Finishing up the landscaping at Patty's will wait until spring but the hardscape is definitely nearing the finish line. These photo's were taken before Thanksgiving and we have since installed a second short glacial stone wall above the large wall between the erosion control trench we dug. The trench is temporary and meant to handle any over flow water it was put to the test recently as twice we had over two inches of rain in the last two weeks.

I installed canned foam in between the cracks in the snap cut stairs, I used black pond foam since it is easier to conceal. Squirting foam where water once flowed helps prevent washouts behind the stairs and along the sides of the treads.

The Tennessee sandstone bench was cut from one piece of stone and is supported with reinforcing rod with insulation foam beneath and around the edges. We used Gator Dust to form a solid grout line where the bench meets the round glacial stone wall.

This transformation is anything but subtle. Removing the heavy junipers and dark railroad tie
retaining walls opened up this space, pushing out the wall means no more crowding and a whole new entertainment area. Patty had a lovely Thanksgiving meal on her new patio with her family just last week.

Some strategically placed sod provides a short term sidewalk so Patty and her pooches won't have to walk in mud this winter. Patty will have her plant list and first thing in the Spring she will be ready to install the shrubs. Terry and son are about half finished with the irrigation system which will provide much needed automatic watering to Patty's many landscape beds and lawn. She has been dragging hoses around for years so irrigation will not only make a huge cultural difference for the flora but save Patty's back as well.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Foellinger Freimann Botanical Conservatory






The Foellinger Freimann Botanical Conservatory located in downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana is the brainchild of two friends who were well traveled in the gardens of the world and thought Fort Wayne would be well served by a Conservatory. The doors opened in 1983 and by 1996 one million visitors had already passed through them.

Four changing season showcases are featured each year. Last Sunday I went with my friend Betty and cousin Cindy to see the Christmas showcase. Of course poinsettias were the prime season plant but the flocked, spruces stole the show.

Modest lights of blue and white added just the right sparkle. The focus was on family and it appeared many parents were taking advantage of the several different locations set up as photo ops, perhaps taking this years
Christmas card.

Biodiversity is well represented with the tropical gardens and water feature where the air is heavy with humidity to the arid climate of the southwest garden. Over 72 types of cactus are on display in this area alone while a total of over 500 species of fauna are on display both indoors and outdoors. It is an especially lovely stroll on a cold winters day.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Sunsational





This is the first wall that Mike has built and he is quite proud of himself. It was another one of those tough to get at sites, I missed the fun when they were hauling the boulders up the hill, they were not a good fit with the new stacked glacial wall. The thing about rocks is getting the right sizes and it seems the ones the customers have are the ones they don't want and the ones they want we have to haul in. Up the hill, down the hill.

The ivy covered wall nestles this beautiful iron sun sculpture, think I might send this photo to CBS Sunday morning they feature peoples sun photos as their logo. That is my Sunday morning ritual and one of the few television shows I claim as one of my programs, a very comforting beginning to the day although I wish it started earlier.

At our end of year company breakfast this morning we began a discussion of the years favorite jobs and Bill mentioned a job on Coldwater Lake which Bruce designed and sold and one I had not even seen. I went there today and shot these pictures of the stone walls and snap cut staircases, it is a pretty job and very functional, crushed stone provides the walking surface between the stair treads.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Elegant Choice

Ryan and Gary are doing a great job installing this Belgard paver patio on Crooked Lake. I was worried that we would not finish before the weather started getting bad but we are on schedule. It looks like we will even have time to build the grill surround, they set the 8 x 8" x 14' cedar posts that will be the foundation for the pergola over the grill surround. Next week they will start the block work, Bruce and I picked up the grill and grill doors (Bull) from Felger's on Friday so they will be able to start assembly.

Northern Indiana Lakes Magazine






For the second time Trish and Doug's house on Clear Lake is in a magazine and this time I was not the one who sought out the publication. Northern Indiana Lakes features a lake home in each issue, generally one that has been recently constructed.



Lakes enjoys pretty decent circulation in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan its regional flair promotes local dining, theater, wineries, shopping and travel. We are pleased to be a part of this publication and always happy when are work is show cased.

Monday, November 7, 2011

Little River Band

One of my favorite old bands is Little River Band from Australia. Last Saturday we saw them at the Wagon Wheel in Warsaw, IN, it was the first time we were at that venue and it is nice. An intimate small circular theater with comfy seats and excellent viewing of the artists. One of the drawbacks to the venue was no live recordings or pictures were to be taken until the last song so I just shot this video. Enjoy this rousing rendition of Lonesome Loser.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Super Giant Pudding Stone


We got lucky with the weather this past week and pushed hard on our two paver jobs to hasten completion before the ground freezes. Ryan and Gary are flying with the pavers over on Crooked Lake and we will begin the grill surround this week hoping we have weather enough to put the whole thing together and not wait until spring. In order to complete the job we will be delayed since we have to go for a variance to install any wall (fire pit) higher than 8". The next variance meeting is not until December.

Patty's job on Clear lake is looking sweet the bench is installed, the rock walls are built, the 5' snap cut steps are in and we are left to finish the pavers and a bit of rock work that frames the snap cuts. Bill was skeptical over my choice for the bench, the 700 pound slab of sandstone seemed the perfect size when I measured it in a down pour at Felger's a couple of weeks ago and indeed the basic shape was there, when Bruce Pardue finished with the cut off saw I knew it was meant to be.

We do have a bit of controversy because the last two snap cut were very pink compared to the other six so we are replacing them with two from Felger's. I have a bit of trepidation do to the fact that it is frequently difficult to match cut stones from different quarries and or mined at different times from the same quarry. I'll be holding my breath Monday when I go down to get the replacement stair treads.

The catch basin that M & C Trenching installed is a bit lower than we hoped so a three inch concrete riser needs to be installed. The riser is out of round and the basin grate does not fit so we have to trim it out with the concrete saw. Of course cutting concrete round is not an easy task.
Seeing the two huge stones set that mark the entrance to the staircase is especially rewarding. The stone on the left is a huge pudding stone (a geologic conglomeration of rock caused by the glaciers that ripped through our area of the country) that I have been saving for just the right location. They are both beautiful stones and make a huge statement .

Bill and Robert completed paving over the landing and steps that Lester Smucker poured a couple of weeks ago. These steps were relocated from the front side of the parking area and where there were once eleven steps there are now four. Patty will be installing a railings soon.




Sunday, October 30, 2011

Out With Old In With The New







Last week was hectic with Bill and Ryan being gone two days; off to become certified paver installers after taking a two day course in Louisville, KY. They both enjoyed their training although they did not like paying $ 16.00 for a cheeseburger at the Hyatt Regency downtown, nor did they appreciate the crowded city streets and heavy semi-tractor traffic on the interstate. Guess they are both country men at heart.

I have been meaning to send a couple of people to paver certification courses but frankly we are just so busy it is difficult to afford to take off when they have the classes. Since I had promised Ryan a chance at certification once he met the criteria, (installation of over 10,000 square feet of pavers) I had to pony up. For Bill it was more of a reward and a chance to get away from work for a couple of days. They both came back excited about what they had learned and ready to apply their knowledge.

A customer we worked for this summer decided to go ahead with a project I bid in early September so we are hustling to get her pavers started as well. Gary and Bruce Pardue tore out the old concrete patio last Thursday, we have some dig out on Monday and should start laying pavers on Tuesday. I hope we will get the project completed before the weather gains control over business.

Out on Clear Lake our project has been hampered by the rain and the fact that we were waiting on custom cut snap cut stairs. Normally snap cuts are 3 or 4' wide with a 18" tread and 7 to 8" rise, Patty and I decided on 5' width, 18" tread and she requested a rise of 6 t0 61/2" that was the hitch in our get a long. Making the steps 5' is a custom order but the short rise was really difficult to get. The first nine steps they sent did not meet the rise requirement and the next 9 steps were pretty good but we have two that are rather pink in color and are only 5" tall. Fortunately Bill put the pink ones on top so we will be able to replace them. But the whole custom step issue sort of buggered us up as they were delayed because of the length and then we got bad ones. Our natural progression on the job changed because we had to work around not having the steps.

Now they are in and the concrete has been poured for the landing and stairs off the upper driveway so we should make faster progress if we don't have a lot of rain. Patty's soil is clay which is difficult to pack, slippery and generally a pain in the backside.