To Dark To See

To dark to work outdoors

What's wrong with this picture, yep it is dark and we are starting work, 7:30 am, Eastern Standard time and we are starting work?   The time changes  in the morning, fall back, spring forward, remember?  Personally I can't wait, I really don't dig driving deer alley in the dark every morning.  Now if we could just do something about the predicted wind and cold next week I would be even happier.

The "King of Concrete"

Brian King and his talented crew are onsite in Phillips Bay busily stamping the patio after pouring the foundation and lower level walls including the storm room of the new house were the local trades are competing once again for parking space.  Hey Brian that stamped concrete was supposed to be pavers, you must be the King of sales as well. 

Phillips Bay Local Stone

 

This project in Phillips Bay requires a four man crew and will take about six or seven weeks to complete this phase.  Last week the men removed a old concrete boat ramp using a jack hammer on a angle in the water, ugh.  It was my idea to stand on the four foot ladders to make the angle a little easier, another idea was to secure to hammer to the mini to reduce fatigue, great idea they came up with that after the hammer took a swim on Ryan.

Stay Alert Scott

Make no mistake this is not a job for sissies or the faint of heart Scott uses the Bobcat forks to grip the mini from behind to keep Eric from falling forward over the hill with the weight of the boulders.  Meanwhile Ryan and Cody are below manipulating a one and a half ton (3000 lb) swinging rock into place, concentration and teamwork along with courage, just another day of landscaping.

Ryan working Jackhammer

Jackhammer Swimming

Tying Jackhammer to Mini, Priceless

Red Stone

We finished the church in Angola, which has a most unusual color of grout in the sparkling granite split face stone.  The stone itself is beautiful more typical of Wisconsin field stone but it could have been locally quarried, I should find out.  The church landscaping committee chose the stone from several samples we provided, it is a dead ringer for bringing out the colors in the building itself.  Might not have been the one I would have picked, I would have been more neutral perhaps with a gray stone but I gotta say it does pop.  We were able to use some pyramidal yews in town since we have no worries of deer, a nice change.      

   

 Another job we finished up was in Pine Canyon Lake seeding a half acre after the excavator completed cutting down a big hill and removing trees.  We will be back next year to finish up the lakeside once more dirt is installed.  Lucky for us we got some help from our Fort Wayne brothers to finish up just before the snow flurries hit Friday.  As we did previously at this site we sprayed a sticking agent or tackifier to hold the straw over winter.  The seed we sewed here less than a month ago really needs to be cut.