Steve arrived at 6:45 AM and got right to work using the excavator to place additional large boulders for the rear retaining walls. He was done by 8:30 AM and loaded the excavator back on his trailer to take to another job site. I noticed that one of his trailer tires was very under-inflated so I got out my large portable air compressor to inflate it. This tire turned out to have a puncture in the tread and was not going to hold air. Steve knew the tires were not in good shape but I discovered that they were not an adequate load range for the weight he was carrying even if they were inflated to their maximum cold pressure, which they were not. I inflated all of them as high as I was comfortable given their age. If it had been my trailer I would have taken it, unloaded, immediately to a nearby tire store and had them put on four new tires with an appropriate load range. I am not a tire expert, but we have been to enough seminars on RV tires and weight safety, that I have a better understanding of the subject then most people.
The excavator working on the rear retaining walls.
Linda made her yummy vegan pancakes for breakfast after which I decided to trim trees in the southeast corner of the yard. It was cooler than yesterday but still a bit humid, so the working conditions were not ideal. I worked until mid-afternoon and got one tree pruned of all its deadwood and took some low dead limbs off of several other trees. I enjoy the pruning; it requires some thought about ladder placement, choice of tools, and where to cut, and I have a nicer/healthier looking tree when I am done. Taking the small branches off of the larger limbs, cutting the limbs into shorter lengths, and carting everything to the fire pit; not my favorite thing to do. Linda assures me that cleanup has never been my forte.
Two landscapers showed up around 10 AM and worked on the retaining walls. There were supposed to be three of them, but one guy could not make it. The hand work they were doing really needed three guys, so it was hard for them. They got to a point where they were waiting on a delivery of sleeved plastic drain tile that wasn’t showing up in a timely fashion so I gave them directions to the Lowe’s at Grand River and Latson Roads where they bought a 100 foot roll and tied it to the roof of their car to get it back to our house. They were then able to place the landscape fabric behind the first course of boulders, across the bottom of the shelf and up the back, lay the drain tile in the trench, and back fill the trench. This gave them a place to stand as they worked on the next shelf.
Linda spent the morning cooking a batch of her amazing granola and her equally amazing vegan potato salad. She boiled and then cubed red potatoes and mixed them with vegan mayo, apple cider vinegar, celery, onion, dill pickle, and dill weed. We have been having tofu hot dogs for lunch with some regularity as it is an easy, tasty summer treat (with mustard, onions, and relish). The potato salad was the perfect accompaniment, especially as it was still slightly warm. Sweet cherries provided the finishing note for a tasty summer lunch.
Steve came back around 3 PM to check on the progress of his crew, gave them some specific goals for the rest of the day, and took off. The crew was here until 6 PM. Everyone has been working hard but we are at the stage in the project where there has been a lot more destruction than construction. We have been through enough construction projects over the years that we know what to expect, but it is still stressful to see everything torn up.
Linda made baked stuffed acorn squash for dinner with a side of grilled baby bok choy. The stuffing was made from carrots, celery, mushrooms, onions, sun dried tomatoes, bread cubes, raisins, walnuts, flax seeds, and sage. It reminded me of stuffing from a Thanksgiving holiday meal. We had a small glass of Franzia Sweet Red wine which paired well with the savory main dish.