leach field closer

 Martin has the east and west edges of the leach field down to the level they need to be. Once we start the basement concrete slab, we will be hauling sand out of the leach field to level the floor and to make the concrete. 

It's a bit frustrating that we hauled sand out of the basement by buckets and we will be hauling sand back into the basement by buckets.

short on pavers

We've gotten most of the walkway down. Unfortunately we don't have enough pavers. The area where the concrete blocks are need pavers. I'll make another trip soon to pick up a few more.

 Eventually we will get all of the extra sand off of the pavers so you will be able to see them better.

front walkway

I didn't do it right the first time, so I get to do it again!

Martin wasn't convinced that my stone walkway had been laid well enough to last the test of time and winter.

He wanted me to do it again, with his help of course.

I pulled up the pavers I had set, screened gravel out of the sand, and started again.

 Working together, we leveled sand, decided on which pavers to put down, and started all over. We have about a third of the walkway done (again). 

Martin thinks that I am capable of possibly finishing the rest on my own without his careful supervision and instruction.

The hedgerow continues to grow

I really wanted to put a few more evergreens between our house and the neighbor's. Also my blue princess holly that I planted last fall blossomed profusely this spring, but is not producing berries. No blue prince holly to aid in the process.

I found a nursery in Wales, ME that had a blue prince holly. I talked Martin into going with me to pick it out.

I couldn't leave without also getting the Mountain Laurel "Keepsake" (below).

 Below is the very handsome Blue Prince Holly. I'm looking forward to having holly berries next year. Keep your fingers crossed for me. The Mountain Laurel and Hollies are rated for a zone slightly warmer than I think an tigin is located in.

 The friends that provided the rosa rugosa also offered us a white lilac (above). When we went to their house we got a good sized lilac to add to the hedgerow and 6 others we weren't expecting (below). I've put the smaller ones in a double row near the rhododendrons. They aren't directly under the pine at the back of the property, but are slightly shaded by the neighbor's oak tree. I'm hoping that they will do okay..
To the right of the white lilac is a Dark American Arborvitae. It can grow quite tall, but if we prune it we should be able to keep it to a reasonable height.

The other surprise that our friends shared with us were several Clethera. They are looking very sad at the moment, but I have faith they will survive. Because we weren't expecting them, the soil in the area where I could put them wasn't up to snuff. I heeled them in overnight. Martin and I got a load of manure and the next morning I double dug the area working manure in. I used rooting powder to help them out and have watered them well from our rain barely daily since they were put in. 

We were also out of mulch, so Martin picked up another couple of yards and all of the new plants are well mulched. (The cardboard is to help keep weeds down and is currently hidden under a layer of mulch.)

apologies for lack of posts

Thanks for hanging in there. Hopefully I will be back to regularly posting progress at an tigin. The past couple of months have been challenging. Martin spent a week at my mom's helping to start the renovation to have all of her living needs on one floor.

Then we took a break, had company, and went dancing (contra and Irish set).

Unfortunately Martin's mother had some serious health issues and he headed back to Ireland to help his parents. He ended up staying a month.

To top things off my computer crashed, so even though I had pictures to post and updates to add, I was struggling with the lack of easy access. Not to mention the school year just ended and the wind down seemed more like a wind up; long hours and long days.

But we are back in the swing of things and hoping to make some good progress this summer, so check us out a little more frequently and hopefully you won't be too disappointed.

leach field has been started

 Martin and I staked out where the leach field and septic tank will be going. 

 Martin had the pleasure of digging up the sod, top soil, and sub soil from the leach field with very little help from me.

 The plan is to use the sand that is under the top soil and sub soil for making concrete for the slabs in the basement and barn. 

 Once Martin reached sand, he could use the back hoe to dig. However, our little back hoe isn't good at moving dirt to the top of a pile out of a hole. So Martin is dragging the sand to the edge of the leach field and then shoveling it into a pile out of the leach field.

 In the photo above, Martin needed to do a small repair to the back hoe.