Weekend Warrior

***NOTE:  Sorry to those of you who tried to read this when the pictures had disappeared.  All is restored now, and no, I have no idea what happened.***


So work on the wall continues.  Saturday was a long day for Byron.  Unfortunately I was gone most of the day and missed most of the action, but he put in a full day's work out front.  He even managed to get a little sunburn in the process.  I feel bad for him there, but woo hoo for Iowa, who finally figured out what month it is and gave us weather accordingly.  But anyway, back to the wall.  We made it around the curve and are several layers deep in some areas.  The hardest part is still making sure it is all level.  Once the base layer is complete all the way around, I feel like it will all come together fairly easily.  Byron will have to go back and affix all the bricks together with adhesive (I speak in general terms because I have no idea what it is called), but again, it won't take nearly as long as preparing the area.
But now, onto the pictures!

This photo (and some of the others in not so obvious ways) shows off one of Byron's best ideas yet - to bury the gutter downspout and feed it out through the retaining wall.  Not only does it make the downspout totally unnoticeable, but it directs the water well away from the foundation of the house.  That man has got brains I tell ya!

This is one of my favorite in progress shots.  Minnie the inspector closely checking out her daddy's handiwork.  She is so curious about everything we do and just likes to be included.  I am working on her vocabulary to add words like level, hammer, chisel, etc., so I can send her to fetch our tools for us.
Up next, finishing the bricks and the capstones, filling in the dirt as well as adding GOOD topsoil, and finally filling the area in with plants.  I can't wait to see it take shape.