The backyard is starting to look like a park or something...
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Thursday, August 18, 2005
The backyard project from hell...
Anybody wandering to this site might as well know, no - I don't do this for a living(are you kidding?), and yes - I did it myself. This is what three summers of weekends got me. Welcome to my nightmare...
These posts(and pictures) are in reverse order - in other words, most recent first. In case you're wondering, yeah, there is water flowing now. I've just been too preoccupied chasin' women and drinkin' beer to update the site.
...yeah, right.
Actually, I have another website with video
of all this. Show me yours, I'll show you mine...ahem. No, really...
http://sixthehardway.com/backyard_video/loader.html
Anyway, on with the show. (added 01 Nov 2005)
...pictured above - the "middle" tier. No water yet - it'll cascade down from the black spillway just to the left of Venus when I finally turn the pump on. From here it spills into the pond.
...here you can see a portion of the 200 feet of wire that runs throughout for the lighting. Still a lot of work to do there, but that's an easy task compared to the torture I've gone through building everything else. Speaking of which, all those white capstones shown above had to be custom made one at a time. I built curved forms, mixed the portland cement, and let it cure for two days before I moved them. Let me tell ya, it was no fun...
...as you may notice, not a drop of water in the pond - or anywhere actually. Still putting the finishing touches on the "volcano", as someone called it - you can see it in the left side of the picture. The extra blocks stacked up are to keep pressure while the construction adhesive cures.
...everyone keeps telling me I should get myself a woman - little do they know I already have one. She's perfect - always naked, is low maintenance, and never gets PMS. Though it might be nice if she had arms...
...all the plants to the left are new - haven't even been taken out of their pot yet. And they will definitely be moved somewhere else than what you see here...
...you can see the string in the background for the new fence to be installed this weekend. It'll be the same as the existing one which ends just out of sight to the left in this picture. Anything has to be be better than that crap you see now...
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
...the blocks drying out after a rain storm. Obviously this picture is early on in the project. Matter of fact, right after I took this picture I tore out the concrete from the middle tier and repoured the concrete after digging to make the water deeper. All in a days work around here...nothing is untouchable...
...the capstone process in action. You can see the very first one near the top of the picture. The forms, seen at the bottom left, are where I took patio edgers and bent them to the right curve, screwed them to the plywood, and poured the concrete after mixing. You can also see another capstone already made and curing under the plastic (near the orange shovel handle). As an aside, that plant in the water was just an experiment to see what ultimately would end up in that spot. I also considered a fountain, but thought it would be overkill...I already have three cascading spillways and water spewing out the top of the top tier.
Monday, June 27, 2005
Fixer Upper
Move-in day, June 2002. This pic shows what I started out with before I started remodeling and putting my own stamp on things. Actually, this is the way things looked for the entire first year - I didn't start making changes out here until I finished inside, the following year - 2003.
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
...it took a while - mainly because I hate tearing up concrete - but I had to take down a little bit of the foundation wall in the rear corner.
Sunday, June 12, 2005
...as if I didn't have enough to keep me busy - I'm also trying out a few ideas I have for elsewhere in the yard. Here's a rough layout for the pathway to the backyard.
Monday, May 23, 2005
A pretty good angle of the chaos. Man, what have I gotten myself into? Note to self...see a shrink...I must be nuts.
Don't let the size fool ya. This little jewel can pump 5,000 gallons per hour. It can drain my pond in six minutes flat...
Sunday, May 22, 2005
...where things stand as of today - Sunday. There will be huge additions and changes to the original layout. Not the least of which is the pond level will be raised almost a foot...creating a new reef on the left where the wet concrete is drying. Yeah, everything still looks like crap - but I finally have a master plan in action. Sometime you gotta take one step back to take two steps forward...
Sunday, May 15, 2005
Finally...
...well, this is where things stand as of today, May 15 - 2005. This is the third take on a theme...I won't say what my plans are yet - so I leave it to your imagination.
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
Diamond Coach...
I suppose I should explain the whole "Diamond" thing. In truth, there's not much to it, in a word - think baseball. Softball to be precise. Getting the idea? It all ties back to something as stupid as trying to come up with a screen name for AOL Instant messenger years ago. I coach and play softball - and I use the term coach loosely - so it was just a matter of time, and a couple of Corona's, that I put two and two together...
...besides, MrPotatoHead was already taken.
...besides, MrPotatoHead was already taken.
My Picture Bio...
I'm not even sure my family has seen some of these...
1981. Taken just before my senior year in High School. Not a hair on the chest...
1981. Taken just before my senior year in High School. Not a hair on the chest...
Saturday Night Fever...
21 years old. Here I am at work - DJ on New Years Eve at the "Odyssey Disco" in Newport News, Virginia. Man, what a fun five years that was. Every guy should've been so lucky. Maybe I'll have to reminise a little about it in a future blog. And as they say, the truth is always more interesting than fiction. And there was plenty of truth to tell...
Checkmate...
...chess was my thing way back when, hmm, almost 20 years ago I guess. So a local college ask me to put on a one-man exhibition as part of their community fair...with the assumption I would spank all takers. As it turned out, I did. 50 wins. 0 losses. Luckily, the sun was in their eyes...
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
On the diamond...
...I'm the only one stupid enough to stand there and toss a ball 25mph -- and have it come back 100mph. I guess that's why they made me coach.
This is my assistant coach Richard - better known as Butthead. Hmm, does that mean I'm kissing his ass?
Stumble with Steve
My First Blog
...looks like I'm gonna try my hand at this Blogging stuff - it's free and seems to be worth a kick in the proverbial tires. Admittedly I'm a little unsure how long this little experiment will last since I've always been one to do things on my own terms -- including websites. But when you are handed a slick package like Picasa and Hello, then told it integrates seamlessly into Blogger, well, I'm not above giving it a go.
Sunday, August 01, 2004
Deck Fireplace at dusk...
The new fireplace for the deck sure came in pretty handy at our fall softball party.
Saturday, July 31, 2004
Thursday, July 01, 2004
Thursday, April 15, 2004
Tuesday, February 03, 2004
Monday, February 02, 2004
Thursday, January 15, 2004
Fish-Eye View of Winter Pond
Why couldn't I just settle for one of those small plastic ponds from Home Depot? But noooooo...I had to make my own. Idiot. Naturally that meant I had to build a new deck...and bar...and swing...and pergola...oh, and of course - a bridge to go over the pond. There went my weekends for a whole summer. What was I thinking? Idiot.
...by the way, this is a pic from the middle of January 04. Notice the ice? I'm sure all the fish did.
...by the way, this is a pic from the middle of January 04. Notice the ice? I'm sure all the fish did.
Tuesday, September 02, 2003
Thursday, July 31, 2003
Tuesday, July 15, 2003
Tuesday, July 01, 2003
Sunday, June 15, 2003
Tuesday, June 10, 2003
Sunday, June 01, 2003
Thursday, May 08, 2003
Monday, April 28, 2003
Monday, April 21, 2003
Wednesday, April 16, 2003
Tuesday, April 15, 2003
Tuesday, April 01, 2003
Monday, March 24, 2003
Friday, March 21, 2003
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