After finishing my indexing quota for the day, I headed "downstairs" to help Tyler rake the stone that was dumped in our workshop's concrete form yesterday. Using Peter's slab plans as a guide, we shaped the material into a flat mound with carefully sloping edges. Early in the afternoon, Rick stopped by to fix a broken hydraulic hose on his excavator.
His dog Oliver came too!
But mostly it was just Tyler and I, raking and shoveling all afternoon. Moving small pieces of stone around is far more difficult one would think—it was a heck of a workout! I kind of felt like I was an old-timey prisoner from a movie. Tyler and my synchronized shovel-strokes and grunts of exertion made me want to sing work songs or sea shanties! Heave Ho!
During the process, there was plenty of measuring to do. We stopped often so I could squint behind the eyepiece of our newly purchased builders level, while Tyler held up a big metal yardstick in various points around the rock heap. Our goal was to get the main mass of stone five inches below the top of the form. The perimeter, which will have far more concrete to support the load of the timber posts, needed to be a full 16 inches below the form.
Hoo boy. After a good five hours of raking and shoveling (even more for Tyler!), as well as acting as sitting-ducks for a veritable mosquito massacre, we were finally finished. Now, I'm in bed next to Tyler, who is completely passed out. I can feel every single muscle aching in a good way. I don't think I'll have any trouble falling asleep tonight!
