amazing what twelve people can accomplish over the course of three days. three mornings even - we didn't stay past 3 in the afternoon, and on wednesday it started raining at noon so we only worked for a few hours. in that time, we: dug up a 15 by 25 foot front yard (having first destroyed the concrete pathway by dropping big rocks on it) to a depth of 18 inches below the street; used the excavated dirt and concrete shards, as well as pieces of curb we scavanged from a roadworks project a few blocks away, to build a front porch; dug a trench about 25 feet by two and planted, bermed and straw mulched five plum shrubs; pulled up an illegal and poorly planned greywater system, re-routed it, dug new trenches and basins so that it now feeds five grapevines, an apple tree, and assorted greens, and then buried it so that it can also be a driveway; took out several lengths of chain-link fence; removed and relocated a cement-footed clothesline; removed a big-ass cottonwood stump; and dismantled an herb spiral, repotting all the perennials for later planting in the spring.


the cooler part is that everything we did was something we'd conceptualized, drafted, planned, and learned ourselves. as of now, i know how to lay pipe, graft fruit trees, start a neighborhood traffic calming proposal, make and use a water level, and explain to a feng shui fanatic that while i'm sure she does need a mountain for the spirit of the tiger in her front yard (to balance the dophin-spirit pond she's digging in the back), it would be more useful to the overall design if she placed it where it didn't shade her vegetable garden. i also got a lot better at digging.


a week off; he's coming to visit tomorrow; it's snowing; i'm happy.