After a complete washout on Wednesday, Thursday was astonishing - everything happened at once - at one point we had 4 guys on site, and everything was finished by dusk. Wow.
On Wednesday, my 5 tonnes of whin chips arrived. I still don't understand how the lorry driver got from the lane into our driveway. I was scared to watch - I was convinced he was going to convert our gates into a hoop, but he managed very nicely. No damage, no fuss. I guess these guys are good at their jobs, basically.
11am Thursday, Grant the Serious Chainsaw Man arrived from Longformacus. No prisoners were taken, our two tree stumps were quickly converted into manageable blocks of timber, he cut them down to below ground level and the holes were filled with soil. No more trees. What trees?
Once some tidying and graveling had taken place, this is where the trees had been - one on either side of the steps in the centre of the photo. The patches of earth will certainly sink after a bit of rain, so I'll order in a load of composted soil to level things up.
Friday morning. With the site almost completely cleared, this is the new aspect to our driveway - it is now straight, and the overhanging junipers on the right are no more.
We have always been very proud of the splendid blocks of stone, taken from our local beach, which line the drive...
...and we now have some more of these blocks visible; since this section was previously buried underneath the trees, it has not been seen since about 1990 - nice stones - pleased with this.
The whole front garden has changed a lot - big improvements in the drive and the parking areas, but it feels a bit odd at present. Our house is now visible from the lane for the first time in living memory, and the garden seems rather flat and boring. Righto - some plans for planting are required!
Impressive transformation. Do you miss these gentle beasts that were once flanking your walkway?
ReplyDeleteYes, I must admit...
DeleteIf they hadn't turned into monsters they could have stayed - which reminds me of my older sons (not true!).
“If they hadn't turned into monsters they could have stayed“ - true for many of life’s unexpected developments.
DeleteI can see why you’re so pleased Tony. Nice when things go smoothly too.
ReplyDeleteI note the nice salient and re-entrant angle by the steps. Any chance you can make like Uncle Toby and build a complete enceinte?
Nice idea - I could cover up the driveway with a proper glacis while I'm at it. I'll fire a 6-gun battery every day at 6am, just to keep the neighbours on their toes. Drawbridge? Hmmm.
DeleteThey have made a good job ! , the fine weather must have helped .
ReplyDeleteWe were very lucky, apart from Wednesday of this week, when it was torrential. I had one labourer here (off and on) for (most of) 6 days, and he did all the digging and lopping of branches - then we had a day off for rain (and gravel deliveries) and then one flat-out day yesterday (Thursday) with 2-4 guys on site, including a digger-driver and the heavy chainsaw. Yes - we were lucky with the weather.
DeleteNowhere to hide now!
ReplyDeleteI expect it'll prove worth it in the long run.
I'm still tackling a line of last year's hurricaine downed trees in the gully near one edge of our property. I really could have used a team of pros.
At least when I manage to cut up bits of actual trunk rather than clearing brush, I get to keep them as firewood in compensation for my efforts.
Our regs have changed locally - wood stoves must now burn kiln-dried logs only, so random firewood windfalls are discouraged. In fact this is probably a good thing anyway, since the rough stuff bungs up everything with creosote and crud!
DeleteVery nice. And plenty if basing material too if you fancy it!
ReplyDeleteBags of it!
DeleteLooking very nice and a great improvement. I’m sure you must be very pleased with the result
ReplyDelete