Garden path

We are trying to build a path in the garden, that will go all the way around the house. It will allow Sabina to do laps around the house on the bike, it will mean that visitors don't need to tramp across bunches of wet capeweed from their car to the house. It's a great idea.

In order to build the path, we need to move a few rocks. Well ... when does a rock stop being a rock and become a boulder? I think we need to move a few boulders. Pete brings in the tractor to help. Without it, we would still be standing over the rocks with a cup of tea. But even with it, the work is a feat of horse power and simple engineering. Wooden planks protrude at all angles as a rock is levered out of it's bed. Some of these rocks are like ice bergs - you only see 10% above ground.

Once the rock is "loosened up", the tractor pulls them out. We use the scoop for this, and it's a game of hit and miss. Sometimes, the rock is 3/4 out, then the scoop looses grip, and it rolls back in. Other times, the tractor tyres start spinning slowly, as it tries to win a tug of war with a stubborn rock. Pete estimates that some of the rocks weigh as much as the tractor.

Most of the rocks just need to come out. But one particular rock needs to be moved, and positioned carefully to fit in as the end piece of a rock wall. We roll it out, we roll it in, we jiggle with the wooden planks and the crow bar. We just need it another inch closer to the other rock. We roll it out again. The tractor holds it in a precarious position, while we dig away more soil behind it. What a shame we don't take a photo. We roll it back in. More jiggling - I suspend my weight on the crow bar in the process. More planks. Finally, it's done. It looks sensational. Like it belongs there.