Phil laying pavers

Brother Phil was worried about my pulling and pushing of the tall connected chairs I'd put on the north side of Mjolnir.  Whenever I mowed I would move the chairs almost wracking them out of shape.   He thought  making a small patio, just large enough for them to set on, was the answer.  First though, the telephone company had laid cable around the back of  that building and then swung down the north side until it could continue on down the  driveway.  I didn't remember exactly where the line went so I called Digger's Hotline.  They said it would take four days - until Friday - for all of the utilities to check my place.  Last Friday came and went but no telephone company.  I did get an e-mail from Digger's Hotline stating the telephone company was a 'non-participating' agency.  I called them Monday morning.  The receptionist said of course they would send someone that day to mark the cable.  When we all got back from our tour of the university, orange marks in the grass showed the route of the line.  It didn't cross the proposed patio site.    The brothers dug down around 6" in a 6x6 foot square.  The excess sod was loaded in the back of Jormungandr and dumped on some field ruts nearby.  Then they took Jormungandr down to Neighbor Blake's gravel pit and loaded about 1/3 of a square yard of gravel in the back.  They dumped that as a base in the hole they made.  The sand we'd picked up earlier was dumped, tamped solid, and leveled.  The pavers were carefully set on this base w/ edging along the side to keep everything tight.  The tete-a-tete was placed back in place and it's all set to once again be a spot to sit and contemplate the meadow, the fields, the hills, the clouds, and the sunset. Both brothers have been going to bed early and telling me they are sleeping well.  Not a surprise.

Picture taken by Brent Mayer.