A SHADY SPOT IN THE GARDEN May 2011
	Our garden is the sunniest spot on the property -- that's why the garden is there -- but in summer it is also the hottest.  The plants thrive and we sweat.  During our long hours of labor there, our escape from the sun has been beneath the huge fir tree in the northwest corner.  But from that vantage point we can't really see and appreciate the flowers that we work so hard to grow.  There was no place for us -- or our guests -- to really enjoy being in the garden. There was another shady spot. The four grapes create an unbelievable amount of vegetative growth, creating a shady secluded spot under them.  But because you have to crawl on all fours to get in there, we couldn't take advantage of it.  (It was a favorite hiding spot for the girls during hide-and-seek.)   Last summer (2011), we kept visualizing a patio under the grapevines. We'd have to increase the height of the supporting structure.  Also, the area was barely large enough for two chairs, much less a table.  One or two of the four plants would have to go. Transplant elsewhere? We learned it is almost impossible to transplant grapes because of their massive root system.  Last fall, we cut down one grape and pruned the others mercilessly. In the spring, we dug up and moved the roses, then laid out a rough outline with rebar and string.
	There are only 3 grapevines left and just potholes where the roses used to be. The project has begun!
	It took us a while, but we refined the layout and vision until we knew exactly what we wanted both patio and pergola to look like.  We loved the walkways Matthew and his helper Rusty put in last fall, so we called and got on Matthew's schedule: May 23.  It would still be chilly, but it should be dry weather by then. We ordered the lumber.  We had the metal fittings fabricated and powder coated.  Twice we got $10, month-long permits from the forest service and hauled landscape rock from a quarry upriver.  Jerry cut bullnoses into the ends of the beams, and we stained the raw ends. By May 23, we were ready.  Or at least we thought we were. DAY ONE Excavation day.  The west side of the area is 14 inches higher than the east side. Sure doesn't look that high, but it is.  We wanted the patio level with the east side so the grapes would not get buried. We visualized a rock wall on the west side.  As the guys dug, the two of us spread dirt in low spots we had identified outside the garden.  It's amazing how you can dig dirt out of an area 10 feet by 16 feet and cover an area 30 feet by 40 feet. Fluff factor!  We raked and raked and the guys dug and dug. Once Matthew decided he'd excavated far enough, they bored the 6 post holes for the pergola.  That's when it started raining.  That's when one of the digging machines broke down.  Of course, it's inside the excavated hole. We all worked for half an hour trying to drag the broken machine out of the mud, but it was not meant to be.  The guys quit for the day and headed to town to buy a replacement part.
	Excavating the area.	The desired depth has been reached.
	Boring post holes for the pergola posts	Fighting with the broken skid steer
	DAY TWO We recorded 1.2 inches of rain overnight and the post holes were all filled to the brim with water. A little water doesn't stop a pro, so after fixing the skid steer, Matthew began stringing perfectly horizontal lines to set the height of the posts. That's when we realized the first problem. Matthew told us the string represented the surface of the pavers. We saw that the area was not nearly deep enough.  After 4 inches of gravel, 1 inch of sand, and 3 inch pavers, there would be a 6 inch step up to the patio on the east side and only a 6 " wall on the west. (The extra 2" disappear in slope for draining rainwater.) Not anything like we wanted. The patio had to be dug deeper.  The next question out of Matthew's mouth was, "What do you want to do with the dirt?" We'd already filled our low spots. And when Oregon clay gets wet, you can't rake it. You can't shovel it. It sticks to tools and shoes. You can't do much of anything with it.  And when it dries, it becomes adobe. Fortunately, during casual conversation the day before, we'd asked Matthew what he does with the dirt when he excavates in a nice subdivision in town. He had told us he has a place he can dump it for $10 a load. So now we told him to load it up and haul it away. So, more digging. When it really was deep enough, Matthew and Rusty got ready to set posts. That's when we realized problem number 2. Matthew is a landscape contractor, but he is not a builder. We'd been waiting and waiting for him to set out string lines to square the structure, but that wasn't happening. Fortunately, we'd learned a lot from David building he house. We stopped the progress and got string lines set up. It rained on and off during the day. But by quitting time, the three western posts were set and braced. After the guys left, we realized the next problem. The posts were lined up at the base, but at the top, the middle one was a couple inches off. The beams across them would look terrible! Good thing we slowed the guys down with all that string and they didn't get around to pouring concrete.
	After digging down deeper we actually hit dry dirt!	This thing is starting to take shape.
	DAY THREE First job: Fix that middle post. Next: Pour concrete. It was another soggy day. It rained and rained.  David always said that it rains when you pour concrete.  We tried to bail the post holes, but water seeped back in as quickly as we bailed.  Just had to pour the cement into the water logged holes. For the two posts next to the grapevines, we didn't want holes 10" wide, two feet deep, right beside the grapes -- they would destroy too many roots.  Instead, we had two metal feet fabricated.  The post was fastened to the foot through flanges, and four long pieces of rebar hammered through each corner fastened the whole thing to the ground.  It held the post upright, if a little wobbly.  But once the posts were tied to the other four with beams and rafters, they weren't going to go anywhere. By the end of the day, we had six posts set.
	Pouring concrete in the rain seems to be a Long Shadows tradition	A post with the special metal foot is ready to be set
	DAY FOUR More rain. The mud was disgusting.  Matthew brought highway fabric to use as underlayment for the gravel. Otherwise, the mud would just swallow the gravel. They also laid a big tarp in the driveway and several pieces of used plywood as a roadway.  Bringing the gravel to dump into the hole was going to be messy otherwise.  You don't want dirt in the gravel because it keeps the rock from binding together.  By lunchtime, the entire area was spread with gravel. Next job: pack it down with the vibraplate. Matthew started it, walked it into the hole, stopped it to do something else for a minute -- and it wouldn't start again. They tried and tried. Changed spark plug. No go. They loaded it up in the truck and left for the day. That actually worked out well for us. Because the next thing after packing the gravel would have been, "Show us the exact outline of the patio so we can install the snap edge." We started in on that job, and it took us several hours to get it right. We could never have taken that kind of time with Matthew and Rusty standing there waiting for us. What took us so long? We also discovered problem # -- what number are we up to by now?  The center post on the east side was about 2-1/2" north of where it should have been. That meant a rafter centered on the western post would almost completely miss the eastern one.  The good news is that the post in question was one of the ones NOT set in concrete.  Pulling up rebar would be pretty easy.
	The braces are holding the posts plumb	The gravel has to be wheel barrowed into the area using that little ramp
	Spreading gravel	The patio layout is spray painted onto the gravel
	DAY FIVE More rain. Dianne met the guys with "I have good  news and bad news. The good news is, it's easy to fix." And Rusty said, "Don't tell us we have to move a post!"  "Yes."  But it WAS easy. Vibraplate was fixed. They packed the gravel, set the snap edge, and started bringing in sand. And now it was time for pavers! This part provides fast, very satisfying progress. No edge pieces were laid, just the center, fast and furious. By the end of the day (which was the end of the week, too) half the patio was laid.  The guys decided to take off Memorial Day, so we had a three day weekend too.  YEAH!!!!! We were not only tired, we were tired of being wet and cold.
	For days the guys had been lusting after our sandwiches on homemade bread. Dianne fed them lunch today. Everyone was wet through and cold. Nancy is even wearing long underwear.	At last!  Paver installation has begun.
	DAY SIX More rain. More fast progress on the other half of the patio. But inevitably, you have to deal with edges, and that is slow and tedious. Finding partial pieces that will fit, marking them, cutting, checking, re-cutting sometimes. Each team member specialized: Nancy located scraps, Matthew marked and fit, Rusty cut, Dianne hauled to and from the saw. By day's end, most of the edges were done.
	Moving pavers in the rain	Custom cutting 3 inch thick concrete pavers. Since it is an electric saw, the operator is the only one not working in the RAIN.
	Some pavers required complicated cuts	Pretty good fit if you ask us
	Almost done with the pavers.	The muddy path from hauling in pavers
	DAY SEVEN More rain. It's June 1, for Pete's sake!  This is the Pacific Northwest.  It's not supposed to still be raining! We couldn't finish the pavers by the steps until the steps were in place. So it was time to move rocks.  We all surveyed the big rocks we'd found at the quarry and decided which ones would make good steps. The guys got to move them this time. We finished the pavers by the steps, including the edges. Then Matthew started working on building the wall, and when Rusty wasn't hauling rocks, he was hauling gravel. Dianne hauled back-fill dirt, and Nancy loaded left-over pavers back in the truck. They had to be returned in the same condition we got them -- on pallets -- which meant putting back together the jigsaw puzzle of those irregular shapes.
	The first step is installed. (It's raining in case you can't tell!)	All 3 steps are roughly in place.
	Time to build the rock wall. We get to move those rocks AGAIN!	Matthew installs rocks for the wall.
	DAY EIGHT More rain. Of course. But just a few light showers, and we're hoping they'll go away soon. Finished rock walls. Vibraplated the patio to get the pavers settled and even. Then it was time to cut and put up the beams. We were really glad there were two strong guys to do THAT job! After lunch, the rainshowers had cleared and the guys were able to do the polymeric sand. If it had still been raining, that job would have been left for us later, since we'd learned the process with the walkways. We're glad they did it -- they're better and faster than we'd ever be. The guys step back and admire the job. Rusty even takes lots of pictures. Then they're out of there, and the rest of the job is ours.
	Moving the beams from the barn where we stained the ends.	Lunch time fun! We teach the guys to play washerboard.
	The guys installing the beams.	Filling the cracks with sand.
	DAYS NINE + At this point, we stopped counting days.  We finished installing the metal brackets that fasten the beams to the posts, ratcheting lots of lag screws. Jerry consults with us and creates a custom curve for the end of the rafters. Cheryl helps us cut and install the rafters.  In between those jobs, we complete the rock border of the flower beds that edge the new patio.  Nancy lays rocks and Dianne hauls dirt. Then finally, we get to plant flowers we bought weeks before. Since the grapes won't provide shade for a while yet, we install a shade cloth we just happened to have lying around.
	Now the ladies take charge of the construction project!	The flowerbed is ready for GOOD dirt.
	The job of landscaping is both fun and DRY! The rain has stopped - at least for now.	Cheryl, the master carpenter, has joined the work crew.
	WOW! It looks just like we envisioned.	And it looks like it belongs there.
	The flowers have been planted.	The grapes are starting to put out lots of growth.
	The last big job: We spent a day chipping piles of limbs and spreading the chips on our paths. Finally: Our vision has become reality!
Jump forward in time, clear to 2016.  Plants have matured.  Some have been replaced.  The grapes have gone wild!  It is quite a wonderful place on a hot summer afternoon.
	Early spring, the grapes are just beginning to leaf out.	A couple months later - way more grape leaves.
	The plants are happy here.	Looks like those steps have been there 20 years.
	Yum!