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Even after learning that this wonderful device works even more wonderfully against sod when half the teeth are removed, there was still a fair amount of sweat involved. Visitors may remember a couple of bushes along that west fence. It is worth mentioning that pulling the stump of a tree is a fair bit easier than pulling a bush (in my experience). Once the stumps were up and out and the grass ground down, I lay some recycled two by material in for a border and set out to get some fill dirt. It took most of a yard to fill the new bed, the rest tucked into the other beds.
The finishing touches before planting were 8" extenders for the existing sprinkler heads and a 'dog proof' fence which Cooper broke through a day after I'd planted. And plant I did. At the northern end are a variety of sunflowers. Then there are three parallel N/S rows of corn in which four varieties of corn are evenly divided. Three of the four are popcorn, the final fourth sweet corn. A couple days ago I lightly sprinkled some straw over the top to help hold moisture in and tonight I have found my first corn leaf(s) poking up.
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The traditional pavers available around here run, at the cheapest, $1.55 a square foot. However, after digging a little I discovered that Home Depot had cinder block capstones for $0.79. They are 8x16, which is a little more interesting anyway, and nearly half the price. In this picture you can see the progress I have made to date which is about 1/3 of the total. I can't say that digging up 'rich' soil has been my favorite task, but neither is mopping floors.
And in the fore are three honeysuckle which I hope to nurse up into an as-yet unmade pergola which will provide the aforementioned shade. For those of you who have ever wondered just how geeky I am, check this out. In order to determine just how high and wide to make my pergola, I used Excel with the 'Solver' add-in. The variables which I allowed Solver to adjust were the height above ground, the overall width of the canopy and the amount it hung over the dog run. The constraints I fed it were the width of the run and ranges for the angle of altitude on the north and south edges of the run. I targeted a range in the spring that would have the run starting to receive shade between May 15 and May 31, as well as a range which would have the run starting to receive full sun between Oct 15 and Oct 31. Long story short, the pergola will be 9 feet above the ground, 8 feet from north to south with 5 feet hanging directly over the run. Thank you Solver and Professor Yinyu Ye.
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