Phase I

The Great Backyard Transformation has begun.  Tom got started on the prep for the patio.  He started digging out the sprinkler system because the ground around the house is going to have to be graded and leveled so that the water flows away so the sprinkler would get dug out by the tractor anyway.  Also, the topsoil is going to have to be scraped away so I have smooth surface for the stone.  That sprinkler system is a mess.  I don't know what the installer was thinking.  It's like they just tossed out PVC pipe helter skelter and glued them together where they landed.  There are pipes going every which way, crossing each other, making weird bends.  Some of the pipes are buried several inches, some just under the ground and some aren't even buried at all.

When Tom started digging it out, he discovered that the whole place is riddled with roots so he spent the day digging out roots and pipes, cutting roots and pipes, and pulling the bigger roots out with the tractor.  I think we're ready for a friend to come level out the area for us.  Then Tom will put the sprinkler system back in.  THEN I'll be able to start installing the patio.