The landscaping project, part II

Part I here:

We can haz wall?

This is how the yard looked when we started today:


We made an excursion to Home Depot, buying 900 pounds of sand:





Then we finished smoothing out some bumps in the trench and made a beach strip with the sand:



(Guest blog appearance by the husband!)





The first row was the hardest.  We ended up with a bit of a wavy line because of how the yard is shaped, but I like curves.





Second row went in easy-peasy:


 
The rock pile that we accumulated while digging the trench was great filler behind the bricks.





I could never have managed the heavy lifting by myself. 



Third and fourth rows were even easier:









We still need some more gravel for fill, and then will shovel some of the dirt back in and level things off.  Once we've got the filling done, we'll see if we should add a fifth row.  But the hardest of the work is done!  Hooray!

....

A fairy tale

There once was a great and magical forest, and all the animals and mankind lived together in peace beneath its boughs for centuries.  Then, one dark day, a dragon came and made her home in the center of the forest, and the peace was shattered as she laid claim to everything green for as far as she could fly in a day.  Many a champion tried to drive the dragon from the forest, and met their doom beneath her claws and teeth, so finally a great wizard came to the woods.  He knew what it would take for him to conquer the mighty lizard, but paid the price without complaint.  There was no battle, just the casting of a single spell, and now the forest stands safe for as long as the wizard too stands.