Mud season brought us a very soft driveway and one messy morning of pulling the Volvo out of the muck using the Dodge truck and a tow rope. It was time for some road repair.

I ordered 16 tons of what's called 1/4" hardpack, a mixture of 1/4" stones and stone dust that when packed down creates a hard surface. (There are several companies that provide area/material calculators online, making it easy to determine how much I needed.) When the driver dropped off the stone, he made several passes with the truck bed door opened slightly allowing the hardpack to be spread out nicely. There was still alot of rock to move, though, and after using a garden rake for a while I was convinced that an internal combustion engine was in order. The closest thing I had to a bulldozer was the self-propelled snowblower. It worked just fine for grading the driveway provided the auger remained off.

Back on the inside, there was still a little more demolition needed on the upstairs before reconstruction could begin in earnest.

Ramon gets in on the act now and again but doesn't usually stick around for long. Sweeping up debris is not high on the five year old priority list.