Ah... that weird time between Christmas and New Year... it is sort of like time stands still for us. Very rarely are there concerts, and it is just lots of time to recover from eating and drinking a touch too much and working our way through leftovers!

Anyway, at least this year, the quiet time is being broken up by little spurts of gardening as we continue our long quest to get the upper hand on our block!

For me, I've returned back to the front corner, which had been dug up by the excavator for the stormwater drainage. Much of this heavy clay earth is now solid in the baking Sun... I've taken to watering the bare earth for a while before attempting to break it with a mattock and then turning with a long handled shovel (with additional gypsum, coffee grounds, and dynamic lifter stirred in). It is a pretty hefty job... especially now that the afternoons are practically unworkable in the slight heat of around 30 degrees. I'm not used to doing that... so, I try to do it in the morning and the late afternoon... morning preferably, as the late afternoon brings out the biting insects.

So, this is where I'm left at the moment... cardboarded, and ready for barrow loads of wood chip mulch. That will be in a few hours, I've gone inside to the coolness to rest a bit.

Despite the fact that I'm making slow and steady progress... and surprisingly a nice decent amount today... you can see that there is still quite a way left to go. Although, thankfully the hardness of the soil does taper off... even if there are still large rocks to dig out and remove.

Meanwhile, my wife is concentrating on the other side of the corner. And trimming back the bushes that were over and blocking the pathway. A slightly easier job, but she is still a bit fragile with her back.

She has managed to mulch over quite a larger area in less time than I have. But in my defence, this area is where the soil is soft and rich... so, it only needs weeding, carboarding, and then mulching. So, no addition of extras, no turning of hard clay earth, and no removing of large rocks!

This is the section that she is hoping to have done by the end of the week. A significant chunk, but again, much easier soil!

We are making decent progress on the front sides... but the back is starting to get a bit away from us. At least the weeds look pretty, and we are cutting and keeping the grass short to avoid having any nasty surprises from snakes.

That retaining wall will need to be rebuilt... we are thinking of cinderblocks or something similar that I can do with under the direction of my father in law. He just did theirs, and is quite a good deal handier than I am... so, best to do it under some experienced eyes!

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