Mizuho arrived back from Japan after a great visit with her mom, sister and nephew, some immersive Japanese experiences, and a suitcase full of treats. As I write this at the end of the month we have no snow and the ski areas are not open yet but snow is forecast for the next several days.

I finished 50′ of the wall (starting at the top) in October. I began the 2nd half (starting at the bottom) at the beginning of the month. This unusual approach was a consequence of knowing where I wanted the wall to start and stop but not knowing if I had enough blocks for the full length. If I was short, I was going to use natural rock to fill the gap in the middle. As it turned out, I had just enough blocks. The wall building was rather arduous as I had to hand dig a trench for the 4″ drain pipe, and then set the blocks into the slope, ensuring each was level with the previous and level back to front. Thankfully, and apart for several melon-sized stones, the slope was mostly gravel and sand. Each block’s void had to be filled and the wall backfilled. I learned it is easier to work up the hill rather than down. I still need to cut a few cap stones and run some irrigation but otherwise the wall is done!

Spent the rest of the month cutting and collecting branches, using my new battery-powered chain saw, and working on a new road that will run down from beside the house around to the back outside of the fence. Spread more river rock and mulch and dug out the turf around the cocktail rock that will be replaced with mulch in the spring. Got 4 free truck loads of silty gravelly clean fill with a bit of clay – two near the sea container I will use to level the area and two along the drive I will use to widen. Had 4 concerts this month – a brass quintet, a chamber music octet, a very good word and song theatre piece on WWI and Vimy, and a fun concert by Quartetto Gelato. Also had a camping night with Coop in the backyard (fire and BBQ outside, sleeping and facilities inside)

The heat pump stopped working just before Mizuho got back from Japan (glad to have had a propane fireplace and wood stove) – some maintenance last fall had caused a slow leak in a pipe and the loss of refrigerant. Will be covered under their warranty and should be fixed (hopefully) tomorrow.