Then and Now

Back in the early days of spring, the long-awaited shoreline protection project began next door. 

Hurrah!

We welcomed this endeavor, noisy and messy as it has been, because it stabilized our own crumbling protection and made for a more secure bank down to the water.  The many moods of Mother Nature in the 20-something years since we completed our own project, has resulted in significant loss of protection.  Erosion has stolen land from behind our 6-8 ton stones.  Things had shifted and moved.  Sinkholes had developed and we were getting discouraged.  

Here are some before and after shots.  Can you tell why we are ecstatic? 

Notice our shifted blocks, all askew....

This is the view looking down the bank before anything started,

and this is the view at the beginning of months of work.

Previous posts tried to convey the magnitude and scope of the project.  Truck loads by the hundreds either carted away brush and soil, or delivered rock, gravel, boulders, diggers, and other machinery to the site.  We

have given up trying to keep our windows clean, and I am careful about putting my sheets out to dry when it looks like flying dirt is imminent. 

Thanks, Sami Joe, for teaching me how to link my posts!!

The day finally came when we began to see progress:

Our crumbling corner had been pulled apart, repacked and then armored so thoroughly,

I think it would take a nuclear bomb to move it.

This is the patio next door, on the same level as our bank deck.  I am envisioning lots of neighbourliness happening in the coming years.

The project seems to be on hold for a time.  The man in charge of the stonework has become embroiled in another project.  He still has the stone stairs to put in on the sloping path.

In the meantime, the pool is being installed. 

Like I said, I am going to be very friendly with my new neighbors.

The saga continues....