Remember, back in April, when I posted Front Steps Pt 1? Approximately six months later and I have progressed all of about four months in the history I am trying to document! Yes, the photos below were taken between Christmas and New Year, 2006. (27-30th)

So far, Dad has dug out the old sandstone steps and replaced them (with recycled concrete slab sections). Now he has dismantled the old sandstone dry wall and is moving it in, so the edges of the steps are concealed and locked in.

Notice the steel bars? It's amazing what you can do with a trampoline.

Can you see the reason for the steel?

Da daa! The handrail. Yes, it is a eucalypt sapling - specially chosen and chopped, out on a friend's block.

No laughing, you have no idea how many comments and complements we've received in regards to this handrail!

The only object that has been more commented on, amongst our friends and within our community, is our new front fence - but you'll just have to wait a little longer to see that structure for yourselves! Watch out picket fence: you won't be standing there much longer.

Skip ahead with me to December 2006 for some glimpses of our gardens, beginning with the vegetable patch.

We decided to make use of the oddly shaped corner up on the highest point of the block, an area cut off from the rest of the property by the right-of-way to the neighbours' place. The soil proved to be an interesting puzzle and challenge, as it had a high proportion of both white and red clay, a liberal scattering of rocks, large and small, and also contained much ash and garbage. Evidently this area had been used for burning off. A vigorous crop of blackberry canes also had to be removed before the garden could be dug, so tons of roots had to be removed - and are still a constant battle. The earth was also very compacted.

Because of the unfortunate composition of the soil, we had to dig it over completely, quite deeply, unload a couple of trailer loads of cow manure onto it and just leave it for a while as the manure broke down and started the process of re-balancing the soil components. After that we planted sunflowers (their roots would help break up the soil), tomatoes (we eat so many), broad beans, pumpkins, beans and zucchinis. Actually, the pumpkins might have been self-sown from our compost. In hindsight, we should have piled on at least twice as much manure. A load of fine green waste or straw or something probably wouldn't have gone astray either.

This photo, taken through the sunflowers, looks down the hill from the highest point on the property.

This photo was taken from the right-of-way, looking back up to the veggie garden. We grew lots of pumpkins and zucchinis that year.

And from the other angle, still standing on the right-of-way, just about where it exits our property and becomes Mangold Lane.

The steps and flower garden.

The steps from the bottom.

Looking toward the steps from the higher level again.

And from further back still.

We grew lots of pumpkins that year. The mulch was very fruitful!

Gradually the stone walls began to grow, carving order out of the wilderness . Mounds of earth, stone and concrete began to resolve into pleasing lines and useful spaces.









Of course none of this would have happened without Dad's landscaping genius and sheer hard work! I assure you, the clay Dad had to struggle with was No Joke.

On moving onto the property there were already old sandstone steps up to the front gate, but they were old, sunken and wobbly - a liability. These sandstone blocks were taken up and set aside. They were used when Dad rebuilt the stone walls (which had also become tumbled and rickety) over the edges of the new steps, once they were finished. Unfortunately I only have photos from the middle of the project.




We began at the bottom and worked our way back up the hill. The proper calculations were done though; the steps didn't work out evenly by accident!




Above photo take from across the road. The railway is behind the photographer.



And our final photo ...



A sneak peak into the future (December 27th, 2006). All the steps can be seen, while the stone walls are being re-built over the edges to finish it off and tie it all together.

Note the fence. It didn't last much longer!