Weekend Work Three: Hellstrip Happenings

The most time-consuming project over the weekend was the paver stone landing pad in the hellstrip (below). The hellstrip has been slowly transformed from a weedy patch of compact abused soil to something that needs less maintenance.

I stopped using the lawn mower years ago. Now with this small area replaced with brick, there’s only a couple other spots in the garden that require weed-whacking maintenance. And that little bit of remaining grass may all go away next year, as I start Phase 4 of the “taking of the hellstrip.”

The brick pad is ostensibly a resting place for our garbage and recycling bins which will sit there one day a week. The paver stones came from the area of our patio that came out to create the marble and granite scrap area rug.

I’ll be wetting and sweeping sand into it for the next week or so. Nearly every neighbor going by with dogs, groceries, yoga mats, and bicycles stops to chat. Working in the front yard, I have to estimate the time it takes and then multiply by three.

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