A short morning before the drive into Oakland. I spread the fireplace ashes on the warning track just below the retaining wall. I also ran a string from the end of the existing fence all along the back yard to the new stone platform. That string will mark the new edge of civilization, and over the next few months I can clear the track up to that line. As I hoped, the line is continuous with the new platform and (roughly) the retaining wall behind the summer house. I also took pictures of the short retaining wall at the back of the parking at my old office in Orinda, built with pressure treated wood.
In the side yard I found a bucket filled with slimy water that I poured on the transplanted oleander and the crape myrtle nearest the house. The bucket held twelve inches of water, presumably from multiple rain storms. I am even more determined to have a water collection system when the rains come later this year.
A Year at the Snake 