Granite - It's Not Just For Countertops!

We've spent the last week making some walkways and improving the outside areas between the bunkhouse and the cabin. We got a load of granite gravel (decomposed granite). We wanted to use something that was permeable in case we ever get any rain (keep hope alive)! And something that had a natural Central Texas look to it. We also have to be able to drive over it to get to the back pasture. And we wanted something affordable.

Rick and I started out digging by hand to make a trench several inches deep for the walkway. He used a pick and I used the shovel, following in the areas he had picked. Our ground is rocky, so it was slow going. 

The next day we were rescued by our good friend and neighbor Scott and his tractor! He not only did the digging but moved the gravel and spread it out for us, and spread the dirt he removed. We get by with a little help from our friends!

Sarah and Bixby came out that afternoon and Scott gave Bix some lessons on how to operate a tractor. Then we left the fellas working and went to the river to cool off and continue Bixby's river rat training!

We were all done in for a few days and I tackled the outdoor kitchen area today. We didn't dig it out as it is a little low there and somewhat bowl shaped. When it rains water doesn't run over that area. Scott had told me to call him back when we got ready to move some more gravel. But I am always thinking up projects and hate to impose them on others, even though I know he would have come and helped me. It went better than I thought and I was finished by 1:30. I still have to build another part of the outdoor kitchen counter to hold our two burner stove. I'll attach it at a lower height to the side of the bar cabinet I already made. And I still need to add a shelf to the bar cabinet to hold an ice chest.

The next part of the project is moving the fire pit. It will be where the scraped area is in this picture, which puts it between the cabins. Can't wait to gather round it in the winter, star watching and making s'mores! 

The gravel finished off the outdoor cowgirl/cowboy tub and shower, which doubles as a swimming pool for little ones.



With the bunkhouse project winding down, it's on to a new deer blind before hunting season gets here!


"The block of granite which was an obstacle in the pathway of the weak, became a stepping-stone in the pathway of the strong." Thomas Carlyle