Front yard reconstruction: gravel

Gravel is essential for proper water drainage otherwise I am creating a bath tub that will hold the water and eventually cause the wall to fail.

Front yard reconstruction: wall

The foundation for the wall is done and now the retaining wall is being built.

Front Yard Reconstruction: Stones

Over 2500 pounds of stone moved by hand and waiting to become the garden wall!

Front Yard Reconstruction: Electricity

Electric conduit with cable is now buried! One goes to the water fountain and the other goes to the future lamp post.

Spiderman in Rochester

They are filming the next Spiderman movie in Rochester this week and next. The filming is happening all around the Thomson Reuters office building where I work, so, I venture out at lunch and after work to watch.

The scenario: a tow truck grabs an armored vehicle and, with police in pursuit, tries to escape through the streets on New York City, smashing through police barricades and running into cabs.

In reality? They are filming the same intersection in Rochester from lots of different angles. They brought many New York City cabs and police cars.

They even went as far as to change the street signs to match NYC street names, and to change the names on the buildings!

When they need to change the location of a car? They get the fork lift.

I haven't seen any actors. Just stunt men, like these three standing in the intersection. The one with the hat and backpack drives the tow truck.

For me? It has been an opportunity to watch movie magic.

When they get ready to film a scene, they push the crowds back out of site. The problem with that? You can't see anything! So, I went to the top of a parking garage, then climbed on top of the elevator shaft overhanging the side of the building so I could get a perfect view down main street (or... 57th street) and watched the tow truck blow through the intersection as it smashed through two yellow cab cars.

When the Spiderman movie comes out, I am going to see it! And maybe... just maybe... they'll show a lone figure standing on an elevator shaft high above a parking garage, watching the destruction and mayhem below. Is that lone figure Spiderman? Or is it Kevin Gilbert?

 

Front Yard Reconstruction Conduit

The foundation of the front facing retaining wall is done. Before I can do the back facing I need to get the electrical conduit for the lamp post in place. An additional conduit will go to the water fountain. That means digging a deep ditch below the frost line for the conduit.

Front Yard Reconstruction Update

I started with the outside facing portion of the retaining wall. This is a very slow process for two reasons: first, with my work schedule and everything else, I only get 30 or 45 minutes at a time to work on this. Second, the retaining wall foundation is the most important. The drainage gravel needs to be several inches thick, packed tight, and level. The retaining wall stones need to be perfectly level. If the foundation is done correctly then the rest of the task is simply stacking the stones.