July 23, 2025
Yesterday, Tuesday (July 22), barely after 7 am, the driveway work commenced!
The truck at the bottom of the driveway is bringing in the first load of crusher run gravel, which the driver dropped off in front of the garage.
Bruce and I watched most of the work from inside the house.
The driveway was completed before 11:00 am! Bruce had them take away the old clogged drainage pipe, since he couldn’t think of a use for the long rusted pipe.
We are very pleased with the new driveway. The crusher run gravel has a lot of dust in it. The dust is meant to settle in after a rain, making a concrete-like base.
Here are pictures of the new driveway!
We will have to do something with the ditches around the drainage pipe. That raw dirt will wash away.
While the driveway work was being done, I made biscuits and bacon. After cleaning up, I decided to work more on the lion cubs picture. I had made some progress the day before.
For supper, I made Ukrainian Borscht using beets, onion, tomato, and dill from the garden. While the soup simmered, I walked out to the garden to get more dill. I wound up harvesting a watermelon, cucumbers, and a couple of tomatoes as well. Using the just harvested cucumbers, I made a Polish cucumber salad with cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and dill from the garden. I split four biscuits, buttered each half, and placed them under the broiler until browned on the edges. I served the biscuits with the soup.
It was a great day and we are excited to have another significant project completed!
Blackberry Homestead 
Julia, Finished drive looks really good – congratulations!! And I’m delighted that you’re keeping on with the art work. Love, Howard
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Howard,
We are really happy with how the driveway looks. We now have a pile of dirt and gravel to put into the flagged holes in the front yard.
I am enjoying drawing the lion cubs. I hope my execution of the picture will match what I see in my mind’s eye.
Love,
Julia
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The driveway looks great! I do not know what it is about it, but that little feisty lion cub makes me smile every time I see it! Looking forward to seeing it finished.
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We are excited to try out the driveway! I have my one-week follow-up for cataract surgery today, so we get to try the new driveway out.
Thanks! I hope I’ll be able to finish the lion cub in my next session. Then, I’ll start on the sibling the cub is fighting with.
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I can’t believe they got that whole driveway in before 11:00 am. Wow!
Can’t wait to see your little cubs as they “grow”. 😊
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I was really surprised as well. It was great watching him work the skid steer. He did everything exactly as we had asked, which was nice.
Bruce drove on the driveway today and it was so smooth! Backing out of the garage was no longer a big drop, it was so nice and smooth. No potholes to jar our teeth loose as we headed out to the road.
I hope the driveway specialist is right, and it will be ten years before we need more work done on the driveway.
I am enjoying bringing the cubs to “life”. 🙂
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Wow! What a day!
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It was!
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What is the diameter of your new drainage pipe? And what does it drain water from/to?
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It is 4 inches. It drains the circle at the top of the hill. The pipe starts at the edge of the circle on the south side of the main driveway, goes under the driveway to the northwest, and drains out to the northwest towards the north fence.
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