Hello from Washington,

Today Dad and I traveled up to Camano Island to work on a small project that held large implications. In order to increase the drainage from the side of the house, we dug a ravine from the existing ditch towards our runoff pipe.

We cut into the dirt using our shovels and adzes with gusto, and in almost no time at all, the second ditch was formed. Then we created a filter using rocks and landscaping fabric. The landscaping fabric was wrapped around the rocks which were piled about four inches thick. We had bought the landscaping fabric from Home Depot earlier on the trip up to Camano, and brought the rocks by wheelbarrow from Grandpa Jack’s house, a short way down the road.

digging_out_the_trench Filling_the_wheelbarrow

Moving the rocks turned out to be the hardest part of the task as I pushed them in a wheelbarrow up a steep hill, along a 50 mph road, and then finally- half out of control – raced them down a short hill and onto the work site.

 

standing_on_the_ditch

Finally Done!

 

 

After workThe_two_workersing for a while, Dad and I decided to drive to Mabana beach and relax on the sand. He fell asleep next to the bulkhead, and I took the opportunity to dig in the sand, walk along the beach, and practice my cinematography skills. This short workday and day of rest was what Dad needed to de-stress with physical labor and a good nap near the lapping waves.

The final video product can be found here:

 

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