5 Minutes From A Heatstroke

Today, I found myself 5 minutes from a heatstroke. Well, it felt like that anyway. Lord, it was hot. I got myself into this predicament because that flagstone path I've been telling you about had to be finished today. I was tired of messing with it. All I wanted was to be done. I devised a plan and started early. Pictures below.

The Morning Plan:
1) Laid down newspaper and cypress chips in unfinished garden area. (corner where the potting shed is going)
2) Placed the last few stones on the path
3) Swept sand and debris from the stones
4) Drank water
      a) poured sweat, re-hydration was critical
      b) got dizzy a couple of times 
5) Rested for 30 minutes (this portion of the plan took 2 hours and 15 minutes)

The Mid-Day Plan:
1) Dug a trench beside the flagstone path to put something in later to help keep grass away, if that is at all possible.
2) Spread polymeric sand over the stones and into the cracks, taking care to sweep the remaining sand off the top of the stones.
      a) got dizzy again, kept going to the shade to cool off
      b) still sweating like crazy, but can't quit....almost done
3) Spent about 30 minutes watering sand down. This polymeric sand gets hard after it's watered down and allowed to dry. You need to wait 24 hours before walking on it. It will continue to cure for the next 72 hours and after that will harden even more. It's supposed to keep stones in place, keep weeds and grass from growing up between stones and keep ants and insects that burrow up through the ground from coming through. If it does this, then I may fill the trenches I dug with it, later.
      a) watered myself down 4 or 5 times with the water hose
      b) drank from the water hose
      c) breathing hard the whole time
      d) it got into the 90's today. Yes, I know I'm crazy.
4) Done! Thank the Lord, I'm done. This portion of the plan also took about 2 hours and 15 minutes. I won't ever tackle a project this big again! Not by myself, anyway.

I came inside and drank a huge glass of water and then a huge glass of Gatorade. Took a shower and sat down to rest. It had been at lest 20 minutes, since I came inside and I was still breathing hard and a little bit nauseated, too.

I was telling Cliff everything I told you here and he said, "You'll be aight." (His slang for alright) So, I shot him the bird. LOL! And then, I went and took a nap.

Later this evening, I paddled the kayak for a little while to relax and unwind. Pictures below. I couldn't get over how warm the lake water is. It feels like bath tub water.

(Pictures taken with my cell phone. I'll take some with my camera, next time.)

 It looks really good. I hope the polymeric sand does the trick.

The top portion is what I tackled this morning. The potting shed will go in that corner. Once I can walk on the stones, I'll need to pull the wood chips in closer to the stones. Of course, I'm not completely done with the garden plans. I have a few more decorative touches to do. I'll show you as the progress continues.

There's a few left over stones right there on the left, mid-way of the picture. I'll clean those up tomorrow. That's the spot I'm going to plant a lime-light hydrangea, if I can ever find one.

View of my house from the lake.

 Paddling into the sunset....

 

....to the mandatory portage.

 Another view of our house from a different side. 

And lastly, the dock and Adirondack chairs. 

Next project: Replacing indoor/outdoor carpet on the screen porch.

This starts tomorrow. 

Laurie