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worked well, too.
    After the logging crew left, Don set about making a
list of Lowe’s store purchases for delivery. He calculated
he could fit in 13 raised bed boxes measuring 12` x 4` into
the area they had cleared for his garden and he had
figured out how many treated 2” x 6”s he would need. He
could have used cheaper decking type boards to make his
beds, but he figured that since he was going to stay here
permanently, he might as well spend a bit extra and get
better lumber that would last longer.
    He calculated he needed 26 (4 ft) sections and
decided to let Lowe’s cut 8 ft. boards down the middle for
him. It only cost a quarter a cut to do this and for that price
it was a big labor and time saver. Funny how an 8 ft. board
is longer than 8 ft., but that’s not a problem as long as they
did the cut evenly for him. He figured out what boards he
needed for fencing gates and added a few more 4 ft.
sections to build some small 4’ x 4’ boxes for his orchard
and enclose his berry plants. Lowe’s had a ‘6 months no
interest plan’ so he went for it and got all his lumber, gun
safe and tiller delivered for 59 bucks. He was going to
make damn sure he paid that Lowe’s bill off before the
interest kicked in, too. This way he got everything he
needed now, but had time to pay for it without getting
sucked dry by exorbitant interest charges.
    When everything got delivered the next day, he set
about building his raised bed garden boxes and nailing
them together with outdoor rated ring shank decking nails.
He only put two nails in each corner so he could straighten
the boxes later and get them more level after he filled them
in with dirt. Banging against the boxes with a wheelbarrow
while he was filling them was sure to cause some
problems he knew, so he left the third nail for last after he
completed filling them all. Even having the lumber already
cut, it still took him the better part of a day to build and site
the boxes in place. He used an old trusty framing hammer
for ease of driving a nail and the extra reach it gave him in
performing the task. He had Jack deliver him an entire
dump truck load of topsoil mixed with composted horse
manure for $250. Jack said he would layer it up like
lasagna when loading it to help mix the dirt up. After Jack’s
driver dumped it, he looked at the huge pile and all the
boxes that had to be filled by hand and wished Don good
luck jokingly and pulled out wondering if Donald was
actually going to attempt the hard task alone.
    Don had told him he had an operator’s license for
the wheelbarrow, but after a couple hours of moving dirt he
started thinking his had expired. It had been a long time
since Don had done that much physical labor and it took
its toll on him. It took Donald about two and half days to
move the 5 tons or more of manure and dirt and he used
every bit of it up without totally filling all his boxes. He
looked over his raised garden beds with satisfaction and
sore arms, but they were filled enough for a start and now
ready to plant. Next on the agenda he had Jack bring him
a truckload of mulch. Jack had warned him that the pine
bark mulch he had was starting to breakdown and
compost, but Don said it didn’t matter to him it would work
for what he had in mind. He tried moving it by square point
shovel at first and soon gave that up and went to the co-op
to buy a pitchfork and things went much smoother after
that. After moving all that enriched dirt, moving a load of
mulch was a dream and easy work in comparison. He put
about two or three inches of mulch down between the box
rows so he didn’t have to worry about mowing or weeds
and was quite surprised when he got to the center of the
pile of mulch that it was literally steaming in the cool air
from starting to heat up and compost.
    He had met an old Nam Vet neighbor named
Michael and had asked him about a roll of fencing that was
left over after he made a yard for his dogs and purchased
it from him. Michael and he had