The decking is almost finished on the second floor entry deck. Redwood is sure pretty. I didn’t have an appreciation for it when I was young—although I grew up in a house panelled in 12 inch clear-heart redwood tongue and groove—it was just wood to me.

The sprinklers are finished in the barn upstairs. It is so interesting the way they put them in. Sprinklers in buildings like this are a new mandate in this county, but I am glad we are putting them in. This is an all-wood building, and I would certainly not want to be caught upstairs in a fire. However with the sprinklers upstairs and down, I will feel a lot safer.

Kai has been working on the shade over the back door of the barn. This is really a nice detail.

Kai and his helper also made a start on the retaining wall before they ran out of pins to connect the blocks. I went to run some errands and picked up a box of pins for them, but by then it was late and they had to take the forklift back. I imagine they will get most of the wall done before I get back up there on Friday.

While I was getting the pins, I also got a new piece of cap to try out on the wall.

The cap I bought is sitting on top of the painted block and is supposed to be the same color as the blocks below, although you can see that this is not true. Either they have changed their formula somewhat or my blocks have faded badly in the years they have been sitting in the sun. Actually, this picture makes them all look much pinker than they are in reality.

We plan to stain the blocks with a diluted version of the barn stain. I am not sure if I want to get this type of cap and if I do, whether I will want to stain it or leave it to contrast with the rest of the wall; we will have to see.