Friday: Chimney cap beginnings (6/15/12)

A lot went on this day.  But the big attention-grabber was that they arrived with the first phase of the chimney cap.  The architect wanted to extend the height and visual vertical proportion of the chimney and cover up a bit of the very large flashing that you can see near the peak of the roof.

First comes the framework.  I tried to lift one end of it while it was resting on the ground to no avail.

Up it goes...

Much leveling and attaching ensued.  They then installed the stainless steel "wrap."

This side of the wrap covers the most visible part of the flashing.  (And the crime scene tape is there because another set of very industrious workers refinished the deck this day to get rid of some problem areas, which looks gorgeous now.)

Then they mortared the attachment points and the ends to ensure high winds couldn't disturb the steel wrap.  The front and back will be covered with four panels down to the stone, which will have perforations to allow ventilation but keep the birds out.

Friday: Flower power (6/15/12)

Let's take another look around the garden...

Here's a broad view of the bog.

A little closer...

A giant calla lily...

And some smaller ones.

I love these giant day lilies.

Some purple irises...

A pretty red hydrangea...

This is a terrible picture, but I love these little bell-shaped clematis flowers.

And an unreal looking cactus flower.  This cactus is something like 1 1/4" in diameter.