Rock Stars

WE WILL ROCK YOU:  Just look at the happy people, standing in the shade. Annabelle is beaming, having a good ol' time.

What this photo doesn't convey is the temperature. It was 92. And the humidity. It was mondo muggy. It also doesn't capture the size and scope of what we were doing: moving approximately 16 tons of boulders from Medina to Magnolia.  It's about a half hour trip between the places, all on busy city streets. We made that trip there and back six times Saturday-Sunday.

Here's a photo of our Saturday haul.

By the end of Sunday, no lawn could be seen any more, save for a narrow path around the perimeter, so I can water the garden and the parking strip.

We worked hard - and smart - gleaning the rocks from their retaining wall home of 75 plus years. The hydraulic lift gate on the truck we rented from Handy Andy was a life saver, as was the big 'rock dolly' we rented there, as well.

Whilst watering the garden this morning, I counted some 130 rocks. Estimating they weigh, on average, around 275 apiece, that's about 36,000 pounds. And we still have more to get! But first, we have to make room in the front yard. It ought to be exciting trying to move this bad boys down the VERY steep hill in front of our house, where we'll be building a rockery (after years of mowing the 'cliff' as I call it).

Good times.

Saturday and Sunday wasn't all hard labor. We did take a 5-minute break, walking up to the park near the rocks' home, Madrona Playground. They had some neat little seats built into retaining walls there. Gave me ideas. :)

MOON SHINE:  Saturday evening brought the third Super Moon of 2014, and it was a beauty. The Internet is full of gorgeous super moon (perigee moon) photos, but this one - the moon along with a rocket on the launch pad in Virginia, was my favorite.

Here's what it looked like from our place, as it rose over Queen Anne hill.

Science@NASA has a super, short video explaining the 'super' moon: http://youtu.be/D1KKpeW231Y


LIFT OFF: It happened a day late (due to weather), but Orbital Sciences Corporation's Antares rocket launched with the Cygnus spacecraft atop it on Sunday. We missed the whole thing because we were busy moving boulders in the heat. We had to settle for a replay.

Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

The Cygnus craft is filled with over 3,000 pounds of supplies destined for the International Space Station. It's Orbital's second ISS run for NASA.