This venerable and splendid oak tree is at risk if we dig around its roots to lay a sub-base for any driveway surface, so we will have to be very careful. Let's hope that the passage of sundry heavy plant hasn't already done damage. I've taken a photo of the oak tree from the lane every time we've visited the site, for the last twelve months. Maybe I'll put them together in one album and play a slide show of the changing leaf cover, against a variety of skies. 
The green oak cladding was being put on when we attended the February site meeting. We've been assured that "It will go a very dark, dull colour in the first year or two and then it'll weather to a silvery finish". We'll wait and see.
No, I really don't think you can get that through here (not even if we remove the 'andles and the things what hold the candles) , which isn't a big problem for the digger but sadly, we won't be able to get past this pinch point with our quad, either. Such scratching of heads and elaborate engineering solutions to my naive request for a way to get from the driveway with a big load of logs, across the north wing of the house to the woodshed. Hey ho. A wheelbarrow it'll have to be.
Still, the excavation provided several loads of sub-soil to build up the terracing to the south slope, in front of the house...
where each layer was graded levelish before a long strip of geotextile membrane was laid on it, with enough left at the front edge to fold back over the next layer of soil, in an elegant pleat. This is to give stability as the plant roots penetrate. Clever stuff. As is the tamping of the face of the slope with the underside of the digger's bucket. So simple and so pleasing to watch. The face of the slope will be at about 45 degrees, so we'll need another sort of geotextile membrane, both to stop the soil from slumping down the hill in the first rainfall and to allow grass and plants to root securely.
I'm not sure why I find this so satisfying to watch. Maybe because I've been aking for a level terrace on this slope right from the start and maybe because it's pleasing to see such an unwieldy looking machine made to work so precisely.
The sliding doors from our bedroom are correct, now and the balcony isn't going to fall down, judging from these massive supports.
The chaps. They don't know it yet but I've put this photo on a mug for each of them.