deconstruction, reconstruction.

when aaron and i first came to look at what would become our new house almost a year ago, i didn't even notice the oddly placed two-tiered flagstone patio in the north-east corner of the backyard. when we came for a second visit, i stared at it for a few moments and could only think, "why?". on the advice of a friend and recent home owner, i didn't immediately rip out the patio. he said that the previous home owners had a reason for putting it there and that reason might become clear as we settled into our new home.
the reason never became clear. to be fair, i should point out that within weeks of moving into the house, we did find one magnificent use for lower flagstone patio-a fire pit! in the middle of our house warming party, i moved some central stones, dug through the black plastic and dirt and voila! insta-fire pit.
the upper level of the patio remained useless. it interfered with hunty's daily game of fetch, constantly tripped up myself, aaron and usually chomp and it just took up valuable, sunny gardening real estate.
once the rains hit, the entrance to the back yard became a mud puddle. i found myself relocating some of the larger flagstones to cover the mud in hopes that it would cut down on the mud tracked into the house by the dogs. the temporary stepping stones did make things a little more dry walking into the yard on those cold night time potty-times (for the dogs, not us) so i decided that i would make this a permanent fixture.
thanks to the previous home owner, we have a large supply of flagstone pavers readily available and by salvaging the sand beneath, i hope to be able to create a functional and attractive garden pathway for free.
so, with the ground still wet and pliable and the weather cooperating (at least part of the time) i have begun the process of deconstructing the patio and constructing a pathway.
today, the sun was shining and the temperature was just right for some back breaking yard work. when i got home from my day of dog walking, i got straight to moving the stones. i made quick work of this just piling them up as i went along.
next i had the tedious task of removing the weeds and other growth from the sand. with a simple rake and my hands i tried to remove as many weeds and roots as i could. i certainly disturbed some very unhappy worms but they'll find better living quarters. once the bulk of the growth was removed i grabbed my wheel barrow and started shoveling sand into it. i barely got one quarter of the way through the rectangle of sand when i had filled the wheel barrow to the point where i couldn't move it. oops.
i decided this would be a good stopping point and left the wheel barrow for aaron.
tomorrow i'll start the process of marking where the path will be and possibly laying out a preliminary configuration of the stones.