Work Ahead

Our pergola measures about 11' x 15'. Tonight I set myself up for several days of hard labor by marking out a space approximately 15' x 19' around (as in, including) the pergola in which to put a brick patio. I also created space for a small path to head back to the garden.

Practically speaking, this means a lot of digging, then a lot of shoveling gravel, then some tamping, then carefully arranging the bricks to fill the space (which will likely include some cutting), then some sand and some water.

My plan is to take a couple weeks of vacation to dedicate to working on this, but there are two problems: the best digging time is right about now, but the best "slow time at work" isn't until July. What to do. What to do.