Back Yard Project

I have a fun but hard project going in our back yard. I decided it would be really cool to build a pathway along the border of our yard to eliminate the dirt/bark which is a mess with the dogs. My idea was to do a 3ft(ish) boarder and then fill in the rest of the dirt area between the path and the grass with rock. The path will then be a good place to put pots and stands for pots that are high enough that the dogs cannot kill the plants with their pee. All very good ideas if you have money to spend but of course we don't so it was just a plan. Then I started telling Melanie about it and she said I could have all the bricks I want that they got from a friend but never got around to using. So the cost of my project will just be the sand to lay the bricks onto, not bad!

I have began to excavate a 4inch deep bed for the path. Hard work (I am sore!)but I am making progress. The one thing I did not think about is what I am going to do with all that dirt. Umm.... Anyone know any good illegal dumping spots around Portland? Ha, ha. The bricks came from an old chimney and need some cleaning up but are in good shape. I took one load from Mel's last Saturday and will do another load soon. Not sure how great the end result will be; I have read up on how to build a path on-line and I am trying to keep it simple for myself. I am keeping an eye out on Craig's list for free or cheap masonry sand and river rock. A few weeks ago someone was giving away a bunch of river rock but there was no phone number on the ad and we did not want to drive all the way there if it was already gone. Hmm, maybe someone will want my dirt!