On Saturday, February 20, we hosted a meeting of the San Diego Garden Railway Society. But first, I had a lot of work to do! I just barely got the cliff rebuilding project finished in time, then I had to clean up the layout. Excess rocks and other construction materials were all over the place, and there was some minor damage to the roadbed – plus several areas where ballast had been washed away by recent rains, and the track needed cleaning after two months of disuse. I also did some work on our raised viewing area – formerly a big dirt pile. A few weeks ago I used steel stakes and some PT 2x8’s to make steps. A couple days ago I added another layout of blocks to the small retaining wall, which can double as seating. I also put in a PVC pipe to support a large umbrella on hot days. There were a couple of large rocks along the sidewalk, plus some old bricks and smaller rocks, which I’d kept as a home for some of our local lizards. But it was in a bad location and I always worried that someone would trip over it. So I dismantled it and built a new, better looking “lizard haven” at the end of the little retaining wall of the raised viewing area. I also moved some rocks from the patio into this area. Here are a couple photos of the new improved viewing area: 
And I eliminated another smaller rockpile that was also a tripping hazard, near the patio. Then I had to clean up the patio area, which was cluttered with construction debris. One large pile of rocks at the west end of the patio had finally dwindled to the point where I could push it into a smaller heap and clear room for some chairs in the shade along the fence. 
The days leading up to the meeting had us on pins and needles
Were is the snow??
Snow? What’s that?? 
Maybe he’s referring to Coaconut Snow that goes in those foo-foo drinks with the little umbrellas. [swg]