Who doesn't love a free wall?

A couple of months ago, I came home from work to find that my husband had dug a big trench in the yard. We have this informal shade garden on the far side of our driveway that, when we moved in, was a big tangled mass of woods and brush that hung over the sidewalk. We cleared the brush, left some trees, and planted some low-maintenance plants. It made a huge difference in the "curb appeal" of my house, and I was really proud of the results. So when I arrived home and saw a big gash dug into the side of the hill, with the grass all ripped up, I was a little... surprised. Why would my husband mess with a good thing?

However, he's a very low-key and easy-going guy with few strong opinions (read: I almost always get my way, about everything), so if he actually has a strong desire to do something, I let him go nuts. We had a conversation that went like this.

Me: Um, what are you up to?
Him: I got tired of mowing the hill over here, so I dug it up.
Me: Um, ok.

A few weeks ago, I noticed he started making piles of rocks. First little rocks, and then bigger and bigger ones. He and the dog would leave in the truck for several hours at a time, and come back with some rocks.

Me: What are those rocks for?
Him: I'm going to build a wall.
Me: OK. Where did they come from?
Him: Oh, around.
Me: Um, ok.

I think the rocks have come from the woods, the area around the power lines, and construction sites. I am not 100% sure taking the rocks was legal, but as you can see, I don't ask too many questions. In the past couple weeks, he has been building the wall in earnest. My husband is a carpenter by trade but I don't think he has any masonry experience... or any idea how to make a wall. He has been digging into the side of the slope, and packing sand between the rocks. It looks... really good. I think I want one for the other side of the driveway. We've had torrential downpours recently, and it has held up really well. When it's complete, and we have some new plantings in, I think it's a nice enhancement to our home. Of course I let my husband know that, and apologized for my earlier skepticism... :-)