More with the gray

Rain overnight, snow (up to 12") in the North Country.  Now just cloudy here.  Colder predicted, but even an architect and sometimes-writer could come up with that forecast...

Pile-driver not currently at work.

On the necessity of pile-drivers

I'm not sure I mentioned this previously, but that whang-whang-whang downtown is a common, if obnoxious, part of construction around here.  Even for additions to the hospital complex just down the street from us, where it must have been large quantities of fun for the patients right next door...

Architects and engineers in Maine learn early about geology and glaciers -- if you want your buildings to stand the test of time, get a good set of test borings done on the site and a competent geotechnical report.  Your foundations will thank you for it.  Conditions can vary from solid granite to "marine clay" (blue goop suitable for pottery but not much else) within a space of ten feet.