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These past few days comprised a totally different approach to THE STAIR TASK. The approach, well thought out, involved jumping up and down and tearing hair out in clumps, while recalling all the swear words I learned in the military. It was a very worthy performance considering my age and prominent social standing, but the stone paid no attention, as is so often the case. In any event, I managed to get the top two steps done; now it remains to be seen whether they remain steps or go for a more natural slope type arrangement. The best time for such work is on a sunny August afternoon, when it is hot and muggy. Coincidentally, these were the days I chose to dig tons of dirt and lift tons of rocks... When working with rocks, one must learn to walk away once in a while and stop thinking like a rock, do something vulnerably human, stop forging through the human/rock relationship with the relentless gravity that characterizes rock; it does not sit well on humans for an extended period, tending toward a kind of adamantine stubbornness. Great for rocks, but gets intellect nowhere. Rocks tend to make fun of people who begin to think like rock, falling on their toes, pinching their fingers to remind them of their soft nature. And the higher they are lifted, the more irritable rocks get.