Progress - with some help.

So we made a trip to the Despot (aka Home Depot) and picked up some pretty nice red douglas fir boards. Our shopping list included:

The damage. (to the wallet)

12 12-ft 2x12 Douglas Fir (untreated, natural - for the sides)
10 8-ft 2x4 pine studs (for stakes/supports)
2 gal boiled linseed oil
a new cordless drill
8 corner mount decking fasteners
2 lengths of 4-ft aluminum flat stock
rags, etc etc

not including the drill, it came out to about $300 in materials.

Once home, we laid out all the boards and started staining it with linseed oil. Aidan was happy to help.

Aidan was eager to help treat the wood with Linseed Oil.

After about 2 days of staining, and letting the linseed dry, I think we're ready to get started on breaking ground. Kristi and I changed the plans a bit though: instead of two 4x12-ft beds we are going to go for four to six smaller beds (4x6). The reason being that the hill is more of a slope than I realized - so by breaking up the beds we will get a better "terracing" effect once it's done.

Tommy thinks the wood smells funny.