To finishing This Phase of the basement patio overlooking the sunny utility valley of future botanical delights.
By 2pm all the snow from Wednesday night was gone. It got up to about 50 degrees today, but was cloudy and did not feel all that warm. From what I am seeing so far it would not surprise me if there are significantly more shallow freeze thaw cycles here in the upper south than way up north in a place like Buffalo where the ground probably freezes for the winter period. Sitting on its sturdy footing of cement and dry stacked, this wall is hopefully a keeper.
Of course there was also a 3.1 earthquake this morning 25 miles SE of Asheville. Those happen every now and again.
Time will tell how good of a dry stacked stone wall builder I am or am becoming.
As I have been shoveling dirt from under the cabin to fill in and begin leveling the patio floor and start digging out the footing for the next wall, what do you suppose I am digging up? More rocks. More than I will need for this wall.
What will I build next?
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10 comments:
I love your wall! I vote for more walls! It looks particularly lovely with a bit of snow on it. How satisfying for you that you have build a wall!
Your work is looking really good from here. I'll stay tuned for the next installment -- whatever it may be.
Thanks Layanee and Marvin. In some ways I wish I could have built a wall with more craftsmanship and art in the stone, but it is what it is, working with the materials on site.
I have front gate columns to build and a vision of a stone snake a'la Andy Goldsworthy at the bottom of the hill.
I envy you your rock wall and rock supply. I could think of all kinds of rock projects. Your wall looks solid. Good job.
You seem to have loads of art and craftmanship in your rock wall. It looks like it could handle what you accurately guessed at about the freeze thaw cycle here. It is one constant of every winter. Especially hard to endure when in January it can be in the seventies, then drop to the teens the next day. Don't be fooled by a string of warm days like some of the poor plants are. It seems like spring has arrived, but it is a cruel trick by Mother Nature. Put lots of mulch, any kind, on everything. It helps. But there will still be losses.
The wall does look good, Christopher. For gardeners, patios are necessities, not luxuries, right? We always need some level, sheltered places, even if we don't use the chairs and benches very often.
I want to see your version of an Andy Goldworthy snake. We loved Rivers and Tides... it's on DVD now, but we were lucky enough to see it on the big screen.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
I love dry stacked walls but I don't like the idea of having to DIY.
I just re-found you and read you blog from start to finish. What a great read - I especially loved being able to "re-see" the temperate gardening world through the eyes of a tropical gardener. I love your cabin and wall!
Tracy @ Outside
Thanks Lisa. I think I will be having all kinds of rock projects for a while.
Frances mulch is on my list of things to do. There is a place nearby where the tree trimmers dump their chips and it is free for the taking.
Annie this patio is certainly a better choice than an under the cabin storage bin. Of course there will be storage space available too.
Mr BT try it you might like it.
Tracy you read the whole thing? It must be very very cold outside today.
It is just gorgeous. Wow. I'm with Layanee - more walls.
This reminds me of a place in Albemarle Co where someone, over a period of 20 years, started stacking rocks into surprisingly stable pillars. They were really nice, and interesting, and perhaps you need a few of them down by that garden I remember seeing at the entrance to your place. You know, something like your own person stonehenge. Put them in an orientation where people will speculate...!!
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