Hey Kids, Let’s Build a Wall!!
When we bought the house in 2018, the purchase included some parcels of land that belonged to the house but are not contiguous to the house (historically, the house once “controlled” a great deal of land in the vicinity). The house sits “above” these parcels, which are separated both by topography (we live in a “river canyon” (quite a small river) and these lots are closer to the river below the house)and by roads that didn’t exist when the house was first built. The photo above was taken from one of the lower parcels, looking towards the house (with the turrets and much of the front of the house covered with what looks like ivy).
On one of the lower lots there is a large, multi-trunk walnut tree, a few other walnut trees, and other trees and shrubs, an old chemin/path that leads up toward the house and the remains of an old stone wall.
Sallie (aka the “General”) wanted to “recover” the chemin and grounds on this lot from many decades of neglect and overgrowth of vines, weeds and other “mauvaise herbes.” It can be a lovely little park for the neighborhood. There was a lot of bushwacking, mowing, trimming and hauling to be done. Along the way, we unearthed some large pieces of stone that had been stashed in the treeline near the house. With the help a neighborhood with a vintage 4 wheel drive Citroen and some other heavy equipment, we got the stones placed around the big walnut tree and things started to take shape.
We talked to a few artisans about the wall restoration project and got proposals/bids. In the end, we chose to work with our trusted stone mason and his crew, since we knew they would use traditional methods and materials. The only “problem” was getting on the schedule (good artisans are booked far into the future in this area) and having the weather cooperate. After what seemed like a too long waiting period, the rebuilding process began in earnest.
