The Ennismore Arch Project ( a work in progress)

Professional Dry Stone waller Ed Grady from Kentucky joined us at the Ennismore Irish Arch project on Sunday. (Thanks Ed for stopping by. Say hello to Neil Rippingale for us )

 About Ed Grady 

Here is the wall so far. (Try to imagine the arch)

When completed (next weekend) this community arch project will make a unique landmark on the approach to Ennismore.

Pick Your Own

The Ennismore Irish Arch Project

Here is what we plan to build this weekend (and the next) on the road into Ennismore Ontario.

Upcoming Ennismore Arch Workshop

Ennismore-landscape-to-change-this-weekend (Press Release Link) 

Here are shots of the recent ground breaking ceremony involving several members of the Ennismore and District Horticultural Society including Gail Murray Hellen Young and president Sarah Sullivan along with Farley of DSWAC

My Helper

John Shaw-Rimmington ‏@ThinkinStoneman  

Farley's got the right idea today. Sitting on the new wall by the river with a cold beer watching us work . pic.twitter.com/yDrPNho9Il

Stone Alone & It Being Too Late !

Last month while driving near Elliot Lake Ontario, Mark and I saw this stone bridge off in the distance,

We stopped to have a look. 

Even though it wasn't dry laid I was impressed with the farmer's enthusiasm and bold use of boulders from his fields rather than deciding to push them into the hedge rows or just bury them.

When we got talking and I told him that we built bridges too, only without mortar or steel, he calmly said  "Well you're too late."

While it was an impressive project it's disappointing that this stone and concrete bridge still had to be supported beneath by a huge corrugated steel culvert as well in order to stay up.

I'm glad dry laid bridges stay up with 'stone alone'.

Not built last week

Photo of R on Hubb Creek Bridge

Hi John,

Happy Canada Day (weekend),

R. & I were poking around Prince Edward County yesterday and stubbled across some of your work at Karlo Estate Winery - in a chance exchange with someone earlier in the day (at Oeno Gallery / Huff Estate - great sculpture garden), the topic came up about our plans for the retaining wall this summer. The folks at Oeno Gallery quickly suggested we make the short journey to go see the bridge. Naturally we were hooked. The bridge looks wonderful and as if it was built last week - I checked out your website and was impressed to read it dates from 2007.

Cheers,

G

Reconnecting family stones

 A student of mine taking the Port Hope May 23/24 2014 workshop has since just finished the lovely stone garden wall in the above pictures. The stone material that Rodger reclaimed came from a historic limestone home which his great uncle owned and had bequeathed to Queens University.  Unfortunately they sold it to a land developer who realized it lacked proper designation.  They quickly demolished it on a Friday of a holiday weekend.  Rodger told me he feels a kindred spirit in the reuse of these family stones.  "They lay in a huge pile where the home stood."  Rodger went on to say " Kinda sad today that developers can still get away with this." 

Seems like a Geological idea.

"I think quarries should sell a blend of pink granite, white marble, and brown limestone and call it Geopolitan." 

John Scott

You could drive a truck over it.

Lunar Landscape

Today we visited one of my favourite places in the universe to load up a lot of moongate material in my truck.

Thinking Without Handbooks

This is a photo I took in Minorca a few years ago of an 'un-bonded' cheekend supporting a dry stone wall fitted in the local traditional polygonal style. The wall (built on a grade) looked to be the same age as many of the other walls in the area - at least 100 years old. I pointed it out to Patrick McAfee (author of Irish Stone Walls ) and we both stood there marvelling at the audacity of its decision to stay standing against so many of the standards introduced by the Brits. 

I think it is time we Canadian wallers consider the diversity of walling types that are not included in the DSWA handbook.

First Wall

Before

After

A former student of mine and her husband built their first dry-stone wall last week. They sent me photos and were obviously very proud of their retaining wall project which they completed in only 4 days. 

They wrote to say the four tons of stone they ordered had to be moved at least three times. 

"Plus a ton & a half of fill and new plantings,..... And as if that were not enough, Chris & I completed two other heavy stone lifting projects that Father’s day weekend: A new flower bed and ramp to the under veranda storage area. ‘Sure aren’t we ‘divils’ for punishment!" 

When I went to see the wall Darrell thanked me for the suggestion that he get a dolly to move the stones saying "It was essential in saving both our backs." 

The hand truck (dolly) was a complicated apparatus which had four wheels and folded out into a stair climbing thing and doubles for a rolling walker for when Darrell gets older.

The new wall looks terrific guys !

Country Rock Concert

Thanks to Louise Knight-Warn for photo

The Golden Country Classics Band warms up for a concert in the Venus Gate Outdoor Amphitheatre at Hart House Farm in Caledon Ontario. The Venus Gate was built back during a Celebration in Stone in 2011

Matching Sides

Right Side - completed yesterday.

Right Side - completed last fall

Kind of look like they were made for each other.

On not getting all hung up about the dry stone wall thing.

There are so many beneficial aspects to having a dry stone wall built on a rural property. A free standing wall has such a low ecological impact on the environment and provides shelter and protection to a myriad of varieties of habitat. Wildlife and various beneficial forms of plant life thrive where walls of natural stone criss cross the countryside. One would think there would be nothing to find fault with or complain about.

Unfortunately there is always someone has to come crashing along and spoil it for everybody else. Take the case of this Phoebe that flew into the wall we were building last week. He was not looking where he was going but I can imagine him muttering to himself "Who put this stupid wall here. That wasn't here before. I'm going to lodge a formal complaint at the next bird meeting. 

He was perfectly okay after Mark untangled him from the string (except for a slight bloody nose). No need for him to go flying off the handle about liability and damages, or pressing for some legal injunction to have the wall removed.

On the other hand I suppose we could put a caution sign up when were building a walls in the future…

… or maybe just attach black silhouettes of birds to our walls.

Making both sides match.

We have returned to Algoma Mills Ontario this week to complete the dry stone gate entrance we built last year. Just days before winter put a 5 month strangle hold on much of Canada we finished the north pier and wall. Now we have to do the south side.

It is sometimes the case, especially on a project like this one, using random undressed quarry material, that the selection of stone determines, to a certain degree, the final shape and proportion of the overall design. This makes building in dry laid stone a very creative process and much more enjoyable than using pre-cut blocks and being merely required to work to predetermined specifications. 

The challenge of course for us now is to make the south wall (and pier) the same shape and proportion as the side we have already built. 

Her Hands Are Smart

How-a-Stone-Mason-Carved-Out-Her-Own-Spiritual-Path

Review Question - What does 'Pulchritudinous' mean?

Mossy Toes

Yesterday I had an opportunity to spend a relaxing Father's Day. After cutting the lawn I sat back and watched the moss grow between the toes of the foot-shaped stone that came from the Goodman's property near Collingwood. It was originally presented to me by Ray and Kathy after teaching a very successful dry stone wall workshop back in June of 2006.

Collingwood Workshop 

Tree sculpture installed

The moongate built at Alton Ontario at the 2013 dry stone wall festival is now complete.

The design always was to include this tree designed and specially created by a local sculptor Dan Sinclair for this installation.http://www.ironbonsai.ca/

That sculpture was installed in the opening this week.

Thanks to Ryan Stananought for the photo