Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Stone Work

We had two whole days without rain.  The temperature was in the 70s.  I've been slightly depressed by the news.  Twitter always reports the big news stories a day or two before they hit the news programs so I knew the Aid Flotilla was coming and I knew Israel wasn't going to let it in.  I'm starting to get really hammered by the Gulf oil spill story.  I'm starting to get depressed for President Obama.  The Bush chickens are all now coming home to roost and it's a foul mess landing on Obama's shoulders.  I feel sorry for him, sorry for the people of the Gulf.  I'm horrified by the confrontation between aid workers and the Israeli soldiers.  So I took a couple of days off.  I didn't even check email.  No twitter, no blog, no news.

I started unearthing the stone work I did twenty years ago.  And I mean that literally.  For almost twenty years no one has been clearing leaves and other debris from the alley side of the little house. So all that debris has turned into soil that's been collecting on the old stone walkway.  I began a small archeological dig and took pictures as I worked.  I also began adding stones to the path to the main house, enlarging the area covered by brick.  I have no idea why doing stone work is so enjoyable for me.  When I began doing the this work back here twenty years ago I found it both satisfying and somewhat meditative.  It's hard work but I love the final result.  That's a good thing since I have a huge pile of bricks and all the work I did all those years ago has been shifted as tree roots have grown under the pavers, lifting them and making tripping hazards here and there.  Making my patio area larger and better is going to be my summer project.  Here are the photos of my efforts so far.