As I type this blog, I can hear the rhythmic "tap", "tap," "tap" of the stonemasons tools. Out of all the builders working on the property, the stonemasons are my favourite. Initially, I liked them when I noticed the similarities between their craft and making mosaics. Over the weeks, however, I began to appreciate the measured pace of their work and the absence of machine noise. There's something about that tapping that takes me back to medieval times!
The original owner of the property, artist Ken Johnson, must have been fascinated by rocks. They are everywhere here - you only need to pitch a garden fork and you'll run up against a rock. As well as using rocks for fences and garden borders, Ken used rocks decoratively - making them the "stars" of his creative projects. I'm honoured to be the recipient of his imaginative musings.
Here, rock is used to create a rustic look in the facade of the barn...
The original owner of the property, artist Ken Johnson, must have been fascinated by rocks. They are everywhere here - you only need to pitch a garden fork and you'll run up against a rock. As well as using rocks for fences and garden borders, Ken used rocks decoratively - making them the "stars" of his creative projects. I'm honoured to be the recipient of his imaginative musings.
Here, rock is used to create a rustic look in the facade of the barn...
… and, who could imagine a sculpture of heaped rocks would look so good?
This small round building had all of us stumped as to its purpose. The interior is dark and empty (except for being home to a mass of spiders), and spans only a few metres in diameter. Some suggested it was a Scandinavian-style sauna, but I assured Greg it was simply a folly - imagining Ken to be as fanciful as Marie Antoinette in building garden structures for pure delight. One day the lawnmower man came and dismantled my theory. Apparently, this rather odd building was a chicken pen!
We feel it's our responsibility to honour the past and patch up the stone fences that are falling down. But we also want to add something new and have requested some stone steps to link the house to the proposed tennis court area. Here are the pics of the workers and their craft.
And here's a little quizz…… the first one to guess the name of Andy's dog can come for a weekend to stay in the cottage!