Above is my stone walled garden. The door is just some treated wood I had, with some screen across it. I fashioned a makeshift hinge from scrap parts.
"Dry stone" refers to construction without any mortar or cement of any kind - just laying rocks on top of one another. All of these projects are on my property in Columbia County, New York, which is about 30 miles south of Albany on the east side of the Hudson River.
My projects are purely using rocks from my 3.5 acre lands. I basically dig them up and then use them. Luckily, there are submerged old stone walls, which are the primary source of my stones.
I find stones of all sizes and shapes, which makes for interesting constructions.
This is a great way to decompress/unwind after a hard day of work. My wife thinks it's a bit nutty but everyone who visits the house "oohs and ahhs" when they see the results. It's great to have unique, hand-made, bigger-than-life structures. Plus it's a great workout. Only trouble is that I can't get out there in the winter when the ground is frozen.
During summer 2009 I dug up a new batch of rocks and I plan to build something new in spring 2010. I use basic hand tools - shovel, pickaxe, and a large metal bar for prying heavy ones. I created my own "wagon" of sorts for hauling the heavier rocks.
My stone garden from another angle. Note the cool up-jutting stones. These make it higher to keep the deer out. No rabbits have made it inside either.
A shot of my stone platform in the woods.
Here is my "monolith" under construction. The vertical gargantuan stone ( I reckon about 600- 700 pounds at least) I jacked up using a scissors car jack and various pieces of wood to steady it as it rose up. ....
The completed "monolith" from a low angle.
Here you can see both the monolith and the garden together.
Best of luck with your projects!
Questions? E-mail: kibosher (the "at sign") go.com
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If you're into building things with dry stone, you might be interested in other arts as well that are off the beaten path...
In addition to building crazy things with large rocks, I am a writer, thinker, and musician.
Get Topher Thomas music on iTunes.
Here is an example of his artwork:
