I'm so stoned

It's only a figurative statement.  The reality is that my property contains quite a bit of field stone.  And oak trees.  Thus I decided to name the place Stoned Oak.  You only have to go down a few inches into the soil to hit a rock and this time of year, you are quite likely to be hit by falling acorns.  Nature is dangerous - stay inside.

So the question I've been asking myself is... why bring in more stone?  The property yields enough for doing borders but last year I wanted to do a three level terrace.  I hired a landscape guy to take care of that for me.  A beast has to know his limitations.  I liked the stone he used so much that I bought more from him.  I used this to replace the rotting railroad ties bordering the flower beds.  It turned out very nice and everything matches.

However, the big project for this year though went well beyond the amateur level.  I had to call in some big guns.  I say I had to but really - I wanted to.  And I'm so glad I did.  There was a retaining wall which was falling down at the side of the house.  It wasn't really an eyesore to the casual viewer but to me it was terrible.  The idea was to rebuild the wall and perhaps add some stairs to make a pathway around that side.   Enter Devin Devine the wizard of stone.  Ok, he doesn't call himself a wizard but it sounds good to me.  I met him at a local home show and was convinced he was the guy for the job after consulting with him.  Below you'll see what he did to make an eyesore into a focal point.  Yes, I had to buy more stone.

There is a small stone wall in there but with the ivy it's similar to finding Waldo.

 

The pictures barely do it justice.  This is a sweet piece of stonework.  I'd even call it artwork.  Realize that all the stone is dry stacked.  No mortar was hurt or killed during it's production.  Devin is definitely coming back to do more art like this at the Lair.

Perfume and Valium

I have been accused of not being in touch with my feelings.  You might expect this from such a beastly character.  I've come to find out it's not true.  Maybe that was the case a number of years ago but not now.  I am actually quite in touch with them.  I don't know when the change occurred.  I'm glad to know the truth of it and not believe someone else's opinion.

Turns out I'm a bit of a romantic too.  I always considered myself pragmatic in the ways of love.  And this is true at the beginning but after my heart is in it, I do turn into a sap.  It took some insight from a friend for me to realize this.  I still hate Valentines Day and I do things on my own terms.  That's just my way.

Most of you know I'm a Black Crowes fan so I thought I'd share some lyrics with you.

and how you made this cold boy smile
from the storm you took me weathered weary & tired
how you showed me the lessons of simple things
how love made this cold boy sing

Some say that love is the poor walk of life
Some say that love is the pain of being alive
Some say there's nothing on the other side
Some trade their souls for just a good time

My sentiments exactly and a tall order to fill.  It will be tough to make this cold beast smile.  Unless you have candy, that almost always works.

All is Fair

Since moving to the area, I had yet to go to any of the local fairs which occur this time of year.  I used to go as a kid and even worked at the bottle toss stand.  Let the tosser jokes commence...

Kimberton Fire Company puts on a good fair and is right down the road.  No fireworks this year however.  I guess they ran out of cash.  The area is a bit 'rural' and the crowd reflects that nicely.  I'm being nice here but others might say they are hicks or rednecks.  I'm not going to poke fun because it's too easy and I might be a redneck.

So games were played and food was eaten but you really need to know about these....

Those are deep fried Oreo cookies people.  Yes, they are as good as they look.  Piping hot, full of sugar and dripping with fat.  Then they top it with more sugar.  Served up with an 'I could care less' attitude from some teenager stuck inside a hot trailer surrounded by boiling oil.  Did I mention the sugar?

Next up was the Great Lakes Timber Show.  Real live lumberjacks!!

Here you see a wood chopping demonstration.  He got through that log in 21 seconds.  But there was also simple chainsaw carving, crosscut sawing and log rolling.  Then he threw that axe at a wood target quite accurately.  Now I could provide him with a couple addresses of targets I'd prefer to see get the axe.  Or perhaps he could train me?

Here's the crosscut saw versus chainsaw race.  The chainsaw lost this round.  The modified chainsaw he used for round two however cut that log like butter.  I want one!  It was probably all the sugar but I found myself cheering them on.  I didn't take shots of the log roll but that woman in the picture above rocked it.  She's a pro at spinning around on a wet piece of wood. (I couldn't resist)