END OF THE SEASON

 

Winter has come to Brigantine and our project is now in hiatus until Spring. Earlier this month we took a break from the stonework to focus on the river, and we cleared out all the underbrush so we could have an unimpeded view of the marshgrasses and the water. I would like to remove a few more saplings and trim out some of the lower branches, but that will have to wait until the big project is complete.   
 

 

 

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The stone above is the pride and joy of our architect who rapsodized over the indentation and dubbed this the "bird bath stone." It does indeed fill with water which gradually drains.  

 

 

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The photo below represents one of the surprising elements of stonework -- the way it evokes other places. When I conceived the idea, I thought it would be very much in keeping with New England's traditional landscapes. But as I have watched the stone steps go up -- currently a staircase to nowhere -- it is reminiscent of nothing so much as the dry and dusty landscapes of Spain, with the imposing stone architecture of the paradores.