While having finished my PDC I've had to slow down a bit, waiting for a few things to roll in place to start actual design, lets say it's a bit a lack of money that has taken me to a halt. But I haven't despaired and done what I can, with, its the case to say, my own bare hands.

So this last weekend I went to La Scoscesa and decided to take action, in my way.

I've a huge part of the boundary of the farm which is made up of dry stone retaining walls. 

Photo 1 this is an example

First thing we learn is to favor access to our land so thats where I started from. Last year I was waiting to enroll for the Online PDC with Geoff Lawton, as I have explained in other posts, so I started working on some small sections of wall, just to get the hands on the rocks.

One thing that I have learned from repairing or building dry stone walls, is that when I was a kid I used to build constantly small dwellings, towers or walls with flat stones, they were big enough for a mouse, and today this helps me so much. I guess many of us, or at least thats what I like to think don't want to feel lonely on this one, when youngsters passed hours building stuff it was a form of free Lego that gave more liberty and enhanced more creativity.

This is the first section I worked on last year, right side of the access point to the upper section of the farm. The big issue in some cases is just to clean up the site, as can be seen in the first photo.

Photo 2 there is a wall here

The next photo's show how I intervened. Cleaning out the overgorwn trees, collecting fallen stones, and preparing the base for reconstruction.

Satisfied by the first results, I moved on, concentrating on other small chores, cutting and collecting wood. And this spring I concentrated on the reapir of the access road.

The road has been abandoned for years, and after cleaning the overgrown trees and brambles, I had to enlarge the fallen track so I could pass with a small truck. Two types of interventions were undertaken. The first raking away the fallen soil from above the wall, the next photo shows this:

by hand the work was very long but it can be viewed well in this small section.

The second type of work was to rebuild a retaning wall under the fallen road filled with the soil I dug from the first type of work.

above view, at the end resulting in nearly a metre of width on the road

Finished work

View from under the road

The wall has passed the the trial with the weight of a mini excavator that I had to call in for the following work. After having seen that digginng up by hand the fallen soil from the top the wall was extremely energy wasting I had the following work done by an excavator. In the next two photos nearly from the same angle one can see the before and after.

One can see how much cut was done by the excavator, and how many rocks from the fallen wall had been covered by soil that had fallen from the top of it. The upper slope was cut so that the soil doesn't fall off to easily, I should seed it quickly I know, but the lack of water on the land for now just made me wait for that

So I started to clean up the site and the following photos show the work that was achieved.

The rebuilt wall is higher than the slope of the hill so any soil that comes down will fill the back of the wall thats made up of small rocks and soil.

The end result was great in my view, in two mornings, eight hours of total work on the wall, this is the result. What have I achieved with this work? more experinece in mastering the art of dry stone building. I know my walls are horrible for an experts look but if we don't get our hands on the rocks, there will be little difference in my expertise. The second thing I got from the work was the fun, and that sums up for a good 80% of why I love teaming with nature, its just pure fun. At the end you're tired but satisfied, and no other work can give me that.

It's just a section, still so much has to be done, nearly 300 metres of wall define the boundary, but section after section, maybe one day with the help of some volunteers or expert workers, it will be finished.

I think many of us know the feeling I have when I walk passed those walls and I feel I know every single rock, I've felt it, I know how it was placed, you connect even with rocks when work with them, or at least I do.

Sunday a couple came by for a walk a long the road and the most beautiful thing they told me was: Oh so it's you that has been rebuilding the walls, and cleaning the road, its so nice, thank you. 

And that in a way is a first step to my care of people, sharing beauty!