My grandfather was a baker in Cincinnati in the very early 1900s. He and my grandmother owned and operated a neighborhood bakery in the Clifton Heights neighborhood just 400 feet from where I was born.

When he retired, he decided to build an eight-unit apartment building just down the street from the bakery. He named it Valley View because it had an amazing view of the Mill Creek valley. I never met him, because he was sent to heaven 15 years before I was born.

There are quite a few pictures in family albums of him standing next to limestone walls, arches and even a stone fountain he built with his own hands in the gardens of the building. How he managed to build such magnificent structures is a bit of a mystery.

Keep in mind there were no YouTube videos to watch, probably no good DIY books at the local library or DIY shows to watch on cable TV. Somehow, somewhere, my grandfather gleaned the information to build stone walls and arches himself. You can do it with his inspiration and a little help from me.

Almost any stone is suitable as a building material for exterior walls, arches and fountains. After all, the rock most likely withstood thousands of years of exposure before it was quarried or hand-picked from a road cut or stream bed.

My grandfather used pieces of fossiliferous limestone abundant in Cincinnati. Limestone is an excellent material to use. There are thousands of American buildings that use fine-grained limestone for their facades. It is extremely durable. Whenever building with stone outdoors, it is wise to install a solid foundation or footing. If you live where the ground freezes, make sure the bottom of this footing is below frost level.

The footing helps distribute the load of what you are building onto the ground below. I prefer my footings to be cast in concrete at least 8 inches thick with 5/8 inch diameter steel bars every 2 feet down the center to ensure the footing does not collapse or do not bend. The footing should be no less than 2 feet wider than the wall or arch structure you are going to build.

If you’re building a retaining wall 4 feet high or less, you’ll rarely get in trouble. The problem with retaining walls is that the overturning force increases at a higher rate the higher the wall goes. Any wall over 6 feet high should be designed by a structural engineer who has extensive experience in producing retaining wall plans.

Laying stone can be tricky, and I recommend building a small test structure first to get used to it. Make sure the stone is clean and dust free so the Portland cement mortar will adhere well. Most stones you work with are slightly harder to work with than brick. The brick has an aspiration. That is, the brick absorbs water from the mortar quite quickly. This allows the mortar to stiffen a few minutes after the brick is laid.

This doesn’t always happen with stone, so you often have to make the mortar mix a bit drier. When my grandfather worked with limestone, his mortar mix almost certainly looked like mashed potatoes, not applesauce.

I recommend you use a solid mortar that is one part Portland cement, three parts medium or coarse sand, and one-half part hydrated lime. Hydrated lime will make the mortar a little more sticky and greatly increase the strength of the mortar over time. All three ingredients are quite inexpensive.

If you have the time and want extra adhesion between the mortar mix and the stone, you can coat the top of each stone with cement paint just before applying the mortar mix. Most people won’t have the patience to do this. Cement paint is just a mixture of Portland cement and plain water. You mix the two together to achieve the consistency of regular latex paint.

Stone arches are not that difficult to build. The internet is full of videos and photographs of the type of arch shape you need to build using plywood or oriented strand board. The shape of the arch should be as wide as the stones used to create the arch.

The walls on which the arch rests must be substantial. You can again get clues, advice and inspiration from the many photographs of arches on the internet. You must realize that gravity pulls on the arch and wants to pull the vertical walls below. Sturdy walls will withstand Mother Nature’s desire to bring walls to the ground for many, many decades.

To give you an idea of ​​the size of the walls, take a look at the limestone arch that graces the entrance to Avon Fields Golf Course in Cincinnati pictured with this column in line. The arched opening is about 3 feet wide, and the walls on either side of this opening are also a little wider than 3 feet. This stone arch has been in place for nearly a century with minimal maintenance, and it still looks stunning.

Before starting your project, I invite you to look at hundreds of photographs of stone walls, arches, etc., to get an idea of ​​what is possible. Pay particular attention to how the mason cut and fitted the stones into the arch. I know you can do it. Just think about the company in which you will work with your project!

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Stone wall tree species composition

Families and Genera of Stonewall Trees

There were 96 stonewall trees belonging to 6 genera and 5 families in Macao. Among them, the Moraceae and ficus occurred most frequently, both reaching 85 times, or 88.5% (Table 1). He showed that Moraceae, a kind of family with tropical distribution, was dominant in stonewall tree communities, which meant that stonewall tree species in Macao appeared distinctly tropical in nature.¹⁸.

Stone wall tree species

There were 16 species of stone-walled trees in Macau, including Tomentose bridelia, Celtic sinensis, Eriobotrya japonica, Ficus altissima, F. benjamina, F.elastica, F. hispid, F. microcarpus, F.pandurate, F. subpisocarpa, F. tinctoria subspecies. gibbosa, F. rumpii, F. variegata, F. virens, Leucaena leucocephalaand Trema cannabina (Fig. 2).

Based on the frequency of occurrence of various tree species, the frequency was concentrated in the range of 1-5%. Among them, Ficus microcarp had the highest frequency, reaching 58 times, with a frequency of 60.4% (Fig. 3). This tree species is hardy, adaptable and fast growing, which is the main population of ficus¹⁹.

Stone wall trees in historic center of Macau

The historic center of Macau, covering an area of ​​approximately 2.8 km²is the heart of historical and cultural heritage of Macau, which plays an important role in the cultural heritage of the whole world¹⁸. The historic center of Macau provides valuable historical and cultural resources that allow Macau to develop into a world tourist center²⁰.

A total of 14 plots were located in the historic center of Macao (Fig. 4), with 45 stone wall trees, accounting for 47.9% of the total number of survey trees. Among them, Jardim Luís de Camões has the largest number of trees with 9 stone walls. The park, built in the mid-18th century, is one of the oldest gardens in Macau and has the largest number of old trees in Macau. The park had provided good temporal and environmental conditions for the growth of the Stonewall trees.

According to Decree No. 56/84/M of the Printing Department of the Macao Special Administrative Region, real estate which represents the creation of man or the development of nature or technology and which has a culture are considered tangible cultural property. The appearance of the stone-wall tree was inextricably linked with the ancient wall-building techniques of the time, which was of great significance for the study of technological development and the ecological landscape of the historic center of Macao. . The concept of “historic urban landscape” was proposed by Zhang Song²⁰, who argued that cities were continuously evolving organisms, emphasizing respect for the interrelationship between natural and man-made environments. The trees of the stone walls of the historic center of Macau have been closely associated with the local culture and ecology and must be preserved as an important urban landscape.

Symbiotic relationship between the tree and the stone walls

As shown in the table below (Table 2), most rock wall trees were found to have root systems that were not only superficially attached to the wall, but also extended upwards or the bottom of the wall. Specifically, ficus spp. whose strong root system could closely mosaic with the wall, thus forming a strong symbiosis.

Stone walls can mimic traditional characteristics of adapting to nature to allow spontaneous establishment of a diverse plant assemblage. Besides plant diversities in terms of species composition, growth form and biomass structure, stone walls can support a massive collection of urban fauna and provide various ecosystem services. It is highly recommended to create a modern urban design to incorporate the stone wall landscape as an integral part of the naturalistic or ecological design.

Vision for the Establishment of the Stone Tree Trail System in Historic Macau

The traditional street environment in the Macao Peninsula is a kind of distinctive urban landscape, which can highlight the specificity and value of the urban context. The combination of stone walls, trees and walls, together with traditional streets, form a spatial urban landscape. Starting from the location of the stone wall tree landscape, the points and lines are forward-looking to promote the establishment of a comprehensive stone wall tree landscape trail system (Fig. 5), so that the public can use the existing biological resources to have a better knowledge of the territory in which they live.

Since 2012, the Macau government has been implementing the “Walk along Macau Street” project, which aims to study and explore the history and culture of Macau’s streets through an in-depth cultural tourism route and promote it at different levels of society. The establishment of the Stonewall Tree Trail Network can build on this project to raise public awareness of the protection and cultural identity of the Stonewall Tree Landscape in various ways. For example, a route design contest, a photography contest and exhibition, the recruitment of “Stonewall tree protection ambassadors” and other forms of participation, so that the public can complete the “change of role” in the high degree of such participation – from “spectators” to “passers-by”.

Results of the survey of associated plant species

Species composition and frequency occurrence

The survey showed that there were 101 plant species associated with Stone Wall Trees in Macau, divided into 88 genera and 51 families. Most of the associated plants belonged to the Euphorbiaceae, Compositae and Araceae.

There were 85 species with a frequency of 1 to 5 times, representing 84.2% of the total species. A total of 11 species appeared 11–15 times, accounting for 4.0% (Fig. 6). There were a total of 4 species which appeared more than 15 times. They were Cocculus orbiculatus, Pteris cretica, Paederia scandensand Pyrrosia adnascens. Most associated species only appeared 1-5 times, indicating that most plants were selective and accidental for the growing conditions of the stone wall sites.

Composition of life form

Herbaceous plants with 37 species, accounting for the percentage of 52.3% (Fig. 7), were dominant in the associated plant species because the seeds of herbaceous plants are lighter and can be spread on the surface of the wall by the force of the wind.

Similarity analysis of plants associated with Macau

In order to compare the similarity of associated plant species in different environments, the sample sites surveyed for this study were divided into three categories: motorized pathways, non-motorized pathways, and parkland habitats (Table 3). According to Jaccard’s principle of similarity, S_I is extremely dissimilar when it is 0.00 to 0.25, and the analysis showed that the similarity of companion plant species in the three habitats was extremely dissimilar. Therefore, this indicated that companion plants in different habitats had obvious diversity and uniqueness.

Although it almost always looks exactly like solid stone, stone cladding is usually just a refined layer of natural or man-made stone. This layer is applied to a non load-bearing wall and will give the impression that the wall is made of solid stone.

Cladding in general is the simple practice of layering materials for better thermal insulation, better weather protection, or aesthetic appeal – as is often the case with stone cladding. Probably the most common type of siding is wood plank siding, of which there are several types such as fiber cement, aluminum, vinyl, and wood, to name a few. Learn about common types of Weatherboard siding and what it can do for you. here.

Stone cladding in particular is a great option for transforming interior or exterior walls. It is suitable for both new construction and renovation since it simply covers the existing walls. The category encompasses many types of stone, including granite, sandstone, limestone, marble, quartz, and slate.

There are two main styles of stone cladding: cladding panels (easy installation – best suited for machine split textured designs) or individual slip veneer (can be customized to wall dimensions, looks more authentic, harder to install and more expensive).

Stone cladding is one of the more expensive cladding materials, so it may not be the right choice for those on an extremely strict budget. Including installation prices, stone veneer will cost between $230 and $310 per square meter depending on the type of stone you purchase.

For those who like the look of stone but cannot afford the authenticity of natural stone materials, you might want to consider stone tiles instead. The main thing to consider when considering installing stone cladding is your budget; it will determine the type, volume and quality of stone material you can purchase.

Stone coating is a complicated process with several stages that is best done by professionals. You may be able to DIY if you have experience installing stone cladding, but for the hobbyist this is definitely a process to be left to the proper contractors. Improperly installed stone cladding systems deteriorate much faster, can be hazardous to building occupants, and could even compromise the structural integrity of the building.

Stone Wall Cladding Design Ideas: Top 5

5. Exterior stone cladding – Facade

Stone cladding has a number of practical benefits outdoors as well as its supreme aesthetic appeal. Particular benefits of exterior stone cladding include; it’s durable, versatile, low maintenance and sure to increase the value of your home.

Eco Outdoor offers a wide range of natural stone cladding materials with easy application to all suitable surfaces. Their dry stone wall, pictured above, is particularly beautiful as it has a natural, rugged elegance reminiscent of authentic Italian farmhouses. You can browse their huge range here, from Alpine stone options to Baw Baw to Jindera. Request a quote for a price estimate.

4. Interior Stone Cladding – Feature Wall

A feature wall is the perfect way to enjoy the benefits of a natural stone aesthetic without having to go through the expensive process of remodeling your entire home.

Stone walls bring the rustic and simplicity of natural living into your home while allowing for the luxury of modern living.

They can be accented with shelves displaying pictures or plants, or if you really want to emphasize the mix of nature and modern, you can even choose to mount your TV on the feature wall.

There are many styles, colors and textures available. The image above is a collage of some of the coating samples available from Stone and Rock. Browse their extensive range here or you can visit their showrooms in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, East Queensland and Northern New South Wales.

3. Fireplace

Leaning into the rustic mountain lodge feel of a stone clad wall will create a beautiful natural experience that will remind you of simpler times. A fireplace wall is the perfect way to do this, and it can be installed indoors or outdoors.

Veneer stone is a popular choice for fireplace stone wall cladding and their designs are all inspired by native Australian stone. Veneer Stone is an Australian company whose coatings are exhibited in Melbourne, Sydney, Darwin and Perth.

You can browse their beautiful gallery of feature wall images for inspiration here or contact for a quote.

2. Bathroom

The bathroom is a great opportunity to bring in raw materials in contrast to the pristine tiles and smooth surfaces of typical contemporary bathrooms.

Because bathrooms are often quite small compared to the rest of the house, it’s also an opportunity for those on a tight budget to add a touch of elegance to their home without breaking the bank, because the tiles of stone are perfect for use in the bathroom as they can be easily sealed and waterproofed.

It is also available in abundance. You can purchase the Gioi Greige Stack Matt porcelain tile featured above for just $55 per square meter. Installing stone look tiles is much easier than veneer or genuine stone and you will likely be able to save money on a contractor as it can be a DIY project.

1. Living room

The living room is one of the most important rooms in the house and the room your guests are likely to see the most. A stone wall is a breathtaking addition to any living room and will make it easier to connect with your guests as it represents a desire to return to a simpler, less technological era.

Luxe Interiors is particularly known for its skill in styling stone wall coverings with elegant rustic colors and furnishings. Browse their galleries here.

Aussietecture is also a high quality supplier of interior and exterior stone. You can purchase the natural sandstone cladding pictured above here for $105 per square meter (currently on sale) or browse their natural stone wall gallery for more options.

At Monday’s planning council meeting, council voted unanimously that a subdivision developer is within its rights to eliminate plans to rebuild a 400-foot stone wall behind three houses in the Foxhollow Road development off Pond Street.

The stone wall was to serve in part as a permanent building barrier (BIP) behind lots 10 to 12 to discourage encroachment into the adjoining forest and buffer zones. However, Engineer Eric Dias of Tunison Dias, representing the claimant, FTC Foxhollow, noted that there is already a rock-covered slope and that there are conservation markers on the trees – satisfying the Conservation Commission. The wall must have protruded a few meters from the bottom of the slope, just in front of the tree line. Adding to the concern there are septic systems at the bottom of the slope as they have been moved from the front of the lots.

The owners have expressed their support for the elimination of the wall plan.

Planning board chairman Gary Trendel said he was more concerned with procedure than anything else.

“I struggle with this a bit because the drawings show that the wall needs to be moved,” Trendel said. “At the same time, I recognize that there are some issues. First, I’m not sure it affects the decision criteria. … Second, the reality was that even if we asked them to build this stone wall, they would build it with new stones which they had to bring by truck, they would build it on a septic tank on three plots of private property which I did not don’t necessarily want the stone wall.

“So I feel like as a board we are in a difficult position here, because although we like to preserve the stone walls, we are also in a position where it doesn’t seem there. have – to me anyway – there doesn’t seem to be a good result.

Senior planner John Gelcich noted that despite the wall shown on the plan, it is not covered by a bylaw.

“There is no requirement in the regulations to provide for stone walls,” he said. “So we really need some kind of regulatory flaw to have a no vote on this. If it was a condition, it is something different, because a condition is something that the applicant essentially would have agreed to do. But there was no condition for requiring the installation of stone walls. It is therefore difficult to apply.

Charles Dauchy of the Hopkinton Area Land Trust said his organization also saw no problem removing the wall from the plan. The woodlands are owned by the Sudbury Valley Trustees, ceded to them as part of the open space preservation development.

Council discusses design standards

Following Foxhollow’s public meeting, the board discussed the possibility of making a proposal to the community preservation committee for affordable housing and considering possible changes to the design standards for the subdivisions.

“I hope everyone’s wheels are spinning a bit here,” Trendel said towards the end of the meeting. “I think we’ve all been frustrated at times by things that we end up approving of that we don’t really feel good about. I think we have opportunities to make updates here and to do some updates that I think will help us. [Member Fran DeYoung’s] the comments also weigh heavily on me, as the developers are usually in the driver’s seat. How can we make updates that help better align what the developers are offering with what we think makes a good community and good development.

This discussion was to continue on January 31.

One of the oldest building techniques in existence, dry stone wall (sometimes also referred to as a drystack) involves building walls by simply stacking stones on top of each other. Unlike brick walls, which require wet mortar to hold them together, dry stone walls do not require mortar. These walls simply rely on gravity, as well as the skills of those who build them, for their stability.

In fact, stability is one of the most impressive characteristics of these structures. Well-constructed dry stone walls can be expected to last over 100 years and some even to last 200 years.

This impressive fact, along with several other advantages and their aesthetic appeal, has resulted in an increase in the popularity of dry stone walls here in Australia. These are old examples of this construction method in this country, although there are usually not as many examples here as elsewhere. Maybe this current wave of popularity will change that.

This is because many people are starting to use dry cell batteries for things like stone cladding, dry stone retaining wall, dry stone wall cladding, or a feature wall in an urban setting.

The history of dry stone walls

A well-known and beloved feature of the rural landscapes of Great Britain and Ireland, the dry stone walls date back to the Neolithic Age. The first copies date from around 5,000 BC. However, dry stone walls are not limited to England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. They were also part of the Mayan civilization in South America and can be found all over Europe, Greece and also in Alpine regions.

The pros and cons of dry stone walls – the positives

Appearance – sturdy and almost incredibly rustic, dry stone walls have a timeless aesthetic appeal. On top of that, these walls hold considerable cultural significance to communities in Great Britain and Ireland, the nations in which they are best known.

Ecological – dry stone walls involve the use of readily available natural materials. In cases where the walls are no longer useful, they can simply be deconstructed and the stones used elsewhere. In addition to this, dry stone walls provide habitats for mosses, lichens, etc. They are part of the ecosystem and encourage inner life and more.

Longevity – As already mentioned, evidence of the first dry stone walls has been found more than 5,000 years after their construction and one can expect such walls built today to last a century or more. There is no doubt about its impressive longevity.

Materials – Anytime you build a dry stone wall or fence, there is one thing you can be sure of. You only need one material, stones.

The pros and cons of dry stone walls – the negatives

Work time – Dry stone walls take a long time to build and for this reason they are relatively expensive.

Dependence on skilled labor – In addition to this, dry stone walls are highly dependent on the skills of those doing the work. Poorly constructed dry stone walls simply won’t last. They will collapse.

Applications are limited – Traditionally, dry stone walls were primarily used to manage livestock. While it does this job well, it is limited in terms of fence height. Anything larger than about 1.5 meters is not possible. A larger structure built using this technique would not be stable or secure.

Dependent on a good supply of stone – As mentioned, dry stone walls usually involve locally sourced stones. The problem is, if that supply runs out or just isn’t there, the job stops.

How to build a dry stone wall

Step 1 – Choose the location for your wall and mark it using stakes, string or a similar method. Here it is important to check the width of your larger stones first. This will determine the width of your wall.

2nd step – Dig a six-inch trench that extends an additional six inches beyond where your wall will stand on all sides. Fill this trench with 10 cm of crushed stone as a foundation.

Step 3 – Sort your stones and place them in piles according to their size: small, medium and large. The purpose of this step is to make sure that you are using stones of a similar size side by side and that you also have a good amount of small stones to use as needed to fill in the gaps.

Step 4 – Keeping in mind that the lower levels of the wall should be slightly wider than the others, select stones for your lower layer. Choosing stones of similar size, place them side by side as close to each other as possible and as carefully as possible. Fill in the spaces between these stones with smaller stones. The idea is that all of these stones fit together as tightly as possible, almost like a puzzle.

Step 5 – Once you’ve completed your first horizontal layer, you’re ready to move on to the next layer. Follow the directions from step 4 as you slowly build your wall higher. When you start to lay stones on top of each other, it is important to always make sure that one stone is covered in pairs, much like a normal brick wall. Using this technique maximizes strength and ensures the integrity of your dry stone wall.

Step 6 – Once your wall has reached the desired height, you are ready to lay the top stones, called capstones. This is the only time you have to use mortar. Do this making sure to keep the mortar about six inches from the edge of the wall.

How much does a dry stone wall cost?

As mentioned, traditionally the high cost of dry stone walls was mainly due to the large amount of manpower it requires. In places where an immediate supply of stones is not available, you should add the cost of their supply.

Generally in Australia you can expect to pay around $ 300 per meter for a dry stone wall. And that’s quite a steep price for a retaining wall, siding, etc.

a last farewell place in poland

architects jakub turbasa and bartÅ‚omiej pyrzyk were commissioned to design a new chapel in the old cemetery in rychwaÅ‚d, poland. Dubbed the “Last Farewell Chapel”, the project arose out of the desire of the local community to create a suitable last place as a means of continuing the centuries-old, slowly passing tradition of bidding farewell to the deceased at home.

the project was recognized as the winner of the 2021 edition of the “architektury salon” competition organized by the regional chamber of architects of malopolska of the republic of poland. it was also nominated as a project of the 2021 edition of the “2021 prize of the year” organized by the association of Polish architects.

all images are courtesy of jakub turbasa

go back to its roots

located right next to an ancient cemetery, the chapel emerges as an extension of the pre-existing baroque complex with the minor basilica of st. nicolas. this new structure consists of a prayer space and ancillary rooms, including a room with a cold room for the bodies, technical rooms, a laundry room, public toilets, etc.

the simplicity of the architecture derives from the archetypal and traditional forms of the gable roof chapels, which also appear in the region. the design turns to the origins of the construction of sacred objects, while constituting their contemporary reinterpretation, which is expressed by large triangular glazing, walls “suspended” inside, the synthesis of details, etc. the architecture of the chapel is characterized by the choice of natural materials such as wood or stone. contact with noble and natural matter opens a person, through their senses (touch, smell, acoustics, etc.), to the multidimensionality of space as well as to a deeper cognition and experience.

functional and symbolic architecture

the structure consists of two parts which adequately express the function related to the spaces of the sacrum and the profanum. the first refers to the prayer space – the chapel, which clearly communicates its function through its distinctive form. the second, covered in greenery, rises from the ground along a delicate arch, encompassing the aforementioned accompanying pieces. as for him, it forms a natural limit between the zone of the cemetery with the vault and the carpark, the equipments, as well as the zone of the caravans. the visual distinction between these areas is also underlined by the material of the facades – polished sandstone (chapel) and raw (accompanying parts).

due to the function and character of the building, the design concept echoes the memory of the “paschal path” – the last moments of the life of christ – from the passion, through death, to the resurrection, which s ‘symbolically express in architecture.

Passion, isolation, loneliness and death

During the first stage, where individuals cross the boundary of consecrated land (the cemetery boundary) and make their way to the main entrance to the chapel, the person experiences progressive tranquility and concentration. thanks to the green stone walls that protrude from the ground (and hide the accompanying rooms below), we isolate ourselves more and more from the outside world, reaching the reality of the profanum. after crossing the threshold of the chapel, a person finds himself in a hallway filled with darkness. the walls and the reinforced concrete ceiling are black, which aims to underline the impression of immensity, infinity and “immateriality” of a place where all outlines are lost. the severity of this place expresses the aforementioned stage of passion – loneliness, suffering, Jesus’ prayer in the olive grove.

at the bottom of the perspective of the chapel and also at eye level, we can see a filigree cross which expresses the next stage: death. the historic wooden sculpture of christ was obtained from a desecrated church in belgium. then, through the area of ​​darkness, the visitor enters the real prayer area, taking shape as a luminous space that symbolizes the hope of the Christian vocation (according to the Christian faith, life does not end with death ). in the place where people gather around the body of the deceased, their attention is not focused on the reality of death, but on the prospect of eternal life. this is why the architecture of the interior naturally guides the gaze upwards and towards the light.

MATTAPOISETT – Stone walls for everyone!

The Mattapoisett Land Trust held a stone wall construction workshop on Sunday morning November 14th.

About twenty people came to attend the lesson and try their hand at assembling the stones to make a neat and stable structure.

Land Trust Clerk Peter Davies led the workshop, guiding participants through the process of selecting stones, placing them in place, and filling the spaces with smaller stones.

Davies said he had been building stone walls as a hobby for about 35 years, although he never did so professionally.

“To me, it feels like a kind of puzzle where there is no right solution,” he said. “The more you do it, the more confidence you have in yourself when you see a stone that it will fit.”

Davies said he enjoyed building the walls with his hands and a few simple tools, like a lever to move stones and wooden blocks to raise them.

“I was a serious climber when I was younger and I always thought there was a connection,” he said.

When Davies finished explaining the process, the group of volunteers got down to work ‘freeing’ the stones embedded in the trailhead and arranged them into a low wall that will lead visitors from the parking lot to the Oliver entrance. Wendell Holmes, Jr. Preserve.

“Great Tom Sawyer-ing,” said one participant lightly.

“We will do everything to recruit volunteers,” replied another member of the Lands Trust.

Rochester Hills Museum press release at Van Hoosen Farm:

October 8, 2021

Event: Stone Wall Pumpkin Festival

Dates: Saturday October 9

Time: 10 a.m.-4 p.m., pumpkin carving and fall activities; AND 7-9 p.m., pumpkin lighting

Location: The Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm

Cost *: $ 5 / member, $ 10 / non-member, free for children under 2 years old.

* No pre-registration. Only on the day of ticket sales.

Come and enjoy the Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm’s flagship event – the Stone Wall Pumpkin Festival. Daytime activities include food, pumpkin bowling, shows, crafts, a Rochester Hills fire truck and more! Guests are invited to carve a pumpkin and place it on the stone walls surrounding the Museum property and return in the evening to see all the pumpkins lit up! Can you help us beat our record of 1,011 lighted pumpkins at the same time? Scarecrows made by local organizations will also be on display.

The entrance fee includes 1 pumpkin. The museum provides stencils and carving tools, but guests are encouraged to bring their own carving tools from home.

The nighttime pumpkin lighting runs from 7-9 p.m. and a financial donation of any amount is requested to support the Rochester Area Neighborhood House so we can all be good neighbors!

Thanks to our main sponsor – Genisys Credit Union!

The Rochester Hills Museum is located at 1005 Van Hoosen Road, off Tienken Road between Rochester and Dequindre Roads.

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This press release was produced by the Rochester Hills Museum at the Van Hoosen Farm. The opinions expressed here are those of the author.

The first wave of the pandemic hit Connecticut hard, but lately things have gotten better. Thanks to emigration from New York, real estate is warmer than at any time since before the Great Recession. The reasons New Yorkers move to suburban Connecticut vary. Many have felt that a trip of an hour or more is more tolerable if you only go five days a month instead of five days a week. Others felt they might as well not have to regularly see empty-eyed homeless people fondling each other. Some had planned to come here anyway, and the prospect of another six months stuck in a two-bedroom apartment with loved ones made the schedule quicker.

Old wisdom is that New York’s suburbs, no matter how attractive they are in terms of schools or other “low-but-solid” attractions, cannot compete with the city culturally. I wonder if this is still true. Many of us left the suburbs years ago because of our indifference to literature, live music, theater and independent cinemas. We might not have gone to shows every week, but we liked the idea of ​​being around people who were going. Now, however, the choice between suburban and urban life, as far as high culture is concerned, looks less like indifference against reverence than indifference against hostility. Urban movements such as #MeToo and Black Lives Matter have put high culture on the defensive. You don’t find literal attacks on the City Beautiful movement’s legacy of greatness in public art in the suburbs. It is also less painful when a museum or community library operates in apology tour mode than when a world-class cultural institution does. These acts of high culture hostility appear to be micro-versions of the 1963 demolition of the former Fine Arts Penn Station relived over and over again. Suburbs can be boring, but they’re also relatively vandalism-free, literally and figuratively.

Not all suburbs are created equal. In their demographic profile, the Connecticut suburbs resemble an expansive exurb of Sunbelt; but in terms of design, they resemble old towns like Boston, which was laid out before the advent of the automobile. Architecturally, the suburbs don’t offer much in terms of train stations and flagship skyscrapers. At their best, however, they feature the charms of the vernacular in abundance.

The stone walls are a glory of New England vernacular design. I am talking about dry-laid walls (without mortar) of weathered field stone. They frame old homes and meander through the forested areas of suburban Connecticut – in fact, D-wooded areas, old agricultural properties bounded by stone walls that have since been absorbed by nature. Necessity motivated their construction, but they value the landscape just as much as the walls built for aesthetic purposes.

In spring and summer, the stone walls blend into the greenery. In autumn, they make the falling leaves shine. In winter, they match the color of leafless tree trunks. The stone walls express the spirit of localism by reflecting the trust of the community. They are fragile, but delinquent adolescents do not rush them.

In 1871, according to a federal government study, the northeastern United States was home to more than 250,000 miles of stone walls. The walls are an extraordinary achievement, given the severe shortage of labor and machinery in colonial times, when most of them were built. Incidentally, newcomers to the recent out-migration might be interested to know that Connecticut built New York City, or much of it. The brownstone quarry in Portland, just south of Hartford, has produced thousands of townhouses. Closed for a long time, the quarry is now a water park.

Low-key good taste is another virtue, along with hard work and Yankee ingenuity (spurred on by the urge to find a way around hard work) evoked by the New England Stone Wall. One way or another, a beautiful stone wall, with its lichen patina and the boulders arranged as if they were stacked almost at random, is reminiscent of the WASP culture of old money.

Current Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont is a blue-blooded descendant of one of JP Morgan Jr.’s close associates Politically, of course, the WASPs are not what they used to be, but their cultural legacy no longer persists. than we generally imagine. In 21st century Connecticut, antique is still a verb.

Stephen Eide is a fellow of the Manhattan Institute and contributing editor to City Newspaper.

One of the longest questlines in Genshin ImpactAyaka update 2.0 is Ayaka’s story quest “Whispers of the Crane and the White Rabbit”. In this questline, Genshin Impact players are tasked with helping the recently added character, Ayaka, as she performs her duties in the Narukami Island region.

While most of the objectives throughout Ayaka’s history will consist of simple recovery quests, there are a handful of objectives that players can find confusing. This guide will explain how to complete the “Investigate the Shrubs” objective that is encountered halfway through the Ayaka Story Quest.

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After completing the “Food From A Distance” chapter of the Ayaka Story Quest, players will unlock the “Enduring Promise”. To begin the quest, players must head to “the designated area recorded in the notebook”. To find the investigation area, players must head to the southernmost point of Inazuma City. Players will find the objective by sliding down to the beach, where they can access the area under the great Inazuma Castle via a cave. This area can be somewhat difficult to find because at first it may seem like the lens is above the ground, not below.

Once players have reached the correct destination, their new objective will be to “Search for suspicious locations based on clues in Ayaka’s notebook”. To find the right location, head southeast of the survey area to find a climbing ledge.

After climbing the ledge, the objective should then change to “Investigate the shrubs on the stone wall”. At the top of the ledge, players will find what appears to be a breakable stone wall. Unfortunately, unlike the typical stone walls of Genshin Impact, this wall cannot be broken with a geo-character. To progress in the quest, interact with the wall to be presented with a series of dialogue choices.

To open the wall, players must select the following dialog prompts in order; 1) Hit once, 2) Hit four times, 3) Hit seven times. This solution is obtained from the riddle found in Ayaka’s mother’s notebook which mentions “1 fresh flower, 4 rays of moonlight and calling Tsubaki’s name 7 times”.

Once players have selected the correct dialogue prompts, a passage will reveal a hidden cave with a mysterious box inside. Interact with the mysterious box and exit the cave for a cutscene to trigger. Once the cutscene is complete, players must now exit the cave to complete the “The Lasting Promise” portion of the Ayaka Story Quest. Once the player has finished speaking with Ayaka outside the cave, they will also unlock the fifth and final section of the Ayaka story quest titled “With You”.

Genshin Impact is available for Mobile, PC, PS4 and PS5, with a Switch version in development.

MORE: Genshin Impact: 10 Side Quests You Missed In Inazuma 2.0 Update

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