Those Wonderful Spinneys

  I just want to say "thank you" to the Spinneys, the lovely family we worked for last week down in Boothbay. They couldn't have been more accommodating, helpful, friendly, or grateful. I leave jobs like that one (which are a true rarity) feeling like I should be paying them, instead of the other way around. It's only been a few days, and I miss them already. Thanks, guys.

  It was the wrong time of day to photograph wet bluestone, but you get the general idea. 75% of the patio was reusing the stones that had been there previously, which the owners cleaned with a pressure washer after we laid. Remarkably, one could not tell the difference between the old and new stones afterward.

  The retaining wall is a manufactured product called Verazzo Stone, which is incredibly easy to install and very strong as a finished unit.

  
  Spinney the Spider...

"Toulouse-Lautrec's Garden Trowel"

  I did this little sculpture-patio for a very sweet couple in Camden a few days ago. Nothing fancy, just something to define the piece and bring together with the sprawling hillside gardens, paths, and walls. The piece is entitled "Toulouse-Lautrec's Garden Trowel" and the artist's name is Amy (Something, I will find out what). It spins on its axis, which scared the living hell out of me the first time I bumped into it and sent it spinning.

Norumbega Carraige House Patio

  We have finally gotten started on the Norumbega Carriage House patio.

  Note the wooden blocks we have nailed in along the edge.  The patio has a large pitch of about 3 1/2 inches over 12 feet, so the stones just start to slide down the slope after we lay them.

Moving Out

  Well, we finished installing the third and final hearthstone, and we are heading outside to work on the patios and veneer with Mr. Jesse Casas.

  Jesse is a second-generation stonemason and has been in the business for something like twenty years, or half his life. Here, Damon and Jesse are laying some of the fabled Belfast Heritage blue-stone, with some very tight 3/16 joints.