Once upon a time there were two giant maple trees that flanked the bluestone path to our front door. Taken down long before we arrived, evidence of their presence remained in the form of two bare and bulging spots in the front lawn where they had stood. In addition, the rotting and decomposing roots beneath the stone path left it buckling and heaving with every step. The path was also off center, which made no sense at all, except if at some time, they had moved it over, to accommodate for the roots of the living trees. Each guest that came and went was cautiously warned “Watch your step on the path!” In the fall, we had re-set the first stone closest to the front landing, leaving about a two inch rise between it and the next stone. With seven more gigantic stones to level, it was one of those projects we had begun, tackling the worst and most desperately needed fix first, leaving the rest to be finished later. In early June, it was time.
We have no official driveway, although we have plans to create one sometime in the future. For now, parking is along the road out front. There was enough room for two cars when we bought the house, with sparse gravel beneath them about the width of the cars. It never seemed quite wide enough for us, and so we just started parking further in from the road to allow for space to safely get out. I always have bags and bundles to get out of the back seat, and needed to park further in to avoid standing in the road, waiting for the open door to be hit by a car, or something worse. In doing this, the edge of the lawn graciously receded a few feet, under the weight of our cars. Unfortunately, another result was that the final stone in the path was accidentally getting run over and small chips were giving way off its edges. Yikes! The walkway would need to be shortened, and we cringed every time we saw a new chip in that stone.
We had to work together on this project, with the largest stone measuring 49 x 42 inches. The path is 49 inches wide, with eight stones of varying length, each about 2 1/2 inches in depth. HEAVY!! Randy and I would work together with a long crow bar, two shovels and a maul. Together, we would carefully lift each stone (I say carefully so as not to break the stones or our backs), lay it down in the adjacent grass and then Randy would begin hacking away at the roots below. 
When he took a break, I would follow up with my hands, digging up the frayed roots and lifting out what had loosened up. Wood chips flew in every direction and landed up to 30 feet away, which kept me busy with the rake and a broom. 
When all the roots were gone, we would level the soil below, lay a thick level layer of tiny gravel and then lift and lay the stone back in place. Randy worked the level, and again with the crowbar and the shovels, together we added more of that tiny crushed stone here and there from under the edges, finally securing and setting the stone. One at a time, over the course of a week or so, we worked together (and sometimes Randy worked alone). 
One of the stones had cracked down the middle, long before our time, so we decided to take the broken halves out completely, and set them off to the side to be taken away later. This would shorten the walkway to seven stones, and seemed to be a perfect solution. Now needed to fix that last stone…
Randy did some online research about stone cutting which revealed he would need a large stone chisel. Tools he already owned included a tape measure, a large ball peen hammer, a small chisel, a drill with a masonry bit and something to mark the stone with (we used a board). First we measured and marked the stone, trying to salvage as much of it as possible and leave the 39 inch sides intact. Once the line was made, Randy began to use the drill to bore pilot holes into the stone, using all of his body weight against the drill. This did not look easy!
He drilled 12 holes in all, each one measuring two or more inches deep. He wet the stone to clear off all of the dust, and get a good look at things before he began to work with the chisels. 
He worked quickly, carefully and with a consistent rhythm until his hands went numb and he needed a short break. Then he would start again.
It didn’t take long before the rock began to give way and the stone was a perfect rectangle, once again. 
One corner had fractured horizontally, just below the surface, leaving that spot thin, so we needed to be very careful when lifting and moving it.
Now, I mentioned Randy and his level. The walkway had previously sat on an angle, with the front landing higher than the final stone out near the road. As we leveled the walkway, we began to see that we would need to lift the final stone significantly (7 ½ inches to be exact). Those two cracked stones that were sitting off to the side, gave me an idea. I wondered if we could lay them on top of one another and use their straight edges (which luckily were the 39 inch sides) beneath the final stone to create a step at the end. It have to say, I have some great ideas! 
It took us some time to measure the height of each of the three remaining stones, do the calculations, dig out and level the base and set those two cracked stones.
Now it was time for us to dig out the final stone. This was no easy task!! It took every ounce of our strength to lift it, and hold it steady once vertical. I took a quick step away to catch this shot.
Over time, we had discovered the easiest way to move the stones was to pivot them, only lifting one end and moving it a few inches at a time. I would hold one end steady while Randy would lift and shift the other end. We were both a bit nervous moving this one, simply due to the enormity of the stone. I was actually thankful that it had chipped at this point, thinking how much heavier it had been before. Inch by inch we shifted the rock into place and then needed to lower it onto the step. Of course, the last stone was sitting on end at a lower elevation, so we would not only have to lay it down gently, but raise it up nearly 7 inches. The board we had used to create the straight line came in handy again, and we used it to break the fall of the stone as we lowered it. I will also say, I have a new appreciation for crowbars! 
It sat in place nearly perfectly and we made a few minor adjustments to give it a final resting place. We are thrilled with the results!!
Along with the walkway, we have been busy preparing soil, planting and weeding in the flower beds around the house and creating a vegetable garden. There were no perennials here, with the exception of two spots where lilacs grew. I had written about one spot previously, where I had built a stone planter around them and planted some day lily and grape hyacinth bulbs, which came in nicely. The other lilacs were very old with four individual trunks, each about six inches in diameter. They had flowered the year before, but Randy knew enough about pruning that we decided to cut them all the way down to about six inches from the ground. It was a sad day for me, but I know they will come back and be flowering again in a few years. I decided to create another stone planter around it, and although Randy helped me create a perfect circle on the ground as a template, I did the rest of the work on my own. 
Rocks we had been collecting from around the property sat in a pile behind the barn and one wheelbarrow full at a time, I brought them out front. It took me one whole day to build the circular retaining wall and fill it with soil.
The next day I planted pink yarrow, lavender and coreopsis. 
We later added marigolds to make it extra unappetizing to the deer who have not touched it…yet (fingers crossed).
You may have noticed in the photos that we also took the front porch rails off. We had wanted to do it for some time, as the house originally had no rails. I came home from work one day, and they were gone! Randy said they were well made and came off easily. It changes everything. It feels a bit like a veranda now, seeming much larger and open.
Remember the straw bales we had used to insulate the kitchen crawl space during the bitter cold weeks of late December? We chose the area between the screened porch and the barn to set them on edge and create our straw bale garden (insulating that space is on our summer “To-Do” list). 
Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and beans are all growing well! We fenced the little garden with 7 foot deer netting, and I planted some perennial flower seeds in the tiny bed we had created next to the stone foundation, in front of the barn. Randy is in charge of the vegetable garden, with far more experience here. Next to the kitchen we also have a little herb garden that has basil, parsley, cilantro, sage and lettuces. Rhubarb was planted along the front of the screened porch. There are too many plants and seeds to mention, mostly perennials, and they are all doing well. Of course, it is hard to know where to plant everything, so as the summer progresses, we will surely be moving things here and there. The joys of gardening!
Last, but certainly not least, we decided to get married!! Sometime in May, we started to share the desire to be husband and wife. We had each begun to think about it at the same time, and were each surprised and pleased to realize it in each other. J.Howard Beach had been the first Justice of the Peace in this area, so we thought it fitting to be married right here by a JP. Yesterday, June 23rd in a private ceremony held at our front door, Randy and I vowed to love each other for the rest of our days. This house has changed us. Systematically, (and sometimes haphazardly) we have rooted out, thinned, transplanted and repaired things overgrown, unwanted and decayed. Everything has a chance to be restored, renewed and reborn. It has made room for the new life and love we bring to each other and into this place. We are “set in” here and creating roots of our own. What a beautiful life!
J. Howard Beach House 