Standing Stones

There's a lot of rubble stones in the ground here with the occasional gem thrown in for good measure.  Last year we took the ivy off the back of one of the outbuildings and hidden in the undergrowth was a pile of these gems some of which must have been ploughed up over the years when this was a working farm whilst others look as if they are from buildings no longer standing.

Standing stone surrounded by round pebbles

There is a mix of these large stones including lovely flat ones that we hope to lay as a path, softly rounded ones that look like they've been shaped by the sea and that you just want to touch and others that are perfect as standing stones.

It was two of these that we rediscovered under the pile of building rubble yesterday.  We already had standing stones on the edges of the drive to encourage visitors to not use the lawn as a turning circle, so we have used these latest two stones at the edge of the patio.  Hopefully, nobody would want to use the patio to drive on, but these stones, which match the farm buildings, do add a touch of interest.

Are we on the seaside?

The simple answer is that no we are very definitely not near the ocean, yet history has left traces of the sea here.  To all intents and purposes the house is built on what was an ancient sea of which all that is left is the river Cher carving its way lazily through Montrichard, and the deposits left by the sea when it drained away.

Round pebbles

Not only is there the tuffeau stone of which the house is made, but just below the surface of the ground there are lots of smooth rounded stones, the sort that you want to collect when you take a walk along a beach.  These stones range in size from tiny pebbles to small boulders that we have to use a sack truck to move.

When we first moved here we thought initially that the stones might have been brought in, but they are everywhere, including in the woods.  It is incredible to think that we are making garden features out of stones that were shaped and laid down many millions of years ago by almost unimaginable forces.  In a way, it makes the features even more special because they are made from materials that nature in her wisdom left here for us to use as we see fit.