Bricks and stones may break my...oh wait

Nellie and I decided to meander down a street we haven't been to in a good while. Nothing against the street, mind you, it's just not a direct route to see her friend Nick so we normally skip it. Today, however, we were on a different quest as we were trying to mix up our morning walk a bit. We never made it to our designated destination, but it was sooo worth it. 

As we rounded the corner, this fence captured me once again. I've often admired it and since everyone knows how much arches fascinate me, this fence doesn't disappoint - even though the arches are upside down. There's something about the brick and then the XXXX in between that is almost medieval. Add the iron railings on top and that is one elegant and unusual fence.

But here's what kept us from exploring as far as we were expecting. A couple of houses down, we came upon what looks like an overgrown mess in front of a house that has seen better days. I noticed work being done on the roof and thought, hurray, this is being resurrected. How nice. The owner happened to be out, and as often happens, commented on how cute Nellie is and we started chatting. In addition to the new roof, the entire chimney has been rebuilt. Now, usually chimneys are of no great interest. Mostly they are pretty blah. This is the exception. In fact, it reminds me of Rubel Castle with its random stone and brick. After admiring the chimney, the owner offered to let me see the fireplace inside (no picture) and it has a 700 pound rock for the lintel. That's scary heavy. The rocks in the surround are HUGE. It is by far the most unusual interior fireplace ever outside a castle. Imagine something akin to this chimney, but on the inside:

Walking on, it seemed that brick and stone walls were popping up all over.  This particular fence is somewhat unique in that the rocks almost seem polished and consist of carefully chosen colors. The brick surround simply highlights the stone beautifully and the iron railing has that best of all shapes (the arch, duh!). I'm also wondering if our neighborhood has multiple people who are descendants of French or English royalty, because putting regal lions on fences seems to be a thing.

While a straight, plain stone wall may lack the storybook charm of brick and stone combinations, this particular wall provides a good counterpoint to the lush greenery it supports.

The variety of house and yard styles in this area continues to delight and amaze.

Adding Width to the Footpath

Now that tearing out the lawn is completed, the next step in the front yard project of a thousand years (it certainly feels like it's taking that long), is to widen the existing footpath. The jades which were planted too close to the path overhang it by quite a bit and constantly cutting them back actually does pretty much nothing to gain space. So before the architectural piece I keep mentioning but never seem to get to, is installed, a wider walkway needs to be created out of bits and bobs of leftover rock and bricks. If nothing else, we need to be able to get the yard waste bin out to the street and back without damaging too much greenery.

I believe I mentioned in a previous post that a neighbor who was moving out was happy to give me the broken concrete from his driveway and I still have bricks left over from another free neighbor score. Whether they will be enough for what I need is the big question mark in all this, though even if not, there is so much stuff about the place in various piles, there's bound to be something that is both practical for the purpose, and whimsical in the application.

The trick is to somehow link these otherwise different materials into a cohesive looking whole - patchworking them so they look like a plan and not merely a hodgepodge. The plan will ultimately involve some sort of steppable ground cover, but that kind of planting is best done in January/February and not what Southern Californians consider the depths of a brutal winter (all of 41°F at night). I know - we're total wimps. 

Speaking of ground covers, the Dymondia is still hanging in there and though the cold certainly isn't helping things, if it hasn't gone totally belly up by now, there may be a remote chance it will grow and be prosperous. On this score I am keeping both fingers and toes crossed. The squirrels appear to have lost interest in it as well, which certainly improves the chance of survival. Not finding little excavations for nut storage is a good thing.