Here we all are bright and early for the Masonry and Stonework Learning Monday!

But seriously it was a really cool, fun, and informational day. Here's a shot of all the tools we got to work with! There were 3lb. Hammers and acute and blunt tipped chisels depending on what kind of a break you are trying to get the stone to do.

Here's a shot of John Dawson, the Plantation head mason demonstrating how to split guillotine block.

Now the interns are all safety goggled up getting ready to break blocks.

And here we are breaking them, everyone did an excellent job although there were a lot of jokes about how prisoners are forced to break blocks as well. To these Marita replied that she didn't think she'd do too well in prison.

Aside from breaking block we also did some work dry laying a field stone wall which is alot like building a very heavy three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle. You have here the before pile, the finished product and a shot of us testing it for "structural integrity".

Here are a few interlude shots I took on stone day. The fist is of a really lacy egg case of some invertebrate we found on one of the rock we were working with. I think it looks like a kitchen sponge egg.

This second shot is of one of the immature instars of Omocestus viridulus the Common Green Grasshopper I believe although its possible its something else. Also this grasshopper happens to be in the midst of defecating, how charming!