Heard something about a Temple

Last fall, 2010 It occurred to me that I had to build a stone temple.  I decided it would be a Temple dedicated to Nature, hence the name:

FOX NATURE TEMPLE

Well that was only about a month before the snow was to start flying so the best I could do at that point was work on a design - which is what I've been doing all winter of 2010-2011.  Spring came and along with it rain, rain, rain, and rain and cold - summer started very late.

It's September 2011 already and I still haven't got the spade in the ground yet.  I am still so hoping that a major portion of the foundation trench will be dug before winter sets in.  I never really got a proper garden going either this summer (one of my goals) but I did manage some things:

Got the screen house done (local contractor actually)

Got the garage cleaned out, fixed up and painted.

Got through two weddings.

Blessed and cleared a new home.

Helped the family bring in three humungo loads of winter firewood.  We'll be good for at least two years now.  AND AND AND

My neighbour across the river brought be 3 mini buckets (he has a wee little mini front-end loader tractor thing) of field stones.  Then I went and brought about 5 loads (little utility trailer pulled behind my lawn mower) of stones from his field.  So that was the very beginning of my pile of stones.  One day my brother mentioned seeing a huge pile of stones in a farmer's field not far from here so I got permission from the farmer to take those stones.  I went with a 3/4 ton truck to collect stones for 45 minutes.  This gave me about 1/3 of the truck box full.  When all these stones are together on my yard - it still doesn't look impressive - but I will get more stones on the yard before winter and anyway it's a good beginning.

My second accomplishment was to decide the exact location.  All winter I was thinking of the temple going up in the back 40 under the young trees (all under 12 years) of my new growth forest.  But I finally decided that was too far from the house.  Then I couldn't decide where I wanted it.  I had thought about putting it under my 100 yr old Oak (I'm guessing), but that would mean demolishing a shabby shack, wiping out a few scraggly tiny-leafed elm trees and moving a compost pile - so I tried to think of other areas.  

Then one day I was talking to Pappy about chimney's and stone floors when he asked where exactly I was planting this temple.  I told him that I couldn't decide and that's one reason I hadn't actually started digging yet.  His first suggestion was: "Why not put it under the watchful, embracing arms of  the Wise Old Oak?"  I figured I couldn't argue with a Wise Old Man talking about a Wise Old Oak - now my goal is to get that area of ground cleared before the next new moon - should be a perfect time to start construction!

It would really be perfect if I could decide on a stone and chisel something pertinent on it and lay the corner stone.  We'll see about that though.

From the time of hauling firewood I managed to snag 10 - 8 foot Red Pine logs - these will become the 8 columns and 2 half columns down the nave thus creating the two side aisles.

And, my sister and her hubby (who are renovating a large house) had just decided to get rid of their 3 Selkirk chimneys - I've snagged one of those so that I'll have a nice safe chimney for the temple fireplace.  It will be hidden with field stone of course - but I like the safety and efficiency factors.

The design up above is the 2nd version.  I didn't really want it to be 'T' shaped - it just kinda worked out that way.  This way I get my  aisles with light streaming into it from the side windows and a long(ish) nave and I get the extra room for the Library and the Sacristy in the arms of the 'T'.