The Thing in my Yard

20 years ago

We live in a 90-year-old log cabin. It's a rental, but I have the landlord's carte blanch to make whatever improvements I want to. I've been really excited about discovering hypertufa, because it just fits so well with the place. :)

Ever since we moved in, I've been trying to figure out what this thing is that sits in the center of the front yard. More importantly, I've been trying to figure out what I could do with it. Discovering hypertufa has opened up some new possibilities! I thought I'd post it here and see what kind of suggestions might come up. Any ideas?

I'm pretty sure it was a water feature of some sort, but I can't really decide exactly what it looked like when it was "whole" or what it did. If you click on the photo you'll go to my Flickr site, where there are more photos from other angles.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

tufftufa
20 years ago
What a great challenge. Do you have access to more of those rocks? Do a search and you'll find ideas on using rocks in hypertufa. Keep us informed and post pix!

David
ladylong
Original Author
20 years ago
No, oddly those are not native rocks, as far as I can tell. They're entirely different than the ones used in the rockwork of the cabin (chimney, fireplace, porch, etc.) The native stuff is gray/black with sharp edges. So other than the few that have obviously fallen off "the thing" I don't have more - I'm sure I can find something similar at a landscaping place, though.

Thanks for the search tip, I'll give that a try!
Related Professionals
Toms River Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Aiken Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Cookeville Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · El Dorado Landscape Contractors · Elkton Landscape Contractors · West Plains Landscape Contractors · Huntington Landscape Contractors · Hartford Landscape Contractors · Lincoln Landscape Contractors · Coeur d'Alene Landscape Contractors · Wilmington Tile and Stone Contractors · Florence Tile and Stone Contractors · Miami Tile and Stone Contractors · Waco Tile and Stone Contractors · Boston Tile and Stone Contractors
summerdaze_tn
20 years ago
Any chance this might be an old well? It sort of reminds me of the one we just found under our kitchen floor when we pulled it on our 95 year old house. Looks very similar, just with a fancy rock wall around it. Is it possible they just converted it to an outside well-water faucet for watering the lawn, etc.? It sure is an interesting thing to have to work with. Be sure and send pics when you are finished!
ladylong
Original Author
20 years ago
Nope, my first thought was that it was a well, but it's not... the clay pipe you can see in the photo is only about 2 feet long. I dug down about a foot inside the thing, and there's nothing there. The concrete stops a few inches below ground level. There is a pipe in it, but it's no longer connected to a water source.

I'm kind of thinking two-level water feature... if I concrete in the bottom part where I've excavated, then run a tube or pipe up through the clay pipe before sealing its bottom end with concrete, I'll have the beginnings. Then I could create some sort of waterfall down the front of the clay pipe. Or three levels -- maybe a bird bath on the very top? Hmmm...
bluejean
20 years ago
I saw a base like that on a water feature in someone's yard. It was actually a paddle wheel looking thing. the water cascaded down over the paddle wheel, making it turn and the water dropped down in the base and was recycled back up. The base was similar, but much much larger. I wish I could take a picture of it for you, but the original house burned down a few years back and the people stopped taking care of it. It pretty much looks the same as your picture now.

Good luck!