The creation of the Stone Nest

It began in 1999, like everything in life, with a thought. The vision was a hut in the mountains, far away from the rest of the world. A place of retreat,
a home after years of travelling.
Life eventually led me to this place overgrown with brambles.99 M399 M4

In the Agence Immobilier pictures, the land looked so different that I didn't even recognise it at first. Then, on my second visit, I discovered the buildings,
completely overgrown with brambles and bushes 10 metres high. A stream ran along the side of the property. I looked at everything in peace and quiet, even managed to
I even managed to enter the witch's house, despite the bitter resistance of the brambles, and suddenly knew that it was the right thing for me.
I bought the land with the ruins and set about taming the wilderness...

First the blackberries had to give way. In the beginning, all we had was a sickle, a hedge trimmer and a lot of power.
There was no electricity for machines yet. Except for an old telephone line that lay on the forest floor in many places,
and that's the way it was going to stay, because the small villages in the mountains don't have the money to connect
remote houses to the power grid.

At that time, the stone nest was a ruin with a leaky roof and crumbling walls. A previous owner (also a German)
had poured a foundation, but then abandoned the work. I found some of his things in the old shed.

Afterwards, a Frenchman from Toulouse had bought the land and built the small wooden chalet to spend weekends there with his wife.
weekends with his wife. After the divorce, he wanted to sell the land again, but had to wait a few years until I came. For
For this reason, the property was completely overgrown.

In autumn 2001 I started to build the stone nest. First I had to build a tight roof, then windows, a door and much more. The whole process took several years. During this time I lived in the witch's house. Besides the
In addition to building the stone nest, I also began to plant the garden.

The wilderness had taken root and anyone who has ever removed a blackberry hedge including its roots knows that it is not to be trifled with.

that it is not to be trifled with. Next to stinging nettles, blackberries are the most resistant plants when it comes to making them understand that they should grow somewhere else.

I laid out beds, built a small greenhouse out of old glass panes and grew my first vegetables. The beginning was hard,
because the soil wasn't very fertile and the compost just wouldn't work.

Little by little, the plants and trees began to grow. I built terraces, paths made of natural stones, a pavilion and much more.

of the wilderness had become a garden.

The initial small solar system grew with each year and so at some point I was finally able to use electric machines that made everything easier.

The garden was also extended and the blackberries pushed back further. On the other side of the path there was still plenty to do. The entire slope

down to the stream resembled an unbridled wilderness of blackberries and bushes. Only a small patch of the former pasture for sheep was left.

But before that could happen, there was still a building to put up. Up to now I had built everything outside, but now I wanted to put a roof on the work hut and be used as a garage and as a place to work. A dream for every craftsman.

A further room was also added to the stone nest.

the house had reached its present size. There are now 6 rooms, a spacious bathroom with its own stove and a room for the building services.

In 2010, the time had come. The idea of a farm was born. Sheep and chickens were the first things to go. For this
large areas had to be freed from the iron grip of the blackberries. A sheep pen and a chicken house were built.

The chickens were given a well-secured enclosure so that the wild animals from the forest would not make them their favourite food.
would make them their favourite food. It took a few attempts until no more chickens were eaten. The electric fence around the sheep's terrain also turned out to be useless.

So a wire mesh fence was needed, like the ones the locals have been using for a long time. So I made my experiences with the
and in spring, when the lambs were born, I had my first milk and soon after
and shortly afterwards the first home-made cheese.

There was a new gate at the entrance and a fence made of branches. A barn was added to the barn, where the hay could be stored.

hay could be stored. This shortened the transport routes and made animal husbandry much easier overall.

Now the big building projects slowly came to a halt. A terrace was built directly on the slope with a view of the mountains.

Wherever possible, I sowed flower meadows, which retained their flowering splendour throughout the summer and were

and were often still beautiful the next year.
A garage was built next to the work hut and a carport next to the stone nest. So there were many new possibilities for storing the car
for the car or for material.

The caravan was given a large roof to protect it from the weather and the sun, and a small balcony was added to the stone nest.
balcony was added to the stone nest.
Then the large pyramid was erected, which took the whole of spring 2013. Due to the angles and completely
new shapes, the whole thing turned out to be much more difficult than initially expected. In the end, however, everything
and since then it has been used for a variety of experiments.

The solar system was enlarged once again and now has enough power to supply the house with electricity in winter.
to supply the house with electricity in winter.

This short picture story ends with the year 2014. In the meantime, many building projects have been added and the small farm has become bigger and bigger. You can see what it looks like here on the home page in the tour.