Rebuilding an Old Wall & Preparing for New Growth (#68)

This week we're taking down a crumbling dry stone wall and begin building it back up, while also continuing work on the future vegetable garden. Mom is resuming work on the shutters, a project that we abandoned over the Holidays but are eager to get done.
We're Isis & Bertus, a belgian-dutch couple. In the summer of 2023 we moved into a neglected farmhouse in a tiny village in the northwest of Italy. The last inhabitants left some 15 years ago, but large parts of the property have been empty for well over 20 years.
Thank you for joining us on our adventure!
Your support is deeply valued | www.buymeacoff...
Instagram | / storiesfromthecascina

[@susanB24F]

In your opening, the shot of the road with the sun and trees is gorgeous. Love the sunflower bird wreath and your snowdrops. The new wall looks great.

[@kathibrooks1401]

Making a retaining wall is hard back breaking work. Great job

[@green-user8348]

The old owners ancestors would be so proud of you two!

[@lindachenoweth9002]

You guys are doing a great job. Isis, I love your Sunflower Wreath you made for the birds, I hope they find it ok ( : , and the wall is looking great Bertus, keep up the good work! Loved this video! Hugs are a good motivator, we all need them😉!

[@suzannehicks5856]

So thankful your little cat is recovering and adjusting to three legs. Does my heart good to see her mobile again!

[@bekindfox]

Happy to see your mum is still there, enjoying her time and restoring the shutters, I was already missing her. :-)

[@sinnundverstandable]

Ah, I could watch you for hours - and the kittens, of course! Thank you so much for letting us be part of it. 🌱

[@ceetee64]

The photography of your vids are outstanding and you guys do a great job! God bless!

[@jamieloom22]

Thank you for letting us see how well the three legged kitty is going.

[@angelakilcrease8245]

I enjoyed the big hug, you two! Hugs make the work easier. 😁

[@richardhaughton4303]

You cannot imagine the tranquility you bring to me, you way of life your intimacy and happiness is exuding, thank you 😊

[@jeannettesmyth7643]

Thrilled to see Flanella supervising the silly monkeys at their stonework and enjoying herself in the sun. Life is sweet. Love the bird seed wreath.

[@mairead5891]

Of course the wall wouldn't have been so good without the cats' supervision! I'm looking forward to seeing how your vegetable garden progresses - growing your own food is so satisfying!

[@melissaeden1219]

It's always great to get started on a garden! The wall is looking great.

[@carolynknight1520]

Each project, task you do, you do it well. Artisans, you two.

[@rosemaryjasper1121]

Wow, the stone wall is coming along beautifully! Must be so rewarding to do. I didn’t realise you could get plastic sheets anywhere near as big as the one you covered your soon to be veggie garden with! It must be so nice to be able to get a break in the weather to start the outside jobs off. Your videos always leave a sense of peace and all being right in your part of the world. They are a joy to watch the, photography is so be beautifully done. It is as if one has taken a great sigh and recharged our batteries in the time it takes to watch you all. Hope next week continues your dry weather ❤

[@MB1944eyko]

I love your videos, soothing, calm, and the traditional way you chose to return the life to this place😊

[@KAC-5555]

🇺🇸. Thank you

[@green-user8348]

My cat decided to watch your video with me and became so engaged that she got off my lap and took a trip on the computer! Haha. I think she especially like the sounds, the natural movements, and I kept trying to point out the other kitty cats to her.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Love it when cats (and other pets) enjoy the show :-) Thanks for sharing!!

[@juliehopkins9235]

Hi from Australia, love everything you are doing with your land

[@fraaa96]

Everything about your videos is mesmerizing and soothing

[@Neroli-Daydreaming-of-France]

Lovely video, the wall is impressive, good to see signs of spring, and the gorgeous cats .

[@marthaollis5049]

The wall is beautiful! Love the way it curves.

[@foggyqubti6288]

Stunning scenery

[@leonorgodinho8724]

Good work guys, amazing hard work, the land is looking good, looking forward to see the veg and flower garden.🙂

[@neutonrenda2303]

I am in awe with every drone shot, it's such a special place. It's really good seeing how well the cat has adjusted already but I know how well they can adapt. The water flowing right to the garden is such a convenience you can only benefit from it. It's so good seeing you outside enjoying working together.❤️

[@maggiesue4825]

We in western Virginia have to wait another month before the weather starts to turn, but I'm already inspired by your garden work! And there's nothing more beautiful and satisfying than a well-laid dry stone wall!

[@DEEDEE-cn1ud]

Nice progress this week. That bird feed wreath is good idea. I bet the birds will try and collect some of that twine for nest building too. Dry stone wall maintenance is hard work but very satisfying when completed. I do it at my place on a much smaller scale yearly, after a big repair/rebuild job when I first bought my place.

[@MaryMathews-gp4tj]

Everything is falling into place. You definitely found a beautiful piece of property. Hi kitties. ❤️

[@cbrashsorensen]

Glad to see the kitty exercising her legs and learning how to balance on three. You are my Sunday morning meditation. I love stone walls and have a couple of tips so I appreciate that. I also see that you are at 98.8 K subscribers. Congratulations.

[@MetteKjorstad-vb5ym]

The last shot was like a Caspar David Friedrich painting 😄👍👵🏼🇸🇪

[@shirleygardner5483]

Glad to see the kitty is doing well. You can tell she has lost weight, but she will gain it back before you know it. Blessings.

[@MU-2]

That wheel barrow is worth its weight in gold. I became great friends with mine while rebuilding my stone walls here in western Connecticut. Best wishes and continued success.

[@agoed65]

There's always so much to like and love in your videos... Thank you! Good to see the 3 of you again, and the cats of course..The colour and glow of the winter light is so wonderfull. ❤

[@minervabird1967]

Our cat was sleeping when I was playing this video, and her ears perked up at the bird song. I’m excited to see what vegetables you wlil grow. I have my onion seeds, broad beans, and chiles in the propagators. Thanks for a lovely video.

[@lindamitman4538]

It’s nice to see Flanella out and about. The cats are so sweet - they know they are loved, you can see it in their faces. I miss having my garden so much (I had a huge one in CA), unfortunately here in Phoenix the heat makes it difficult to grow things for very long. Thank you for sharing your life and journey with us. The alps look so lovely covered in snow.

[@soniawoolley366]

Love following your work and progress !

[@ninakoleva4932]

You two have done a great job so far!!! I'm glad that your mother is with you now, who is also making a huge contribution to the renovation of the house and taking care of the housework. However, it's not bad to think about at least one worker to help you, so that things happen faster. .

[@hullabaloo-hcd]

❤❤❤ Stunning job on the stone wall

[@neutonrenda2303]

Looking at how beautiful you are building the wall and seeing all of those stones I can only imagine how much things are going to change over the coming years. You both have an eye for details and it shows. Another great video. Greetings from Cape Town.❤

[@schellowyn]

Guten Morgen es ist wunderschön dort wo sie wohnen. L.G.

[@SJPlater]

The wreath is so beautiful 😍

[@arkbear1]

Another great video! Onwards & Upwards!

[@sandymabe6529]

Wall reconstruction is looking great.

[@derov4132]

Mi piace vedere che lavorate serenamente, con molto amore per la vostra proprietà. Ciao a tutti dalle Dolomiti. 👍❤👍

[@CherriRobb]

Good morning, I'm having a cuppa coffee with you. Always love your channel. Please consider getting some bright orange road work cones to put on your road when you're working on road. Thanks, Colorado Cherri P.S. Your Mom's "cameo" was adorable!!

[@JD-zb4ve]

Love the wreath !

[@giovannicarlotonelli942]

Siete davver davvero bravissimi. State facendo un lavoro straordinario e siete una coppia bellissima!!!!!!!!!!!! Con due meravigliosi gattini.

[@MerelGeurtse]

Wat een puzzel, zo’n muur. Knap hoe jullie dat samen doen! Ook leuk om te zien hoe de poezen erbij zijn buiten, die van ons “helpen” ook altijd mee buiten. Ben benieuwd hoe de muur er uiteindelijk uit komt te zien.

[@daynight4902]

Best wishes to you

[@glenyscallaghan1195]

It is all coming together nicely, the wall is great.⭐️⭐️👋👋

[@KathleenRobson-v3j]

The wall is looking good 😁

[@jdrew5367]

Collect egg shells and crush the egg shells and sprinkle them around your trees garden plants. The deer dislike the smell of it smells like sulfur to them. Also, the calcium breaks down and fertilizers your plants. I’m stumped about wild boars.😵‍💫 Thank you for sharing!❤

[@rossellaruggeri9575]

Love your videos!! Everything is special about them.

[@happylifeSteph]

So beautiful & calming, thanks a lot 🫶🙏. Have a good ( and also cosy ❄️ ) week !

[@Reet64]

Nice to see the English and French getting along so well, short sword fight notwithstanding. 😂

[@MarkGillett-u1p]

Tidy stonework on the wall!

[@jennybuzek2091]

I love to start my Sunday morning by watching your latest video.... i must say i wish i was there helping..... It's wonderful to see the whole place getting rejuvenated bit by bit! Keep up the good work!

[@karenbrindley7170]

Looking forward to seeing your garden come together. The stone wall is looking lovely with its nice curve.

[@Lanedl1]

Dry stack retaining wall construction is hard work. I use a dolly or hand-truck to move the heavy rocks and set them in place on the high side of the hill rather than lifting them in place. Good luck and don't hurt your backs!

[@storiesfromthecascina]

As we continue building this week we might need to see if we can lower them down rather than lift them up. So far that wasn't too hard as we've been building the lower section, but of course the taller the wall gets the harder. We'll see!

[@Lanedl1]

@@storiesfromthecascina You are much stronger than I am. Your work looks great.

[@joaodejesuscostaesteves4656]

I enjoy too mutch see your vídeos, big hug from Lisboa

[@KymHammond]

23:33 So beautiful. Those old dray walls are remarkable and Im sure are quite a labour of love in the way they terrace the different terrains into usable and practicable portions. Now that winters slowly coming to an end you haven't mentions how sussessful the double glazing job been through the winter. Any regrets and things in hind sight that you would have done differently?

[@storiesfromthecascina]

The double glazing is making a big difference in warmth management and we would do it again! (We will do it again because we still have a few windows to do this summer 😊)

[@maluneid5277]

Already gardening preparations? Everything is,still frozen and covered in snow here. The only thing I did was order seeds. At the end of February I will seed out the leeks and Celeriac in little pots who will sprout on top of my fridge, till it’s time to get more light!

[@nancymiller7294]

I had horses all my life and tried electric fence for a few weeks. Everything seems to have bad and good reasons to use. We took our electric fence down when we seen it was killing the birds . One of our neighbors also had horses and his electric fence killed one of his Peacocks. I am not trying to tell you what to do, that is your choice to make. We hated barb wire but we were lucky as our horses never got cut with it. Good luck whatever you use. Your videos are one of my favorites to watch and I am happy to see your kitty is doing well.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Hi Nancy, thank you for sharing! We have used electric fencing with horses before too (Bertus has owned several in the past and worked with horses for years) and have never encountered fatal injuries with birds. We looked into the potential risks for small animals (including our cats) before making the decision but couldn't find a lot of info that suggested there might be problems. We'll definitely stay alert and keep an eye out for the birds! We hope to have a more permanent - non-electric - fence up before the end of the year either way.

[@michaelconnelly4179]

Use a lawn mower on most of that stuff you are raking. It is easier and creates mulch.

[@rickallen6378]

It might be helpful to maybe have a little vehicle with a small trailer to lug around all the wood and stones you have to move. That sort of work really takes a toll on the body after a while.

[@mardemar]

😺😺😺👍👍👍

[@az55544]

Remember to plant your fruit and nut trees now!

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Just ordered fruit trees today :-)

[@ralphstephan353]

“Canalized” a new word for me. I checked it out, it’s defined as “to convey through a duct or channel.”

[@coby6417]

👍👏🌟🍀💐

[@zlatahume3134]

I wonder if you have a deer in your area,if yes you will have to protect the veggie plot, deer near me just eats everything I plant, roses are just salad leaves for them😮😊

[@storiesfromthecascina]

We have roe deer, but no red deer. Either way, our garden needs protection and we'll be working on fencing in one of the upcoming episodes :-) So far we haven't had problems with deer, not even with the roses which they seem to leave alone. However, better be sure :-) We've had more problems with wild boar, who can plow 50sqm in one night if they feel like it. They are very welcome to do that anywhere in our fields but it would be nice if we could keep them out of our vegetable beds!

[@farmerconnie8172]

Hmmmmm, Preparing for new growth…

[@carolined3058]

So you don't have to put mortar in between the stones? Great you can use reclaimed material for building it .

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Nope, no mortar. The Langhe area is known for its dry stone retaining wall terraces (Unesco heritage).

[@delwichedanielle3999]

♥️🙂🇧🇪

[@danielreebs544]

Your winter has been very mild.

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Yes, but not unusually so for where we are. We've had -12 (celsius) one night a few weeks ago, but during the day the temperatures have been mostly between 0 and 8 degrees.

[@monteschiavo]

Is that road private? Yours?

[@storiesfromthecascina]

it is not, but it's a dead end road with only local traffic.

[@monteschiavo]

@@storiesfromthecascina better for you and the cats

[@UmaAuroville]

🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰💚💚💚💚💚🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@_PJW_]

13:30 : covering the ground with foil like that will kill all soil life beneath it.

[@nancymondragon7206]

🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍

[@CynthiaEvans-i2f]

[@Ecila-Samerberg]

Weren't there three cats?

[@storiesfromthecascina]

Yes, but the littlest one is still too small to go outside, and this week we spent so much time outdoors that we didn't film inside. She's all fine though and will be back on your screen soon :-)

[@Ecila-Samerberg]

@storiesfromthecascina thank you for answering my question. Have a nice evening. Best wishes from Germany

[@carlacampi4695]

Ciao, siete sempre interessati ai noccioli di pesche viola?( Varietà antica). È arrivata la email per il contatto?

[@anadaneen70]

If you came for the wall build, its 18 minutes in.