Nine years ago we bought my grandmother's house.  This place has been very important to me, it has always been a security blanket of sorts, even in my dreams.  My cousin had purchased the house after my grandmother passed in 1988 and lived therefor 17 years.  Then in 2005, he sold it to my husband and I.  At that time, we lived outside of Baltimore, Maryland.  We wanted this space so when we would drive the six hours northwest to my hometown, we can take our three beautiful kids someplace other than my mom's crowded house or  hotel.  This place would be perfect, not too large, enough room for us to spread out and the affordability to have the necessary creature comforts.  Plus there is this beautiful large yard surrounded by woods - the very woods my father and I would explore for a few hours nearly every Sunday - where the kids can walk outside and run and explore without us having to drive to larger spaces or worry about who might be lurking around.

That first summer we cleaned and rearranged and started to renovate.  It didn't seem as though the place had been touched since she passed.

There is a small (about a quarter acre) overgrown section of property that once had a house on it, but when I was very small, my father tore it down to the foundation in the hopes of building a house there next to his mom.  Due to some septic issues, this never happened and so the stone foundation was left and the property became overgrown.  This is now my property as well!  My little house is surrounded by woods.  We are on the dead end of a road and there is over 200 acres of woods surrounding us.  The closest house is nearly an acre away.

The first summer there, my two girls and I worked on the foundation area, walking down the hill into the foundation through what was once the exterior storm cellar entrance, now all that remains is the opening in the foundation and a small hill.  We moved some stones that had fallen, trimmed some branches, planted some flowers in the cracks of the foundation and built a corner fire pit.  I had decided with some stones that were lying around up on the outside of the foundation that I would try my hand at building a mini Stonehenge.

I pulled out my books and diagrams of Stonehenge and plotted where to put these mini versions of the megalithic stones (of course I would never have the wondrous large stones like in the authentic Stonehenge).  I placed 7 stones and had only made a crescent, the opening of this crescent faced west.

We were still traveling back and forth from Maryland and it seemed that there was never enough time to get everything done when we were away trying to relax.  Some things were put on hold (like moving stones that were larger than I could physically move).

Then one weekend up here, our beloved Labrador died.  He was almost 10 years old.  He had been having issues with chronic diarrhea all his life, and that morning his heart finally gave up it's battle.  We buried him in my mini Stonehenge, with the stone that was in the middle of the crescent line as his headstone.  I sat there with a railroad tie and a hammer and pounded his name in the top of the stone all the while tears streaming down my face hoping that we had done enough for him in his short life.

And with that weekend, the crescent stood, for years.  Even after moving here fulltime in 2009, the crescent stood as is.  I would go into the crescent, and even with standing in the direct line from tip to tip, I could feel a sense of a completed circle energy within that space.  It only felt right to be facing to the east.  I had intentions on finishing the circle, but the timing never felt right.

I grew to love the energy in the space.  I would dance in the circle even though the space was not completed.  There was something about that space.  I would call and ask for blessings from my guides, protectors, elementals, teachers and masters.  My girls put an empty peantbutter jar at Jinx's (what we had named our lab after we found out about his condition) headstone and they would fill it with wildflowers they would find around the property.

Finally, a couple weekends ago, everything seemed to be aligned.  The boys cut down and trimmed back some nuisance trees and I began plotting.

I drug, rolled and managed to carry (with some wheelbarrow help from my son) large rocks up to the crescent.  I laid out some of the stones where I would need to dig the hole for their placement.  When I stood back, it didn't seem that the flow of energy was moving in balance.  So I tore out a few of the stones from the crescent and made the spacing wider.  Well, now with that, I might as well make sure the riding lawn mower can fit between the stones (might as well make life a little easier fo some people).

I found a stick that is a little larger than the width of the mower.  Again I spaced out the stones....enough for nine (in honor of how many years it took me to complete this project) to complete the circle and I still get to keep my lab's heastone where it is!

As I dig the holes for the stones to sit in, I can feel the energy change, it feels pleasant.  If I walk out of the circle, the air feels slightly different.  This happened when it was only the crescent and you could feel an invisible complete circle there.  I am so happy that the energy is back!  I placed a few stones on top of the these larger stones creating cairns, except for the headstone - I have a flat slab I found that currently is resting behind it, but can be placed on top as a small tabletop.

I have never been one to have a designated ritural/prayer space, but I can feel this space is going to have great potential, not only to me but to some friends who may wish to sit in peace.