A low amber light washed across the upper stone terrace, casting the long shadows of the mountain pines across the courtyard flagstones. The early morning chill had faded into a soft, dry warmth that carried the clean scent of crushed juniper berries, river limestone, and sun-baked timber. Overhead, a pair of red-tailed hawks drifted lazily on the rising thermal currents, their high, thin calls echoing faintly off the towering granite cliffs that guarded the valley's eastern mouth.
I stood beside the dry-stack stone wall bordering the lower kitchen garden, holding a broad iron chisel and a heavy wooden mallet. I was cleaning out small pockets of dry dirt from the upper course joints before laying down a fresh cap of slaked lime and coarse river sand. The work required a gentle, measured t
