stones, rocks, boulders & erratics

Stan had a good time working with that rock. That was actually one of his first times out with the tools. Some rocks are very cooperative, others not so much.

Beautiful, Kathleen. And with a feather!

thanks! (patting my chapeau).

I should mention that another member of the church did the actual design of the plantings in the church gardens, we just did the hardscape (and the some of the planting, in a chilly downpour - what fond memories!). Stan and I did all of the parsonage garden (between downpours).

All but two of the rocks came from our farm. The others were from another old quarry on a nearby farm that we rent from another church member. It's a small community, what can I say?

It sounds like a wonderful place to live, like the little hamlet where I spent my summers on my grandparents farm.

Sue - thank you for showing the close up of the fairy door. It is so cute! I, too, love the little stepping stones. What a clever idea! Just love it!

Kathleen, what a beautiful job you and Stan did with the stone work in the gardens and the steps. I'm so impressed. How generous of you both! The view and the setting for your church are wonderful.

Almost wants makes me want to come live in your Parsonage, but first I'd have to go to Divinity School, get ordained, wait, first I'd have to get ACCEPTED by a Divinity School, then hope I get called to your exact church - probably better just to say how very beautiful it all looks and what a terrific job you've done. Small close communities definitely have their advantages.

Great job!!! Kathleen and Stan. Ditto to what Donniebrook said.

Thanks you guys! We enjoyed doing it. Stan and I have a tendency to, hmm, shall we say dance to our own drummer. We have some rock work planned of the side yard that will probably have the neighbors talking again. More details as plans progress!

Can't wait.

What a beautiful outcome. I love that you share the projects, makes it so much more special!

Thanks!

Carrie, you will have to stand in line - there are a number of people who have expressed similar feelings. Stan spent almost all of last summer when he wasn't doing farm work up building onto and remodeling the parsonage with a very small group of other members. I had to ask one of the pastors (we have a husband and wife team) if I could borrow him for a couple of days. She said that was backwards, and yes, but only for a couple of days!

That's so funny, Kathleen. And it's just the sort of situation that makes small close communities so special!!

You were borrowing your own DH back, lol? Well, I guess I will cancel my plans for an MDiv, thank goodness! You all are very blessed to have created such a warm community!

Martha!!! YIKES!!! I just saw an item on the news that homes in Saugus are being evacuated b/c the rain washed out an outcropping of boulders! They showed one boulder right up against a fence by a pool, and another up against someone's foundation. I hope you can get to your computer and didn't get swept away!

I am headed out tomorrow to visit (w/ my mineral club) a mine in Easthampton, MA. We hope to find Galena, Wolfenite, and Polymorphite.

Dear Jax,
We are on the top of our hill, the boulders roll downhill to other peoples yards. Actually, none of ours have ever done that. They are all pretty well set in. This occurred across town. the boulders were part of a retaining wall that failed. They built this wall to hold up the hill above the yards where they had done some new construction. The neighbors there have had problems with this project in the past and the rain washed out a section. They evacuated the neighborhood. They are now attempting to determine who has to fix it. I hope those poor people don't have to stay evacuated until that happens!!.
We are OK.
Martha

Glad you are OK, Martha!

*Whew*
I am on top of a hill, too!
Can you imagine the $$ being paid to say retaining walls are safe, just so developers can make a buck! Gravity is gravity! I once visited Hollywood, and I remarked to a cab driver about the precarious position of all of those houses high in the hills, just perched on the fault zone. He said "Oh, they're earthquake proof"!!!!!!!! I'm sure that's what the realtors say. Or maybe the homes are made of rubber!

"Earthquake proof" and "retaining wall" have always seemed to me to be tenuous phrases at best. We live on top of the hill, too - and I hope to always live on top of one hill or another! Glad everyone here is ok.

Jax, I have a large stone collection of nothing extremely collectible, but all very interesting to me. I have a few that are magnetic, some that rust nicely and a bunch that were obviously sea bed at one time being full of shells. They live in my gardens and in the few pots that I bring in over the winter. I'm not sure what it is about rocks that is so appealing, but they certainly appeal to me.

First time I've visited this thread. I love rocks and don't have enough!! All of your pics are awesome!! Dave - when did you get a camera??? ;-)) I think those are the first pics I have seen you post - very nice and keep it up!! My neighbor has a beautiful boulder that my kids used to play on when they were little and when she built her house there she planted hens/chicks in the dips. I'll try to get a pic of it when I'm out with my camera. The farm I grew up on had tons of stones and rocks. When my oldest brother built his house on farm land and they dug the cellar they hit this huge stone ledge the entire size of the house (or bigger). Of course they had to stop digging at that point and they laid the foundation on the stone. I think he said the rock was 1/4 from being level. WOW - talk about a house built on rock instead of sand!!! As I said I love rocks and stones and last year i brought back some farm stones and use them with my succulents. It's nice having a piece of my past with me all of the time. Eleanor

Eleanor:

That's a fantastic story!

Very funny Eleanor! I am known for my rare but really bad pictures.

If you ever need rocks, I'll send them to you (for postage)

We had to dig a trench for electric wires so I just got a new batch.

Dave - I don't think i can afford postage for rocks!! I tried to get my brother to bring me some when they built his daughter's house which is beside his. They dug up huge big boulders. I think they reburied them. Here is a pic of my neighbor's rock. Sorry but I didn't have time to pull the weed out of the middle of the succulents. Eleanor

Dear Eleanor,
I love that planting! My two are too pointy to hold even the little amount of soil that is required, but I have seen a couple like that here in Saugus grown by other people. Planting succulents on roofs is getting to be fashionable too.
Martha

I just got back from my latest collecting trip. I DID find some very teeny crystals of Wulfanite, which is rare. They're too small for my camera. I also found some very small "smudges" of Malachite.
It turns out that this area is open to the public, and very easy to get to. The site is gorgeous, complete w/ an incredibly picturesque stony river (the Manham) that I crossed to get to more rocks. Boy, is my back sore today! I spent 6 hours hunched over rock piles, hammering away at lots of duds.
The river:

Very pretty, Melissa. Too bad you didn't find anything real nice. Watch out for Kryptonite!

Eleanor - that's a nice story! I like the boulder with the succulents on it!

Jax - nice shot of the stony river! Kryptonite - LOL, Victor!! Hope you do find some, Jax!!

Too much rain here to get out and see any nice stones or erratics! Later!

Eleanor! Now that boulder reminds me of the one my grandmother had her "rock garden" in, or at least that's what I thought of as the "rock" garden. The one with the gravel and the alpines was probably what she thought of as her rock garden! I'll give myself a break because I was probably around ten and not supposed to be interested in gardening. But thank you for the lovely picture and memories!!!

That is a great boulder!!

Great stuff!
Melissa, I hope your back is better today.

Dear Dave,
Had to laugh about mailing rocks. My sister lives down in eastern NC which has sandy soil that used to be the bottom of the ocean. No big rocks. She covets my stones and rocks here in MA. When she and her husband drove up here three years ago to move their daughter into her apartment, my BIL thought he was going home with an empty van! Little did he know! Mary took home 8 bags of my old stored up fabric and scraps for quilting purposes and a pile of stones from my yard and the street that is not a street. She has been here a couple of times more on the plane and taken small boulders home in her suitcase. My mother-in-law has a couple of small rocks in her garden at her condo in Ohio that she carried home on the plane. I am not allowed to go down to NC in my car to visit without bringing rocks! Someday, she'll have enough to finish the border she is working on!
Martha

lol, that's a great story. Don't you feel bad for people who don't have rocks?

Martha ~ that's the best story I have heard today!

LO Martha, too funny!!!

At least I'm not the only one who has packed a rock or two in their luggage.. I love the look of the airline worker who heaves this ordinary-sized bag only to discover it weighs a ton! Now they're charging for bags? I bet it's still cheaper that shipping or driving them.

Victor, it WAS Kryponite. It ruined my Super Powers, at least for yesterday. ;0)

I just wanted to say I love all these pictures. I have rocks, small little rocks in my sandy soil. Nothing nice like big boulders. The boulders I do have I had to pay for. Me jealous.

And that isn't an "funny" story, Martha, it describes what is perfectly reasonable behavior :)

Martha, that's awesome! I'm really laughing picturing the random searching of your suitcase by the aviation gods! Oh, that would be so funny to see! I've often wondered if my fascination with all things stone comes from the fact that we had no rocks of interest in south Florida where I grew up. When we first drove down to the house we now have there, we brought 3 of our nice mossy rocks to put into my flower bed at the front door. LOL

This morning I went on a small expedition to get a photo of this erratic with a center split in it. I pass it every time I go to town, and I just had to get a shot of it today. There is a tree root growing in the middle of the split......

Right across the road from the erratic with the split, you can see how the water is really rushing down the waterfalls after all the rain we've had.......

Just a short walk away from our house is this old granite foundation that remains from a mill that was located in this spot down the hill from our part of the brook. When my DH was a child, you could still see the big water wheel that was there.

She packed them in checked bags. She had a more interesting time with the 6 old amaryllis bulbs she put in her carry on last time she was here. She can grow them as perennials down in NC. I send her new ones, for her birthday and Christmas, of course, but these were 6 of mine that had just grown leaves for a few years in a row. She took them all home with her and I have no doubt that they will bloom gloriously early next summer. She did have to stop and take them out and explain what they were. Didn't say anything about the rocks in her checked suitcase.
In exchange, I get her botanical water colors that she paints. and here's a picture of a painted quilt art piece she made for me. She painted the iris on fabric, and quilted the frame around it. She's got loads of talent, but I have got rocks!
Martha

I forgot to mention that this was supposedly the oldest mill in town, dating back to the 18th century. They made pail handles and chair parts here.

That's a lovely quilt piece, Martha! What a wonderful thing to have!