Riddle of the stones

[jackb]

In my lifetime I have spent a great deal of time walking in the woods in upstate New York, and I have always been amazed at the stone walls left by the early settlers. This time of year, with the trees dropping their leaves, they really stand out. I am not saying that they compare to the pyramids, however, our ancestors moved and stacked millions of stones. A few hundred feet from this wall there is another, and another and another... They are literally everywhere, miles of them. I would guess they did it to farm the land, but the land kept pushing up rock after rock. All I can say is: our ancestors must have suffered from lot of aching backs, and hernias.

jackb

 

[Smart Red]

I have long loved those rock walls of Whitman, Emerson, and such. Not something that is seen much in Wisconsin.

 

[jackb]

I have seen them in New England also. I came across an old cemetery today; there was a man buried with his wife on his left and his consort on his right, poor guy will get no peace for eternity.

 

[digitS']

Charming countryside, Jack. And, well captured both here and in the PoW! Thread.

Rather than move so many on the way to an early grave, it might have been Better to just ..

. go Fishing .

May 23, 2016.

Steve

 

[journey11]

That was probably a pasture once. I've seen around here the signs of the same not-too-distant human past on my hikes. Nature will rapidly start to reclaim her territory within a couple years of being abandoned.

I wish I lived somewhere that I could easily collect nice stones for building my own garden borders and walls. Down by a shallow river perhaps, where all the stones are smooth and round. All we have here in the mid-Ohio valley is sedimentary stone, sandstone, that crumbles so easily. Handhewn sandstone foundation blocks are sold by the logging companies who've hauled them out of the woods, but they are out of my price range for as many as I'd like to have.

 

[Carol Dee]

I have seen them in New England also. I came across an old cemetery today; there was a man buried with his wife on his left and his consort on his right, poor guy will get no peace for eternity.

 

[Nyboy]

The stonewalls in woods are all over around here.