My rambling on the westwoods rocks I have found and wondered about while mountain biking has been going on for years. Now I find a site to support some of my hunches, and provide names to what I have found.
Stone Structures of Eastern United States
This site illustrates a burial cairn that is by the 'dinasour rock' by orange and green.
Showing posts with label The woods and trails. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The woods and trails. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Friday, June 5, 2009
Who's watching you in the woods
Spring is the perfect time of year to see a variety of wildlife here in Guilford, Connecticut. When I'm not riding my bike, I like to take pictures. Here's some local nature photos of different beasts and their kids peering down from above. Keep your eyes peeled and you can see any of these animals who live in Westwoods diverse ecosystems.
The following pics include a baby Pileated Woodpecker, Great Horned Owl and owlet, a Red Tailed Hawk Nest with 3 babies, a Cardinal, an Osprey, and a Snapping turtle, a Copperhead, a Fiddler Crab and an Egret.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Rock Mysteries Continue
I found this site the other day.
It validated and explained a lot of the mysteries of stones in Westwoods. There are many balanced stones, shaped stones and arranged stones set in place by layers of moss. I'm not sure how old, but they do appear to be similar to the rock formations on the above site.
I Westwoods, I noticed some peculiar stones on a large slab of stone. Upon examination, I noticed that they all seemed "hollowed" or grooved... But also broken like puzzle pieces. I remember reading that Native American burials involved breaking favorite objects and wondered if that was the case here. Additionally, I imagined they might process food on this rock and just discard stone tools when they were no longer functional. It seems like there's more arrangement to these rocks though.... Here's some pics:
Chipped and grooved Stones on a slab - piled along the edge
Sample of a stone I dug up that better illustrates the stones chipped groove areas.
This one seemed like a bowl. It would not have caught my eye, but for the fact that
so many rocks have the same groove or notch. Bowls? Supports for wooden beams?
I don't know.
I just know there are a lot that seem "arranged".
There are three spots that seem to have such arrangements.
The arrangements have not seemed to have been disrupted for a long time due to the molds and lichens on them.
And finally the rocks appear to share similar characteristics to the other "placed" rocks, and not so much to the rocks that appear to be random or occur naturally.
Here's one of the stones that are placed on top of the slab which appear to have some sort of chipping and or grooves. All the stones on this large slab have the same grooves.
Flat wall like structure has rocks placed on the edge, and rocks of equal size below, which presumibly have been knocked off at some point.
Then again, it might all be in my head.
It validated and explained a lot of the mysteries of stones in Westwoods. There are many balanced stones, shaped stones and arranged stones set in place by layers of moss. I'm not sure how old, but they do appear to be similar to the rock formations on the above site.
I Westwoods, I noticed some peculiar stones on a large slab of stone. Upon examination, I noticed that they all seemed "hollowed" or grooved... But also broken like puzzle pieces. I remember reading that Native American burials involved breaking favorite objects and wondered if that was the case here. Additionally, I imagined they might process food on this rock and just discard stone tools when they were no longer functional. It seems like there's more arrangement to these rocks though.... Here's some pics:
Chipped and grooved Stones on a slab - piled along the edge
Sample of a stone I dug up that better illustrates the stones chipped groove areas.
This one seemed like a bowl. It would not have caught my eye, but for the fact that
so many rocks have the same groove or notch. Bowls? Supports for wooden beams?
I don't know.
I just know there are a lot that seem "arranged".
There are three spots that seem to have such arrangements.
The arrangements have not seemed to have been disrupted for a long time due to the molds and lichens on them.
And finally the rocks appear to share similar characteristics to the other "placed" rocks, and not so much to the rocks that appear to be random or occur naturally.
Here's one of the stones that are placed on top of the slab which appear to have some sort of chipping and or grooves. All the stones on this large slab have the same grooves.
Flat wall like structure has rocks placed on the edge, and rocks of equal size below, which presumibly have been knocked off at some point.
Then again, it might all be in my head.
Monday, April 28, 2008
We have an owl!
Okay so that was the big news at the old bike ranch.... But it wasn't all the news....
We have owlets!
Those owls took over the hawks nest after a March full of hooting, April brought the babies...
Needless to say that the Hawks were not happy, but size matters in bird world, as shown below.
Hawk (left) & Owl settle their differences...
I think this one is named Jim...
Anyway, they haven't started screeching yet, but concensus says they will soon!
Monday, March 24, 2008
Balancing out of balance
I am disturbed by an odd proliferation of rock statues... Lord knows, I'm no fan. But I was actually happy to see the grotesque overbuilding and dismantling of old walls for self-congratulation in recent weeks...
Pics on this page show ancient rock piles in various states of moss covering.
Most appear to be placed, or piled intentionally or removed out from somewhere else. But if these piles are gone, so too will be the clues they may have held, and the wonder they provide to those that care to look.
Maybe the builder seeks attention from the local paper. Maybe there's an army of subculture's, balancing every loose and otherwise rock they see. Maybe its my own fault. I confronted a rock balancer several weeks ago. But later apologized, and just requested moderation and care. Maybe its their revenge. Or maybe its a new natural fad.... Geo rock balance caching... or whatever... Whatever the reason, whatever the cause, it has spread through Westwoods like poison ivy, or a new blight. Leaving the landscape out of balance once again in its history.
I fell through one as it was built on top of a rock jump we've been fond of for the past ten or so years. It felt almost good to smash through it... Sent me off course somewhat... The stick cutting my leg didn't feel as good as I was veered off course into a dead hemlock. I hope that's the worst injury that comes of these...
.. Not that I care if the builder gets sued, (legally he/they can be)...
...But I don't want to see any kid hurt because somebody craves attention this badly... Now I'm not one to exaggerate, but I counted well over fifty along the blue trail last Saturday. Maybe more than one hundred. Each rock helped anchor in soil, was a home, artifact or held some other minuscule role in nature and or history. None are significant alone, but subracted by conscription into an army of rock balancing statues their abscence in the forest floor may be felt...
Rock balancers remove choice rocks from the trail, loosening a vital component of the firma "terra firma", (or maybe its part of the "terra"... Anyway the dismantling of old walls, and other "natural or prehistoric" formations in order to say "look what I can do," used to bother me...
Someday this may be the only record of these old stone piles. And that's fine if its only me that sees something valuable in their existence.
As I said before, I'm glad its getting so prolific. Now since whomever is doing it, seems to be totally out of balance, I'll wait until they piss enough people off with their over the top messing of the natural scenery. Those who care and make rules, will have to add a provision to the land trust bylaws that includes dismantling or disturbing rocks to the reluctant list of rules, by sheer preservative necessity. Yay, more rules! Thanks stone dude[s].
More boring old moss covered rock piles
These rocks were piled for some reason, (maybe important, maybe not so), long ago [ancient rock balancers?]. So long ago, that many are fused with layers and variety of lichens and mosses.
Just Tear them up and balance them.... yay.
Anyway, its beyond me... I resign to riding and preaching "non-skidding"... (of course, after making my case well heard in this post).
I will let others decide when too many stone walls, rock piles, ancient graves, and not to mention the anchors of soil to the trails themselves are disturbed and destroyed.I'm grateful to have the woods to ride through. I'm not the one to decide what is out of balance for all.
... But the proliferation of self-grandiosing rock balancing sculpture numbering near one hundred in about a quarter of a mile, then also everywhere else...
To defend the practice again, I can see how one or two special rock balancing locations might be fun. Even better would be a secret zen rock garden...
Recycling the smoothest of rocks and arranging them for hours at a time...slow down! But, now we have hundreds of balanced obstacles to site and bike, in our face everywhere in Westwoods. It seems like a lot of rocks displaced to me, (but not so bad as when I was a quarry Westwoods sighs)...
Enough Pontification
As a simple bike endowed creature of the forest. I will continue to clear inconvenient trees from my favorite trails, break up flooding where it overflows streams, or does not serve my trails by draining, but other than that, I prefer to co-exist with the woods and disturb as little as I can.
I'll watch the frenetic stone pile building, until this chapter too runs it's course. I'm just sad to know that my kids may not get to wonder at rocks like the moss covered mounds and piles on this page. They will know that these rocks were moved by those with an innate need to see newly man-made objects everywhere...even deep in nature.
Pics on this page show ancient rock piles in various states of moss covering.Most appear to be placed, or piled intentionally or removed out from somewhere else. But if these piles are gone, so too will be the clues they may have held, and the wonder they provide to those that care to look.
Maybe the builder seeks attention from the local paper. Maybe there's an army of subculture's, balancing every loose and otherwise rock they see. Maybe its my own fault. I confronted a rock balancer several weeks ago. But later apologized, and just requested moderation and care. Maybe its their revenge. Or maybe its a new natural fad.... Geo rock balance caching... or whatever... Whatever the reason, whatever the cause, it has spread through Westwoods like poison ivy, or a new blight. Leaving the landscape out of balance once again in its history.
I fell through one as it was built on top of a rock jump we've been fond of for the past ten or so years. It felt almost good to smash through it... Sent me off course somewhat... The stick cutting my leg didn't feel as good as I was veered off course into a dead hemlock. I hope that's the worst injury that comes of these...
.. Not that I care if the builder gets sued, (legally he/they can be)...
...But I don't want to see any kid hurt because somebody craves attention this badly... Now I'm not one to exaggerate, but I counted well over fifty along the blue trail last Saturday. Maybe more than one hundred. Each rock helped anchor in soil, was a home, artifact or held some other minuscule role in nature and or history. None are significant alone, but subracted by conscription into an army of rock balancing statues their abscence in the forest floor may be felt...
Rock balancers remove choice rocks from the trail, loosening a vital component of the firma "terra firma", (or maybe its part of the "terra"... Anyway the dismantling of old walls, and other "natural or prehistoric" formations in order to say "look what I can do," used to bother me...
Someday this may be the only record of these old stone piles. And that's fine if its only me that sees something valuable in their existence.
As I said before, I'm glad its getting so prolific. Now since whomever is doing it, seems to be totally out of balance, I'll wait until they piss enough people off with their over the top messing of the natural scenery. Those who care and make rules, will have to add a provision to the land trust bylaws that includes dismantling or disturbing rocks to the reluctant list of rules, by sheer preservative necessity. Yay, more rules! Thanks stone dude[s].
More boring old moss covered rock piles
These rocks were piled for some reason, (maybe important, maybe not so), long ago [ancient rock balancers?]. So long ago, that many are fused with layers and variety of lichens and mosses.
Just Tear them up and balance them.... yay.
Anyway, its beyond me... I resign to riding and preaching "non-skidding"... (of course, after making my case well heard in this post).
I will let others decide when too many stone walls, rock piles, ancient graves, and not to mention the anchors of soil to the trails themselves are disturbed and destroyed.I'm grateful to have the woods to ride through. I'm not the one to decide what is out of balance for all.
... But the proliferation of self-grandiosing rock balancing sculpture numbering near one hundred in about a quarter of a mile, then also everywhere else...
To defend the practice again, I can see how one or two special rock balancing locations might be fun. Even better would be a secret zen rock garden...
Recycling the smoothest of rocks and arranging them for hours at a time...slow down! But, now we have hundreds of balanced obstacles to site and bike, in our face everywhere in Westwoods. It seems like a lot of rocks displaced to me, (but not so bad as when I was a quarry Westwoods sighs)...
Enough PontificationAs a simple bike endowed creature of the forest. I will continue to clear inconvenient trees from my favorite trails, break up flooding where it overflows streams, or does not serve my trails by draining, but other than that, I prefer to co-exist with the woods and disturb as little as I can.
I'll watch the frenetic stone pile building, until this chapter too runs it's course. I'm just sad to know that my kids may not get to wonder at rocks like the moss covered mounds and piles on this page. They will know that these rocks were moved by those with an innate need to see newly man-made objects everywhere...even deep in nature.
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