A Haven for Vee

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Rock Walls



When the leaves have fallen and a tree stands naked again, one sees the beauty in form alone. Limbs arch skyward; if broken, they point to the ground or are caught up in the arms of their fellows. A simple beauty there is in bare branches.

Other views become clear as well. The rock walls of New England stand visible as a testament to a time when the forests were fields and farmers used the offerings of the stony ground to line their properties and keep their livestock contained.

As a child, I loved the rock walls that meandered for miles through the woods. I love that my parents allowed me the luxury of spending time there. Recently, I started another book that describes some of the time spent among the pines and the rock walls. Yes, I am the queen of beginning paragraphs. Anyway, it starts like this:


Long ago, more than a hundred years, the pathway through
the woods was a busy stagecoach trail. There had been houses along its route from the little village by the river to the larger town of Aberdeen sitting ten miles northwest in the foothills of Aberdeen Mountain. Then there had been harried travelers eager to arrive elsewhere, but now there was nothing but trees, wildflowers, an old cellar hole, and a rusty-hinged gate along a crumbling stone wall.


The Very Spot


This had been a thoroughfare, now only a path for fishermen to
follow through the pine into the meadow until finding the stream that meandered down from the mountain miles above. Children, awed by the bits and pieces of a former time... old spoons, broken glass, a belt buckle... played for hours near the cellar hole until their hunger sent them scrambling for home.



Gee, just once I'd like to finish the book. :)




P.S. Some of us even build our own rock walls...here's a little photo of my daughter's backyard where she has been laboring for a few years now on a rather lengthy rock wall that surrounds her property. This is the east side. She despises straight walls so hers are curvy and follow the land just as the old-timers did.










9 comments:

  1. Vee, I have to say that I love your wording of your blog entry as much or more than the book paragraph....at first I it a quote from some famous author....

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  2. I love old stone walls too. But you were so lucky to have been able to play and follow them, as a child.

    Sounds like a lovely book.

    "Gee, just once I'd like to finish the book. :)"

    This is probably just a throw-away line, written by you. But I latch onto it! In hopes you are like me, someone who dips into books, without really fully reading them, at times. It's a very *bad habit* and one I should be *ashamed* of I suppose. But... confession time.. It's so. I do it. -sigh- ,-)

    Bravo to your daughter! What a lovely wall she is building. And what a job she has taken on!

    There! You've given me another idea for blogging! I have a stone wall right across from my house. Lots of them, around a college campus. Photo Op!!!! Wow, but you are helpful to my blogging! How much do I owe ya'? ,-))))

    Mari-Nanci

    Mari-Nanci

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  3. How I miss New England...I wish I had a rock wall of my very own..
    Love,
    Robin

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  4. Here's another rock wall fan! We have a 'pretend' rock wall around our front planter...made of cultured stone. I love the old meandering rock walls though.

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  5. Beautiful words and beautiful memories of a time long ago. Thank you for this "mini-vacation", so refreshing and thought provoking!
    Bless you!
    Ruthann
    Warm Pie, Happy Home
    P.S. thank you for visiting my blog and all your gracious comments! You're a sweetheart!

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  6. Thank you so much for dropping by and paying me a nice visit and comment. I really hope you finish the book.

    And please tell your daughter her rock wall is just lovely!

    Love,
    Julie

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  7. Vee,

    Thanks so much for visiting my blog. I can't believe I haven't found your blog before now. You have a very nice blog and I'll e back to visit. I see you are doing the Thanks with Leah also.

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  8. Thank you, everyone.

    I just learned yesterday that I had been blocking Typepad bloggers so I changed my settings. That resulted in a bit of spam, but if it allows my Typepad friends to post, it'll be worth it.

    Today's post has a bit more of the rock wall that dd has been working on. She loves the look of it, loves the selection process, and even the labor of it all. She was always great with a puzzle!

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