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I like to stack rocks. Fortunately, I have a lot of rocks and I’ve stacked many of them. Some stay up for only a short while but others stay up for months. The one above is in the farthest corner of the backyard. The little stone on top gets knocked off once a week by birds. I know the birds do it because they leave their calling card. I had to wait for the snow to melt before I found it again.
click on any photo below to enter the gallery:
By the time anyone views this all of the cairns will be under a foot (or more) of snow.
I like this guy because he can do this:
Nice version. Also nice stacking. I tend to stack things wherever I am. Creamers at the restaurant, glasses . . . waitresses don’t like me much. Soon as I have a house, I’m following suit.
By the way, here, in Hawaii, the natives don’t like it much when tourists stack lava rocks.
https://www.hawaiimagazine.com/content/why-rock-stacking-hanakapiai-beach-isn%E2%80%99t-considered-pono-right
Interesting link. As far as I know, there are no such concerns in this part of the country and in most cases don’t have any other purpose other than decretive or just to show “I was there”. In this case, it might be “too much time on my hands”.
Thanks for the link, Emilio. It’s always good to learn something new and unexpected.
I’m not a stacker Bit I like the pics of your stacks!
Thanks, Howard. I’ll be doing more (stacks and photos) after it warms a bit. Actually, it has to warm up a lot!
I like to find those when I’m out walking around. Perhaps, one day, if I’m in walking around Webster, Where life is worth living, I’ll happen through your backyard and take a few snaps! 😀
You’re welcome anytime, Paul.
Nice cairns and photos. Are you familiar with Michael Grab’s work: http://gravityglue.com
Thanks, Alan. And thanks for the link. This stuff is certainly not in the league of Michael’s but it gave me a healthy respect for someone that talented.
I might be tempted, in the case of the bird vandalism, to cheat a bit with a tiny dab of construction cement under the smallest top rock. 😉 There’s some amazing stackers out there.
Thanks, Earl. I’ve seen some amazing work, both in photos and in my travels. Some of the most interesting ones I’ve seen were featured in the second post on this blog https://2clicksaway.wordpress.com/2013/01/31/mystery-of-the-stone-pyramids/
I enjoyed this post – your rock stacks, and the Atkins video – my, that was a beautiful take on what can be a tired piece – loved it! As for cairns, we were surprised to see signs at a state park in Nevada we explored the week before last, instructing visitors to report cairns to the rangers. They do not want people doing that. I think it’s become so popular in the west that people see it as intrusive, especially when, as in that park, the landscape is all about the rocks. If everyone starts stacking them, soon the look of the landscape is completely different. Which is fine at your house, and if you’re an artist, but I guess it’s come to the point that it’s no longer OK in parks. We were surprised to read those signs, and we did see one small cairn, but we didn’t report it. 🙂
p.s. I googled that prohibition and found this – see #9.
https://www.canyontours.com/blog/southwest-spotlight-9-sights-valley-of-fire/
Thanks, Lynn. And thanks for the link; I saw 4 of the 9 items when we visited the VoF when we visited so I think I’ll have to go back.
I didn’t know the parks forbid building cairns. When they start giving away the drilling rights the cairns are going to seem pretty insignificant.