rocks???

Last one for now until I am able to set up some sort of photo file so I will know what I am looking for and at.

Ruby, John's work is really beautiful. That is a lot of work he has done there. What a beautiful addition to your landscape and home his work is. He should be very proud of what he has accomplished. Holly

We could hardly put up our fence due to rock everywhere. We have it growing out of the ground. It is mostly sandstone. I made 2 flowerbed borders out of it, with small retaining walls for contrast. I am going to make a retaining wall in the backyard where the ground slopes away from the house. Then make a flowerbed out of the top part, and grass/yard in the lower. Our neighbor had a huge pile from where he had cleared his land and said I could have all I wanted of it. Will try to take some pics if I can remember when it is daylight.

By jingles be jammey that is one fine rock wall. I would hate to estimate the value of that project. Certainly there are many memories you can not put a price on because they are priceless. Tons of stone and cement only suggest that the project was not all free. The finished addition to your hardscape is also priceless. Not only do you improve your property you improve the neighborhood as a whole.....at least those living in sight of that wall.

Ruby, Tell John that is one beautiful wall.His style is different than mine and Bill's (wha from NE forum).I usually dry lay brown stone, and wha dry lays harder natural stones. A lot of my stone for walls and stuff is used hand cut sandstone from old barns, bridges, and walls. wha goes out and gathers his till he has enough to begin a project. Cutting his stone would be like cutting and shaping John's. Again Kudos to John. Ric

I agree! Great rock work. Ric too, we've seen.

He is very proud of it and he has put a lot of sweat equity in to it for sure. Doc, John did masonry for a living for a period of time but it was too hard on his back to continue doing it for a living. My brother lives on the same piece of property as myself and he too grows rocks on his land. Most of the work he has done with his rock is dry layed also.

A neighbor and friend who is a Landcape Architect stops by to check on the progress of the walkway has put an estimate of about $35,000.00 if we were paying someone to do it.

For many years I would hear my dad and my brother complain about the rocky land here. I actually decided to show them that lemonade can be made from the lemons that life often gives us. I ran an ad some years ago to sell rock off my property and had several takers.

Poor John has lugged around a rather large stack of the sand stone through three moves and we have pretty much decided this is our last move, so here she will finally settle and become part of the land.

I suppose when the walkway is finished and we finally host a plant swap I will tell folks to wear heavy gloves and back wraps and walk the land and take home some of the rock that we haven't used. The goats are doing quite a nice job of clearing the other debris but don't think too much of eating rocks.

Interesting tales of rocks and land. Ha, something the goats won;t eat!

LOL on the goats. We would sure love to come down for a swap what fun that would be. We could all sit on John's wall and Oh and Ah over it.

What a nice Thread! I just found it!
I just HAVE TO go "outside the Box" if only my watched Treads....
Every now and then--I do check the MAF to see if there are any new Posts...

All I would need is about 10 rocks to edge a small, corner bed where the
old RR tie is completely rotted out....I think it was put down in 1972--along with
all the other massive RR ties my hubby and cousin hauled out of a ditch and
brought home. I love them--but many of them have become termite food....

Re snakes......
I have lived in my house for 42 years now and only one summer (2006) I saw a
black snake here. I was a bit apprehensive--but still ran inside and grabbed my camera....
For an hour--I just followed it all through my flower beds--then as it climbed my old
Juniper bushes out front for a rendezvous with another one. They did their thing and slithered
down from the bush and went underneath my concrete front steps. NOW I freaked out!
Visions of a "litter" of snakes came to mind--as well as them getting into my house, somehow,
Brom the block base it is built up from.

Never saw it again. I wouldn't mind having one--have too many chipmunks and rabbits...

Here is a picture of it. I got a bit too close with my camera--and it coiled up...

Just before it climbing into my Junper bush...it was about 3+' long..
So skinny!

Here are the two "lovers" heading under my concrete steps....Yikes!

Yikes!!!! I don't like any snake, even a black snake. But, yes living with all these rocks and especially the pile John has had out front for so long makes it a perfect location for snakes of all sorts. My brother often sees rattlers at his place. Thankfully he is higher and rockier than where I am.

Holly, you and Ric have to travel by us on your many trips south. When am I going to be able to talk you two in to stopping by? An open invite is now extended. Shoot, we will even let you inside where there is air conditioning rather than having to sit on the front wall.

Oh Ruby I know we do and one of these days we will get to stop by and visit. Usually on the way home we are just so ready to get home that we just fly up the highway. LOL

My motto is 'the only good snake is a dead snake'. LOL I know there are 'helpful' snakes, but I refuse to call any of them 'good'. It is un-natural how they can slither and climb with no legs or arms. If they stay out of my sight they are safe, but if I see them close to my house, it is BOOM. Shiver at the thought of having one in my house again. UGH!

I have large fossilized rocks & minerals that we collected all around the house. Pretty cool.

A swap at your place would be great! We don't need a finished wall! I know there's already plenty for us to ooh and aah over even if it's still a work in progress. It's nice to have a more northern and a more southern location for the MAG swaps... and I think there's already one brewing up in PA this spring... hint hint! LOL

Ruby, don't forget to invite us over sometime because DH & I are going to show you and your DH how to pan for gold!!

You folks are sooooo cute. I promise there will be a swap here, but probably not during 2011. We are open for visits from any of you at any time though. Sure Judy, will be looking forward to having you visit. Had conversation about panning for gold with John and he tells me that just recently he has heard of an outfit trying to get mining rights for gold in a county not too very far from us. Not sure how we would go about finding out if there is property available for Joe Bloe to use or not, but will try and find out. Seeing the bunch of us in a creek panning for gold will be good for some laughs, if not finding any gold.

Good to hear from you Critter. I think of you often and send my best wishes for all good coming your way. I haven't kept up with your thread telling of all that you are currently going through, but I am sure that all you encounter is met with great strength and poise. You honey, are amazing and a true warrior. I know that being a warrior gets to be very old at times and you'd rather not have to keep that stance for too very long, but you are greatly loved and admired by many and have a large amount of folks loving and rooting for you. Love you lots.

Holly, I am the same way about return trips home. They can't be driven fast enough. When I want to be home, I want to be home. You just never know, on one of my visits north to visit my niece Angela, we might show up on yours and Ric's doorstep some afternoon. Watch out.

Anyway, I am so happy to be back at Dave's and interacting with those of you who have played a major part in my life over the last five or so years. I regard many of you as true and dear friends, despite the miles that separate us.

Ruby

We would love to have you Ruby just let us know when you are headed this way.

No plans as of yet Holly. In fact, my niece posted on her Facebook page this week that her hubby is thinking of contracting his Helicoptor Mechanicing skills to a company in Dubai and there is talk of the whole family packing up lock, stock and barrel and going there with him. She said that he can make as much as $180,000.00 per year doing that. I suspect if they are to go, upon return they will most likely choose to reside pretty close to where they are now due to wages being so much higher than here.

This reminds me, I need to go and check out Dubai because I no nothing of the place.

Ruby

Boy I wish I lived closer to you all !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What fun.

That would be nice Crit I would love to meet you in person. Always so much fun when we can all get together.

Well, let's see... if you take some time off, you could fly out in time for the MidAtlantic seed swap (Feb. 26), truck around and visit a couple of us, see the sights, then take in "Springtime in Paris" at the Philadelphia International Flower Show (starts March 6), and fly home again well before spring thaw has you needing to be out in the garden in OK.

Oh man, that sounds terrific!!!!!! However (isn't there always a however?) I have been off work for 3 weeks due to a work comp injury. I doubt my boss would take kindly to me taking off again. LOL BUT I WOULD LOVE TO!!!!!

Back to the topic!!!! Nikki, you should go for walks in the woods (when the temp gets warmer) and bring some rocks home. I got big boulders of white flint, and also my fossilized rocks I collected last summer. Just keep your eyes peeled whenever you go somewhere in the car.

With all the little storms touching our neighborhood we now have a whole three inches on the ground. We have been very fortunate. Both those North of us and South of us have had more than they wanted or needed.

Today I drove to the top of our South mountain where my rock heaven exists. By the time I got there we were overcast to the point I could not get the picture I wanted to tease this discussion. That mountain top has rock larger than my car down to the one grunt size. They cover an area as far as the eye can see. They are now covered with snow just waiting for the proper photo lighting. I think that area might hold a very interesting photograph opportunity. I've been there several times and find beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder. They are all aged and grey limestone. The ridge runs East and West for at least a hundred miles.

ROFL @ "one grunt size" rocks... I know just the kind you mean! That's a good size for stepping stones or for the breadloaf-shaped ones I love for edging "pocket gardens."

LOL...........I guess I understated the the length of the rocky Appalachian Mountains. We should all know they run from Maine to Georgia and can be a hundred miles wide at more than a few points. To hike the famous Appalachian Trail takes a very well trained individual a whole summer to hike. There is an old worn out North South joke suggesting Grant would never have found Richmond Virginia if his route between ridges had not been between two ridges that by dumb chance and choice opened up in sight of Richmond.

just had to bump up this fun thread... upside of funky changes; there are some old but good threads at the bottom of the forum page. this has been a good winter for rock hunting... good digging weather, too!

So, where do you get your rocks?

just had to bump up this fun thread... upside of funky changes; there are some old but good threads at the bottom of the forum page. this has been a good winter for rock hunting... good digging weather, too!

So, where do you get your rocks?

LOL Critter, anyone looking for rock is welcome to come and dig all they want from my yard. You don't have to take ones this big you can find smaller ones. Lots and lots of smaller ones. LOL Fun looking back Thanks Critter.

Holly, were those rocks excavated from your property? I thought you had bought them. They're great landscaping rocks!

I dug up a lot of the landscaping rocks I use in my garden beds from my own yard. I buy flat rocks from garden centers to use around my pond and as stepping stones.

They were excavated from my neighbors property. Either from decades ago by the old farmer that owned the property and moved them into the hedgerow or the newer owners that put in a basement. When the newer neighbors was ready to get rid of the rock in the hedgerow I ask for some of them. I went over with a piece of chalk and marked what we wanted and their heavy equipment guy just pushed them over to our property and stacked them up for us.

Lucky! I would love to have some big rocks like that. I definitely need more rocks to help stop the mulch slides on my sloped garden beds.

Muddy, it sure would be awesome to have some well placed rocks in your slope. Just an extra awesome from what you've already done, which is fabulous.
How's Mom doing?

Wow, this is an old thread. Rocks... Have a lot of those big white boulders on the property that I've incorporated into the gardens. Have gotten flat stepping stones for a pathway commercially though. Reminds me that I need to get one more pallet to extend the existing path to get it to go to the conservatory deck steps.

just take the 'two ton truck' and go get some, lol, Terri

I agree Muddy, some large rocks sure would look good on your slope. You really do have a lovely garden.

Ha ha Sally. Mike won't ever let me live that one down.

Muddy, ditto what the others have said - rocks would look good on your slope!