Squiggles

Squiggly Lines on an Old Photo

Another Squiggly Line

More Squiggles

Coming up...

...another cluster of rock piles by (but not on) Barrett's Hill, Bolton:

Split boulder from Montville CT

Norman Muller writes:

Beaver Dam Hill in Montville, CT, where the “souterrain” is located, is also chock full of cairns. Ted Hendrickson, a photographer by profession, was looking for the souterrain with his wife, and came across this marvelous split-wedged boulder with some donation stones on top. I look upon these wedged boulders as a Native American signature. I also see the stones on top as later than the stone wedged in the split: in other words, in response to the wedge.

Like the shadows in the stream

Like the shadows in the stream
Like the evanescent gleam
Of the twilight's failing blaze
Like the fleeting years and days.

From Thomas L. Doughton's

"Like the shadows in the stream"
Local Historians, The Discourse of Disappearance and
Nipmuc Indians of Central Massachusetts

[click here]

[Brought to my attention via a reader's search terms and a JimP post from back when]

Bright November Morning in Leominser State Forest

A few photos from a walk. It was clear and blue with plenty of light, off a side road north of Parmenter.

Ice crystals:
A spring, just off the path:A typical view, what about that split rock up there?Closer:

Closest:Here is a particularly nice example of a split wedged rock:
These examples obviously required single minded physical effort and I think they demand some better explanation than that they represent offerings to the spirit of the rock. Especially casual passers bye could not make such things. I want to hear a more explicit scenario.

Beech trees:
Fresh moose hoof prints:(They had a faint smell of large animal)

Underwater leaves:Another look at that nice wedged rock, if you watch closely you'll see very briefly another rock is shown at my feet and in line with the wedge in the rock. Sorry I did not pay more attention to it when I could.

Moose Video - Leominster State Forest

With the degradation that happens when I upload video, this already pretty grainy sequence will probably be worthless. Look for the dark thing a little left of center. But anyway, I came across a moose eating buds in the morning on a bit of trail in the Leominster woods. Got the camera going and took some kind of video. I was upwind and the moose spotted me a moment or so after I spotted it; so I was trying not to move and watch with my eyes while also filming. I did not dare activate the zoom (now I wish I had) fearing the mechanical sound would scare it off.

Later back at my car, I ran into a water department official, told him about the moose, and learned there were three bears in the area, as well.

Another snippet from Maine

Backtracking a visitor to their search terms leads to stuff I never saw. Here is yet another rock pile explanation:

"The first “lighthouses” in Maine probably were Native American bonfires with rock piles on two or three sides to protect the flames. Early Colonists use..."
- A Signature Flash on the Maine Coast from VisitMaine.com

St. Aspinquid Rock Pile moved atop Mount A in York

From SeacoastOnline [here]

The other evening Doug Harris of the Narragansetts told the audience at the Acton Library that a stone was put on a rock pile as a prayer and that removing the stone breaks the prayer.

More background [here]. Among other things this shows the practice of placing rocks on a memorial/donation pile continues in the present today.

South of Camp Virginia...

...in Bolton, there is a wetland and an undisturbed woods. Some of it is conservation land and a lot of it has occasional rock piles. I went to explore part of it last weekend and I can see that there is still plenty I have not explored down there, e.g. Barrett's Hill. Anyway, I walked in from the west having parked on the road that more or less bisects the map vertically - Rt 85, Hudson Rd. Found a couple of small rock pile clusters and then came back out. Here is one site, almost smothered in blueberries. and smothered in pine saplings:Also there was a nice boulder with rocks stacked on it. This is not that common. Look at the other side. Any theories as to what this is?

There was also a low wall there, too indistinct to photo, and a bit of structure too hard to make out:
This is along the blue dot trail. You ought to be able to find it.

Another Familiar Place Post (or two)

Another Familiar Place and Something "New"
Toes and Claws

Portraits

This is me, Peter Waksman
Other people get pictured occasionally so I hope it is not too vain to show myself once in a while too. If you are willing to send in a photo, please do, and I'll post it.

Cisco Ad with Stone Tools

I don't think they'll mind my infringing on the photographer's copyright. Those rocks are Silicon Valley cobbles. See that chipped rock in the foreground? I wrote about such things here and here.