The land that we occupy is quite a mystery to even a casual observer. Five meadows ranging in size from two to five acres are each on a different level. Each is relatively flat but all are separated by changes in elevation. All are the product of the receding glacier. Different soil types are found in the various meadows. Some are rich with clay while others are sandy gravel. We cannot begin to understand exactly how our land came to be. It must represent more than a single event in the melting of the glacier.
Water sorted deposits fill our valley. Operating gravel banks abound. Last fall we had our road improved with several truck loads of gravel from an operation a few miles upstream from us. On my daily trips up and down the lane with the mail, different appearing stones would catch my eye. Some found my pocket and wound up on the wall near the basement entrance. Geology books suggest that our soil may have come from as far away as the Adirondack Mountains. I would really like to know the identity of these stones to aid in understanding just how they came to be here.
Fossils clearly identify a sandstone of some type. Chunks cemented together in a single stone are conglomerate similar to the deposits that form the Catskill escarpment. More dense stones show pits that could have been formed by gas bubbles under tremendous heat and pressure. Perhaps I should rent a geologist to walk this land and describe just how it came to be. He might even be able to identify the names of the pebbles atop my wall. All those different colors and textures are so intriguing to look at especially if you have a thing for stones and I do.
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