Where Is Winter?

Pioneer settlers had to clear their land as a first order of business.  Hauling stone to what would become field's edge preceded planting.  Stones were likely heaved in a pile since there was no time to build walls.  Years later stone walls could have served as pasture fences.  A wall occupied less land than a stone heap and having the livestock walk on solid cleared ground was safer than having them slipping on slanted stone.  Here at field's edge traces of an old wall can be found among the rubble.  The new stone tower holds a string to define a straight wall edge.  Two strings, one high and one low, would clearly define the plane face of the wall but one will almost do.  A rubber hammer makes necessary adjustments without marking the face of the whacked stone.
  

Today's 50 degree temperature drew me outside.  This entire area was littered with stone.  Cleaning up the mess seemed  like a good use of this unseasonable day.  Frost still held the buried stone but a little time in the sun softened the duff.  Clearing the stone pile was the day's task.  Placing it in the wall gave me a place to git rid of the litter.  Disposing of the stone was the task.  Keeping the new wall solid would prevent me from having to pick them up again.  Artful tight stone placement would have to wait for another wall in another place.
  

The area in front of the wall is not yet ready to plant.  Much stone still lies beneath the surface.  Briers and roses have been uprooted but will likely stage a come back.  This season will be spent battling noxious weeds and levering out more stone.  Planned planting will have to wait one more year.

Last year we had more snow in February than I could handle with my lawn tractor.  Plowing pros were called in several times to clear the snow and remove nearly three hundred dollars from my wallet.  That winter was easier on the plants but I did enjoy today.

Wall Season

Any stone pile, whether random or organized, is home to a wide variety of creatures.  Some of them sting while others bite and those that slither sometimes cause me to dance and shriek.  Late fall finds these insects and animals asleep for the winter.  My solitary ownership of the stones now makes this wall building season.  Many areas of the garden  need work but the pull of the stones grabs and holds my attention.

Grass clippings were piled here this summer to kill the pasture grass.  Once again the stone fork was the tool of choice.  Pulling the clippings and what little remained of the dead plants to the next area to be cleared, left the soil ready to plant.  Our narrow strip of river bottom land is free of stones.  Top soil is deep here.  Usually we find gravel just under the surface.  We will for the first time build a wall in rich dirt. The stones may stay where placed or they may move around in response to frost action.

Large stones with at least one nearly flat surface form the first course of the wall.  Custom holes are dug under each stone to accommodate wobble knobs.  The flat face needs to be nearly horizontal.  Any tip is in the direction of the wall's center.  Rubble fills the voids and fine gravel seals the interior.  My goal is to have the interior of the wall filled so that no critters can find space for a home.  One experience of weeding plants next to a wall while hornets moved in and out of their home above me taught me to fill the voids.

Frost had firmed the ground this morning.  A tap from the hammer loosens the stones but screening frozen gravel is impossible.  Three pails of gravel are in the basement.  They will get the building started tomorrow while the sun warms the frozen ground.