Below Zero

Our winter has been unusual in several ways.  January is half gone and we have yet to see a significant snowfall, but an ice storm of some size did make walking and driving treacherous.  Today and tomorrow will both feature below zero temperatures.  That fact is what pulled me into the great outdoors for pictures of a frozen waterfall and a partially open stream.  This stream has had a strong pull on me to explore it but the steepness of ground has kept me away.  So this view from some distance and a safe return to our home is all that we have.

We have lived in this area for decades but have shown little interest in local history.  It is possible that this rather small stream is named Fred Smith Creek.  Actually Kent Brook is the name of the stream while Fred Smith's name was given to the adjacent road.  Geologists from various colleges have spent time exploring various natural features, but to my knowledge have never focused on the entire Unadilla River.  Having read some of their publications, I have an opinion about the formation of this stream.  It drains a small area and natural drainage would have never cut this steep sided gorge.  Glacial meltwater would have created a volume of water that would have been able to open this feature.  That this stream is little known makes it all the more special to me.

Running water and forming ice sometimes create visually interesting features as shown in these two pictures.  Some small measure of common sense and a very steep bank have so far kept us safely away.

 

Recently, this new bridge appeared where a former bridge was demolished and not replaced.  Low traffic here made replacing what had been a single lane bridge financially irresponsible many decades ago.  The original stonework for that long lost bridge is visible under the end of the new footbridge.  I could not understand how local government would spend the money needed to build this foot bridge.  Very little was done to provide parking for the cars necessary to bring pedestrians here and this area is thinly populated.  Only questions remain.

 

 

The Town of Guilford has captured and held the attention of a business looking for an area to erect windmills larger that any presently in use.  Few pay attention to the operation of local government until its actions threaten life in the community.  These numerous huge windmills have captured the attention of our locals.  Government approval followed by disapproval has not marked the end of the project as shown by these new signs.  It may be that the windmill project has not breathed its last breath here.  Some guilt is felt by using the bribe bridge to take my pictures, but it is there and the otherwise hidden stream can now be seen.  Other footprints were left in the snow cover ahead of my visit today.  It will be interesting to see just what happens next but I expect that the end of the issue is not in sight.

Twice Pressed

That the area where we live was once covered by one mile thick ice is now accepted scientific conjecture.  Our surface soil is not from around here.  Glaciers brought it here from perhaps as much as 200 miles north northeast of here.  Pieces of the Adirondack Mountains may litter the surface of our soil.  Exactly how our land was formed has always puzzled me.  This one rock sent me looking for answers. Amy found a geologic history of New York State but it was written in 1914.  Glacial theory was only 75 years old when that book was written.  A more recent book has yet  to be found.  Still there is this rock that was found lying on the surface at the margin of our gravel bank.  Its rich moss coating speaks to the abundant recent rainfall.
 

We frequently find rock similar to this one.  They are extremely heavy for their size and usually do not split cleanly.  Their core is sometimes more dense, darker in color and loaded with shell fossils.  The differences between the inner and outer layers are many.  The interior is light gray, dense and hard while the brown exterior is porous, damp and soft.  Most of the rock found here is sedimentary in origin but this one seems to have been buried and pressed twice.

Frequent freeze thaw cycles and generous rainfall have already begun to separate the two layers of this freshly split stone.  When found, the outer layer was continuous and unbroken.  Hammer and chisel easily separated the rock into several slices.  Now the weather is stripping away the soft crumbly outer layer.  The heavy gray interior slice will wait on the ground until it can be placed as a capstone on the next built stone wall.  The broken soft exterior fragments will be left to weather to dust ready for their return trip to the ocean where they will help form a new layer of sediment.

Top of the Wall Stone

Our garden is in a spot where stones abound. The glacier left them here. For an ordinary farmer they are an annoyance. For a stone wall builder they are raw materials. Builders of stone walls have a special feeling for stones. Every stone is good for something. They can be wall stones , patio stones , path stones, fill for the driveway stones, and occasionally a stone chosen for spot on top of one of the stonewalls.

This unusual stone was found while Ed was weeding. It's quite dense and shiny with lots of sparkles. After we washed it off and got a good look , we both agreed that it was a stone for the top of the wall. That's where we put those interesting stones that we want to pick up and look at again.
It should stay there unless a crow takes a shine to it.