Briers and ferns have claimed the strip of ground between the field and the woods. Why the plow line ended so far from the trees was a mystery to me. Stones may be the reason the plow did not venture here. I knew that some stones littered the surface, but I just discovered a deposit that is deep. Many of the stones unearthed so far are excellent flat wall stones. They are located so that loading them into the truck will be easy. Much less work for me than the farmers who cleared these stones from the field perhaps more than a century ago.
Fallen leaves and stones sometimes make unusual compost. If a stone pile is above ground, the leaves turn into a fine black powder that stains gloves, clothes and the person working the pile. Anything that black must be a great soil amendment. I always take all that I find. This buried stone pile shows no trace of that black gold. Regular brown rotted leaves are all that I have found so far.
For now these stones will remain near the woods. Winter is not that far away and no wall projects are currently underway. A small stone wall surrounded by flowers placed down by the road is a possible future project. It just seems right that the location of Stone Wall Garden should be subtly suggested by such a structure. We are so far from the road that few passersby know what grows at the top of the hill.
