Becky's Found Flint

Yesterday's sunshine found Becky sitting on a stone wall under the huge cherry tree.  She saw this stone nearly buried in the litter close to the edge of the wall recently built by us. Not the usual stone, this one deserved closer inspection.  Some of the edges of this stone are as sharp as a knife edge.  Other surfaces are soft and porous.  We believe that the hard gray area of this stone is flint.  We would like to know how the stone was formed.

There is evidence that Native Americans lived on land very close to our present home.  We can almost see the vee shaped stone structure that still spans the river and was thought to concentrate the migrating fish, eels, shad or salmon, making harvest of this natural food  source easier.  A flint factory appears to have existed a short distance downstream of the eel weir.  I have spoken to a man that grew up on this farm.  He describes finding primitive stone points here in great quantities.  Our land overlooks the river and is largely glacial gravel deposits. The fertile part of the farm lies below us along the riverside.  Native Americans left no signs of their presence on the land where we live.

Most of the rock here is sedimentary in origin.  Ancient mountains were eroded away and their sediments formed layers thousands of feet thick.  At this depth, heat and pressure liquefied mineral matter.  Some of this flowed into voids in the sediments where it hardened. Flint is quartz and quartz is composed of silicon and oxygen.  Glass is manufactured from silicon sands.  This flint does have a glassy appearance and it breaks to a sharp edge.  I have tried to understand the science describing the formation of the earth's crust but it is conjecture, complicated and contradictory.  Identification of the myriad of brightly colored stones found here remains impossible for us.  This piece of flint is one of the easy ones.

We tend to pick up stones that catch our eye.  Most wind up in the small voids in the tops of our walls. A visiting child spotted a piece of flint while he was walking the top of one of our walls.  He wanted to take the flint home with him.  I felt that its sharp edges were too dangerous to place in the hands of a child.  A small stone bearing a really well defined shell fossil was exchanged for the flint but the child felt that he had gotten the poorer end of the deal.  I can see his point.  He was allowed to walk the top of a wall several feet high.  If he had the skill to accomplish that dangerous feat he certainly could have safely handled a sharp piece of stone.  Disappointment is usually temporary.  If he was really interested in a piece of flint, I'm sure he has found a piece of his own by now.

First Day In The Garden

There was no question that today was to be a garden day.  The wind had shifted 180 degrees and now came from the south.  Temperatures were forecast to reach near 60 degrees F.  We took no time to check the thermometer there was too much to do.  Getting the pile of leaves off the tree peony was job one.  We prepared this plant for winter by filling the wire cage with fallen maple leaves.  Insulated protection was the goal.  The green dwarf iris leaves at the base told us that it was time to get rid of the leaves.  Bleached yellow iris shoots were totally covered by the leaves.  They should quickly green up now that they are in the light.

Our tree peony has never been happy here.  One or two flowers is the best display it has ever produced.  We picked a good year to try the protective leaf cover as we had no snow this winter.  These buds look promising.  When the frozen leaf mass on the north side of the plant thaws, it will be removed and we will get a look at the entire plant.

This patch of bulbs was well weeded last fall.  Snow never came and the weeds grew over the winter.  A slight tilt to the south warmed this bed early so weeding was a workable option today.

This is one of our most hated weeds.  We do not know its name.  Extensive deep roots spread wide under its insignificant above ground growth.  Removing this monster from the emerging snow drops was a challenge.  Usually the root mass of this weed holds enough soil to make way for a new layer of compost.  Soft freshly thawed soil released these roots today.  Only one snow drop was uprooted by weeding.

This is the other most hated weed.  Its tap root is impressive but was easily pulled today.  I am certain that this weed will regrow if even the smell of the tap root is left in the hole.  Today they pulled cleanly.

The bed is weeded now.  We will see if the bulbs finish flowering ahead of the return of the weeds.  Knowing the names of things allows one to more fully express their feelings.  We have been unable to find the names of either of these pests.  I would really like to be able to attach a proper name to the string of words that spew forth while removing these buggers.

The lemon verbenas were given a brief moment in the sun today.  Some soft leggy new growth was broken off in the wind.  It found its way to the teapot and the plants should do fine.  These plants made the first of many round trips from the basement to the outside today.  June will have arrived before these plants can be safely placed in the garden.