The Old Stone Walls

The old stone walls that mark the property lines of New Hampshire are like one giant flea market antique, but imagine how hard it would be to box them up and bring them for assessment on Antique Roads Show?
Unfortunately, one of our neighbors has caught folks stealing rocks from the old walls that line their property. So, that proves it; they're collectible. Maybe I could get ten dollars for one on eBay, but I'd rather keep them, they bring a little historical character to my yard.

There's an artist, who I really admire, named Andy Goldsworthy who was commissioned to build a stone wall somewhere in New York state. He was paid thousands of dollars to create this meandering neo-stonewall. It was a noble half mile long, maybe more, but salty New England farmers did the same thing without a commission, spanning thousands and thousands of miles.

The stone walls tell us about the laborious, frustration of New England farmers who had to move the glacial leftovers strewn across the fields to make room for planting. These pain in the neck rocks were probably one of the reasons New Hampshire's Horace Greeley stated, "Go west, young man!" Go west to get away from these rocks.

Sheep farming was popular on our hill at one time. I imagine it was easier to raise sheep than grow crops in these rocky meadows. Look at any, old, New Hampshire farm field and you will see an ancient, monster rock still standing somewhere. These lone testimonies to what once was stand untouched by modern earth movers that so easily rewrite the landscape's narrative. Don't get me wrong, bulldozers are cool, heck, I knew a Bulldozer in college, he was a great guy and all. But, these old stones are a picture of what New England farms once looked like. Seeing these heavy loads of granite you can almost imagine the difficulty these farmers had trying to clear the pastures.

Here's an excerpt from "River's and Tides" that documents the work of Andy Goldsworthy who created art made from natural materials. No paint, no tricks, just the natural color of leaves, arranged to create dynamic results, the reds kneaded from the iron rich clay and the balancing of rocks and ice done skillfully with a steady, patient hand and without glue or nails.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkHRZQU6bjI&feature=related