Helping a lifelong friend create a more sustainable backyard by removing the turf and putting in a groundcover alternative and native plants to nurture nature leads to a friendly banter about the Etiquette of Pilfering Rocks from the wilderness.
We chat about the growing trend of stacked stones in parks and parks, also called cairns, causing a littering problem. And the fascinating inuksuks featured in an Alpine Garden Design.
And a magnificent sculpture created by nature: Tripod Rock - a massive boulder balanced by three smaller boulders at Pyramid Mountian in Montville, NJ.
Related Stories & Helpful Links:
Etiquette of Pilfering Rocks
Tripod Rock
Planning an Alpine Garden
Bureau of Land Management – About Mining and Minerals
Link to USDA Forest Service Recreational Mineral Collecting
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I'd love to hear about your garden and nature stories. And your thoughts about topics for future podcast episodes. You can email me at AskMaryStone@gmail.com. Thanks so much for tuning in :^)
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Mary Stone, Columnist & Garden Designer
AskMaryStone.com
More about the Podcast and Column:
Welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries.
It's not only about gardens; it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from mother nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.
Thanks for tuning in, Mary Stone
Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com
Direct Link to Podcast Page
Ep 97 Etiquette of Pilfering Rocks
Sat, Feb 25, 2023, 1:57 PM • 10:18
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
rock, stones, garden, boulders, stack, nature, gathering, trails, ants, backyard, dilemmas, removing, mary, disturb, pilfering, stacked stones, inuksuk, cairns, mary stone, garden, nature, inspiration
SPEAKERS
Mary Stone
Mary Stone 00:00
Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. I'm Mary Stone and welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries. It's not only about gardens; it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from mother nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So let's jump in in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.
Mary Stone 00:26
Hello there, it's Mary Stone on a snow-kissed screen porch, but rain is now falling. Still, it's so pretty to see a little bit of snow in this very warm winter. Thanks to those that reached back about last week's chat about Mending Fences with Forsythia. I hope you are making baby forsythia plants while brightening your homes. And thank you for your kind wishes for healing my health dilemma. Tests are still underway, but I'm feeling much better because I'm doing better by not having as much anxiety about it. This, too, shall pass. And there was wisdom that I gained from a garden consultation with a gal in town I've known for many years. Carol had endured many things in her long life, and she said it's okay to be concerned. But don't worry. It lessens your immune system. Great wisdom, Carol. Thank you for sharing that.
Mary Stone 01:20
So this week's chat is inspired by a project I'm helping my college roommate and lifelong friend with. It led to a discussion about the etiquette of pilfering from the wild. I'm not sure that that will be the official column title. But anyway, it starts like this.
Mary Stone 01:36
Hello fellow listeners and readers. What a delight to help a lifelong friend who is involved in creating a more sustainable backyard by removing the turf and putting in a ground cover alternative and native plants to nurture nature. Part of the criteria for the grant, which will fund some of the project's expenses, is to include a rock garden with a swale to manage runoff, which led to a discussion about pilfering rocks from the wild. Linda, who I lovingly called Lindy-poo, was my roommate in college at the Fashion Institute of Technology. (Gratefully, life led me to the fashion of plants instead). She is working with the Municipal Water District of Orange County, California, where she lives. They have a turf removal program with rebates for participants. And by removing turf. They tout residents will use 70% less water. It's good to know that they don't consider artificial turf a sustainable solution in the program. I was glad to hear that because I thought that would be an easy fix for folks.
Mary Stone 02:41
They have template designs you can use, but my college roommate and dear friend delightfully Asked Mary instead. We spoke about having a seating rock amongst the pea gravel and swale. The design will be much like the dry river beds we create in our neck of the woods to manage interim flooding from storm events, decorating them with boulders and pops of native plants. I forwarned her that the beautiful boulders and pea gravel could be pricey. Linda suggested having a family outing at a picnic, and harvesting rocks from the wilderness afterward, which led to a very friendly banter.
Mary Stone 03:17
Imagine if everyone's snag rocks, I said. Then there's the issue of disturbing wildlife that lives below stones. Of course, you could drop the rock back in position if you find an ant colony below. Recalling one I disturbed when moving a garden pot. They were the tiny ants that invaded our home and spring. I felt terrible watching each ant scatter carrying an egg. I was betwixt and between allowing them to move into the kitchen or partake in mom's remedy. The latter won, and I poured boiling water on the critters. Reading this still brings sadness. Ants are pollinators, after all. It's true. I really hate killing anything but sometimes you kind of have to. So back to my story.
Mary Stone 04:01
I hadn't realized this until Linda mentioned that you couldn't take anything from the beaches of California. Not even shells, I asked. No. And stealing black lava stones in Hawaii puts a curse on you. After our chat, I dug into that whole myth, wondering what that was about. And there are so many stories about it. You may want to Google it. It's quite interesting. It troubles so many people that folks mail the lava stones back to park rangers pleading that they put them back where they belong. Have you ever heard the story of that? I never did. Maybe because I've never been to Hawaii. It's a far distance from New Jersey. Not too far from California.
Mary Stone 04:40
Our chat led to discussing stack stones you see at parks and hiking drills. Most fall for the fun of rock stacking to see how many they can stack, like the Jenga game. You know, the one you buy that you stack up blocks of wood. It's a fun game, or folk stack rocks for the meditative aspects of it, calling them Stone Balancing or Prayer Stone Stacks. Some say they bring good fortune or balance conflicting energies. I'll have to admit I do think they're quite lovely, very much like a sculpture. They're also called Cairns. They served as burial memorials in prehistoric times. And they warn sailors from jagged shores before the lighthouse came to be. Now they mark trails, especially in remote places such as mountain summits. So kicking them down, as the social media craze has inspired, is not respectful. And it could be darn right dangerous for those counting on them.
Mary Stone 05:36
Then there's inukshuk, an artificial stack of stones that resembles people. Going back in history, the peoples of the Arctic regions of North America use them for navigation. A delightful client built one to sit on a crevice of a massive boulder outcropping to overlook a gentle streaming water feature we created below. Indeed stacked stones can be a beautiful element of your landscape. And they are deer-proof, though bears can roll them to find the grubs below, so you won't be totally out of trouble, perhaps.
Mary Stone 06:08
They say due to social media, there's a craze for creating stacks of stones, essentially littering parks and trails. Imagine the mess of things if everyone piled rocks. When you think about it, it's right up there with carving initials into trees, which harms them. Besides, piling stones contradicts the outdoor ethics of leaving no trace, carry out what you carry in, do not disturb nature, and leave behind only footprints.
Mary Stone 06:36
According to the USDA Forest Service, recreational mineral collecting is allowed without a permit for personal use of up to 10 pounds of common rocks on the surface. No digging is permitted. And no vertebrate fossils, shark teeth, or old civilization remnants can be removed either. Some areas are designated wilderness or sensitive areas where collecting is not legal. They suggest checking with the Bureau of Land Management to find out where you plan to gather samples before you do.
Mary Stone 07:07
Did you know that rock collecting or amateur geology is called rockhounding? I didn't know this. And when I was talking with Linda, I was actually finding this out by researching it. It sounds gluttonous, rockhounding, doesn't it? But gathering a few rocks in a non-piggish way seems innocent. If everyone respected our deer Earth and only took a few stones from the surface and put them back if there were critters below, what harm would there be? But sadly, people can be greedy, or commercial operations take resources for profit, much like poaching animals. So Rules are made. Therefore, it's best only to pilfer with permission. Garden dilemmas, AskMaryStone.com.
Mary Stone 07:53
So I have to say, when I was talking with Linda, I said to her that perhaps this will become a column topic, and she said, "well, don't use my name." But this doesn't make her look bad because Linda is very conscientious, as evidenced by her desire for a sustainable backyard. But now that I've drafted the story, Lindy-poo, they'll know it's you if you overdo it.
Mary Stone 08:15
Stacked stones, or I should say massive boulders occur in nature, and there's a magnificent one called Tripod Rock I wrote about. I'll put a link in the show notes. I visited Tripod Rock at Pyramid Mountain in Montville, New Jersey, with team members of Growing Hope assembled for an in-person walk through the woods to support Comfort Zone Camp. It was a virtual Grief Relief 5k fundraiser, but a few of us gathered. And it was so delightful to support the kids and young adults who lost a parent, guardian, or sibling too early in life.
Mary Stone 08:50
Tripod Rock, a 180-ton boulder, is a remarkable sculpture of nature balanced on three smaller boulders. It's far grander than the stacked stones we see on trails. Scientists call it glacial erratic when ice moves rocks elsewhere. The Wisconsin Glacier moved Tripod Rock over 18,000 years ago. Imagine that—the power of nature and the cycles of time over thousands and thousands of years. I would say it makes you feel small, but it's not small because we all can make a difference. And collectively, that small difference could literally change the world. It's a powerful thing, and it starts in our backyards. Thanks so much. I always enjoy our time together, and I so appreciate your emails. So please keep them coming. And I appreciate you joining me each week on the screen porch. Have a great day.
Mary Stone 09:47
You can follow Garden Dilemmas on Facebook or online at Garden Dilemmas.com and on Instagram at hashtag Mary Elaine Stone. Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries is produced by Alex Bartling. Thanks for coming by. I look forward to chatting again from my screen porch and always remember to embrace the unexpected in this garden of life. Have a great da