Mini-glacial Erratics, the bane of New England farmers.

OH DR, That was a great idea. My husband had a job on a piece of property not far from here and it was all rock...SOLID... it had to be blasted. I took my children up there the day they were setting this up and they got to holler "fire in the hole" and push the igniter button. It looked like a someone sprayed a machine gun around the perimeter of the site. WAY COOL!!!! for a day of homeschooling. MR D is amazing to see in action.

 

We have no rocks. If I want them I have to buy them at .15 cents a pound. When we go on vacation I bring rocks home. I have rocks from all over the world in my garden.

 

Our farm is on a ridge, so we have gravel in spots. The only large rocks we have are the ones in my head.

 

Topography plays a large role in how rocks are distributed. As a you teenager I helped my folks dig a foundation hole. Normally in New England that would be a monumental task as glacial till would play a large part in progress. Quite the opposite was the case. The house sat in a small river valley. The river today, is small but when the glacier was retreating, meltwater formed large raging rivers. The valley is about a mile wide and during it's final stages, large sand bars dotted the shoreline of the meandering waters. The soil beneath their house was like sugar, digging was easy. I vaguely remember meeting up with a rock during the entire process. The hard part was hauling the dirt away. Hardpan, a mixture of gravel and sand was just over 6 feet down, adequate for the ceiling to floor height. Our present-day home is 10 miles away, on the side of a hill and the glacier was not kind. Today, if I dig a hole for a plant, I make more progress with a pick than a shovel, yes, I have rocks.

Jerry