For Stock Rigs Only

@Hay Lobos nice!

you mentioned Kentucky in a previous post about rock walls. I'm fortunate to take a long weekend at least once a year to Kentucky horse country on a motorcycle camping weekend. That region has the most amazing rock walls. Miles and miles and miles, along the country lanes barely wider than a driveway with absolutely perfect asphalt. The story goes that they specifically employed Irishmen with this particular skill, and they are all late 19th century builds. Because I'm always on a bike, I don't have photos!!! Maybe our member that lives there, @Plain Jane Taco still lingers and has a photo on his phone. The attached is the best I've got. I was chased off the bike by a deluge. These may be a younger vintage?

 

you're livin' well, brother.

 

It's hard to tell the age of a wall without historical attestation in pubic records or letters or whatever. Because dry stone walls can simply be restacked with the existing material when they fail, they do tend to be very old. But because you can take that stone apart easily and rebuild with it somewhere else, it's kinda tricky. Like, that roadway was probably much narrower 100 years ago, and when the town or state acquired the right of way to widen and modernize the road, the walls that marked the property lines on either side were likely moved back to the new lines, or just removed entirely. Here in Maine and NH, stone walls are considered historical structures in many places and you need a permit or whatever to alter them.

So the long answer is it's hard to tell! I can say that they look over 50 years old with the patina and lichen and stuff, and they were probably there or nearby for a while before that, because it takes a lot of work to build so you don't build them without a good reason like keeping livestock or marking the edge of your property.

 

Mile from Casa de SpruceMica and also Irish mason built. 1870 ish IIRC
Must have been a common migration trend in mid/late 19th century

 

Got a bunch at the new place...

 

Thanks

 

Back in 2020 somebody lit a stolen Audi up...there's still scorch marks on the ceiling < news story pic>

 

Those have been there awhile, a long while IMO , farmers hated rocks, you’ll see piles and rows at the end of planted fields

 

I recommend the book 'The Granite Kiss' if you want to learn a lot about the different kinds of piles and walls that farmers used, because even the piles were usually sorted and purposeful. It's a great book anyway because the author goes to work with a family of wallers in Southern NH who have been doing it their way for 3 generations and they're totally salt of the earth who have all this history and knowledge that hadn't ever been written down.

 

missin that stock tire MPG lol

 

Rocks were building material, foundations, retaining walls, I guess certain rocks were more desirable because you could “face “ them off make them flat. My buddy has deep roots in the area, the house he lives in was the first house in Van Buren county to have a block foundation. Some of the houses that were in family all have stone foundations, faced off. His brother has this cool old barn that has a stone ramp up to the main floor. Pretty cool old barn, needs restoration bad.

 

Yeah the salt and pepper granite here is great.

 

My dads other Grandfather- the Nova Scotia/English one - owned and farmed 1000 acres near Franklin NH from the 19 teen's to the 70's. It had been a farm for 200 years, so there were hundreds of acres cleared and rock walls everywhere. He kept dairy cattle and allowed some timber harvesting. Went up there several times a year from when I was in diapers until the early 80's, when his grandson - my Dad's cousin, sold off the last of it to pay the property taxes. Now it's largely developed but the walls were preserved by developers. I'd guess the people that live there haven't got a clue about the history of their lot. No such thing as private property like that anywhere in the state anymore. For you New Englanders....can you imagine owning a 1000 NE acres as little as 40 years ago and being broke today? Yeah....ol' Sonny could drop a black bear with a .45 revolver, but he wasn't one to ask financial advice from.

your makin' me awfully homesick.

 

That's a good looking truck.

 

I loved the way it looked stock! I always think about what could’ve been if I did 4.88s and a tune on stock tires.. oh well, 35s are cool

 

That was so cool driving through there..

 

Morning stockers it’s going to be a beautiful day in the neighborhood- today
Stihl waiting on my O ring

 

Good morning everyone

 

Dislike

 

Heard the snow thunking off the metal roof onto the ground this morning and was afraid to look outside. Ughhh. Supposed to be pouring rain later supposedly. Ahh spring in Maine.