The Avant Garden

and only time enough for a quickie in the Green River down in Polk County, N.C. Probably the only non-hunter within 20 square miles, I went in search of rocks to stack:
Rock supply there rates really high ...

and the resting place of one of my oldest-known ancestors. She's in the middle of  a golf course.

I took some photos of the tombstone and tried to do a rubbing:
Tough to do alone in the wind ...

It says:

I only had a cold crayon to rub, so it didn't turn out well. Next time I will take charcoal and two more hands. Mary Russell was the wife of George Russell, who came over from Antrim County, Ulster Province, Ireland and started my clan of Russells in Rutherford County, N.C. He died on a bearhunt in 1780, so they say. But we do not know where or any details, nor do we know where he is buried. After living in San Francisco, Calif.; Hamilton, New Zealand; Groton, Conn., these Russells have returned to the mountains.

has been long and wonderful this year. Rob took advantage of the pleasant climate and made this rock mobile art thing:
Envy of the neighborhood, I am ...

that I think is real cool.

 

I have dubbed the upstream rockpile "The Stinky Place." It is where I have been spending a good bit of my time lately. One must walk past a sewer system manhole to get there, hence the name.  The object of most of my attention is one of those things that does not photograph well (unlike my kitten), but that I am very fond of nonetheless. It started out as just a few arches to keep me occupied when I don't want to stray too far from home. Then it became a lightning bolt that went from the top rock and ends in the River. I call it "Lightnin' Thang -- Patterns in Nature Repeat Themselves." Just like lightning bolts in the sky, one big bolt forks into four. This is an example of what the imitation bolts look like:
Not all of them are this cool...

I have not counted, but would guess there are about 40 arches in this thing. It's one of those things you have to see ... come stand among the forks and feel the power of all those rocks dependent upon each other to stand up off the ground. It's something, alright ... like a ride at the carnival when it is all set up.

This past weekend I went out to Bent Creek and did some repair work on things. The Park Service dumped a big pile of rocks out right near the Bent Creek Sculpture Walk and I started to play in it but figured it to be some kind of trap. I did a series of quickies here:
That's (rebuilt) Easter Arch and 3 friends ...

 

A few days ago I started working on another "Circlyarch" as my friend Tom Graser, named this first small one  . I went on to build a bigger one:  and today did this one a step bigger:
I'd rate this one 10 Fuegenauts ...

When I win the lottery, this is the kind of Circlyarch I want to do, with all due respect to the Great Goldsworthy:
Beyond ...

Winter has really howled in. My hands are getting that sandpaper layer on them, my woolies are all out of the closet. Which, of course, means they are all in a heap down in the Avant Cave.

... only a migraine now and then to remind me. I do get these crazy moments, and having my arse higher than my head for extended periods of time, as I often do when manipulating rocks-n-things, seems to set them off. But I didn't let it stop me from having fun. Saturday, Oct. 29 I went over to visit my friend Jill, a reporter from work, who had a pile of rocks in her driveway and had to park on the road. So I built two stone walls for flower beds and used the rest of the stones and gravel thusly:
That's Jill looking at the map ...

This is one of the stone walls, with my car in the background:
They were rounded, but big ... 

Later in the week I did a pair of Stone Serpents. My friend Leslie has a son who has been ill named Michael, and this Serpent I built to remind me to hope and pray for good news:
He reminds me to send good vibes ...

So that he wouldn't feel lonely, I made him a companion:
Named it Madonna for some reason ...

This past weekend I went out to Bent Creek and played with some big rocks, making this one- arch-this-way- one-arch-that-way thing in this new rocky area I have found:

 

Sunday I went back and played in some waterfalls:

Wish this photo were better ...

This one I dubbed "Manmade Falls" because someone came before me and turned a little trickling cascade into a cute little fall. They used stones to sluice water to the biggest part of the fall, and I kept looking around like they were going to show up and say, "Hey, what are you doing to my waterfall?" but they never did.

I added a few delicates for fun: 
These were a cute touch, I think ...

Just upstream,  I did this one: 
I kinda cheated on the left one ...

Not too long after that, I adopted a kitten. She does not have a name yet but she is very cute. I am going to introdue her to the rockpile soon. Speaking of rockpiles, I have moved into a new pile in the messy area behind my house by the River. I also keep discovering great new places in Bent Creek. I bought some new waterproof boots, but if I do get them wet, as in wade in deeper than I should so that water spills in the top and I have to lie down on the bank with my feet up and let it trickle down my legs, they take a long time to dry out. Wool sox make it bearable, as do cooperative rocks.

This vertigo attack has left me wondering. Is it possible that we humans are born with a certain amount of "balance" and once we use it all up doomed to roam the earth knowing which way is up but unable to get there? Have I overdrawn my balance account by balancing all these rocks?

I feel better, but have not done any serious "work" in a week or so. I'll get back in the rockpile this weekend, though.