Stone Walk

I am perfectly aware how seemingly ridiculous it is to handpick stones for your landscaping, but that is what I am doing. I have an 8’X2’ space that divides the grilling area from the garden, so I don’t need that much. Garden centers or Landscaping stores sell river rocks in bulk at a handsome cost and for the quantity of rocks I want, I doubt they’ll deliver. I can see why it would cost so much. The process of bringing these rocks in bulk to the stores requires resources: You have to hire people to operate heavy machinery (that use up all sorts of oil byproduct to make it run and releasing pollutants in to the earth) to mine these rocks, and then truck it to some processing center or to the garden center directly which probably drives up the cost as we are nearing the $4/gallon mark on gas prices (and again, more pollution). Just so we can have something pretty to look at in our yard. Ok, so I don’t really know how those rocks get to these stores, but I bet the folks who work at the garden center aren’t bringing them in themselves, and I’m pretty sure I’m right about using the diggers and dump trucks to ship said landscaping commodity. But in all honesty, my main deterrent was the dollar cost. I just don’t have the kind of money to spend on rocks. So, I decided to do it the long and cheap way by heading down a nearby river with son and bucket in tow.


It takes 5minutes to walk toward the river, cross a couple of train tracks, through a short bridge over a man made canal and in to a paved trail. The canal empties into the river creating a refreshing, semi-natural water fall near the entrance of the trail, where you can find the prettiest stones and pebbles. Along the path are side trails towards the river bank. At first glance, it’s all mud and sand and some sharp rocks, but once you find the first stone the others start to appear and before you know it, your bucket is filled. I don’t know what it is, but there is something so satisfying in finding rocks. I guess it would be similar to looking for shells at the beach. Sometimes I get carried away, and realize I’ve selected more rocks that I can manage, so I dump some out and head home. This time, it takes me 20-30 minutes to get home now that I am approx half a mile away from the entrance, and I am now carrying a bucket full of stones.  Did I mention that the way home is all uphill (and at some parts have a steep incline)? While this part is probably not as fun or relaxing, I find it rewarding: I somehow squeezed in a workout. On my last trip, I had a scene from the movie Spaceballs where the characters were carrying suitcases full of rocks across the desert, flashed in my head. I felt a little silly lugging around these stones back home, but I’ve already committed to this project.


I’ve made two trips so far and this is what I have to show for:

As you can see I have a few more trips to make. I honestly didn’t account for the weight these stones amount to, and the challenge of walking back home with it, but this time I’m going to bring my son’s radio flyer wagon instead of his Lightning McQueen Easter bucket (which cracked from the weight of all the stones); and I’m going to pick up the rocks at the farthest point of my walk first, instead of point of entry – the waterfalls. Maybe if I had gone by myself, I would have topped off my bucket at the waterfalls and headed home. But I failed to realize that my son had his own agenda of walking through the woods a little further than the entry point. I ended up walking another half mile with a bucket full of stones before heading back home. Lessons Learned!


So, what does the long and cheap way add up to? A lovely stroll around the woods with my son, about 300 calories burned, money still in my pocket and no harm to the environment…oh yeah, and some landscaping rocks. WINNER!






Just passed the waterfall at the entrance

 

One of the river banks



Heading back home