My new and improved rock pile -- a landmark for the bees

[Cindi]

Some of you may be interested in this post (yes, call me that rock lady, JP, I can take it!!!  brat!!!  8-) ;) :) :) :)).  I have been working on this rock pile for several years now, it comes from the land clearing I have done to create bee gardens, beyond what gardens could ever be.  I copied the link for the original post in 2006 where I put in the first picture, if one should so chose to look at the post.

http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/topic,6817.0.html

Below you will see three pictures.  The first one is the original rock pile that came from the landscaping in the direct front, which would be east of the apiary, the rest of the rocks, well, they have been pitched, pushed, pulled by the quad and wheelbarrowed to the spot.  I have become an extremely good aim when it comes to pitching "things", rocks helped me to achieve this skill, and accurate I am.



Additions



August 23 of this month.  When I was a way a couple of months ago, my Sister was mowing around the apiary.  She bumped into the side of the rock pile, and oh no!!!!  Part of the pile all fell down.  That took me a good few hours of trying to get the rocks back into place.  It was difficult and it fell back down several times before I was completely satisfied that it would be a safe rock pile, that it wouldn't fall down on anyone's feet or self as they were nearby.  She felt bad that day (but I bet inside she was laughing, watching me fix that poor ol' pile o' rocks, oh yes, we all have that naughty little side that loves to bug and tease others, right?????!!!!!  :-X :) :) :))



Looking at the apiary at the bottom of the hill, one can barely see the top of the rock pile, but look closely:



Enjoy the pics and have the most wonderful and awesomely great day, Cindi

[poka-bee]

Oh Cindi, thats a mighty fine rock pile!  :-D :-D  We live in a valley that the white river & glaciers carved long long ago so 1/2 of the property is rocks & the other is sandy soil.  Of course where I have the house & yard is the rocks.  I've been pitching em over to the neighbors woods for 25 years :evil:  I love your bee forage.  Ace Hardware is getting ready for the fall plants & was giving the summer ones away.  Got snapdragons, Salvia, pansies, viola,English daisies, alyssum & something else.  Most are annuals but will reseed themselves...don't know how many the bees like but couldn't beat the price!  If they don't grow I'm only out digging a few holes! Gonna see if there are any left today..I didn't want to be too greedy yesterday :roll:  See you Sunday!
Jody

[reeegs22]

Cindi, what a cool looking rock pile! I am sure that has taken some serious work over the years to accomplish.  We were actually taking some seriously huge rocks out of the ground up in New Hampshire last week so it reminded me of that.  It also reminded me of the image below of a beached pilot whale, not sure that was what you are going for but use your imagination a little and refer to the image below. HAHA
Everyone have a great day and thanks Cindi.
Oh yea I can't post images yet so I guess you really really really need to use your imagination!

[jojoroxx]

Your homestead is so FLAT! Lucky you...

Great rock pile BTW. Rocks do make for some interesting gardening.

Keep pickin' 8-) or... Rock On! :mrgreen:

[utahbeekeeper]

YIKES . . . . what is the electric security for??  Neighbors or bears   or     both?  Also liked the bee observation chairs in the original photo . . . where are they now?

[SgtMaj]

YIKES . . . . what is the electric security for??  Neighbors or bears   or     both?

Looking at the wooded area behind the apiary, my guess is bears.

Cindi, you have some nice boulders there that would be great for some landscaping... the rest would be great for lining a pond with... which would give your girls something to drink, too.  That's what I'd do with all those rocks anyway.

[pdmattox]

Nice looking pile. You do relize that a pile of rocks like that is worth a lot of money down here in Florida.

[johnnybigfish]

I was just gonna say the same thing Dallas! Thats how it is in Tx too!
your friend,
john

[ArmucheeBee]

Do you know how much people in Georgia will pay for those pretty, round and smooth rocks???   It's outrageous!!

[Brian D. Bray]

I must say Cindi, with a little mortor and all those rocks you have the makings of a solid foundation.

[SgtMaj]

Cindi, is your favorite ice-cream ROCKY road by any chance?   :-D

[Cindi]

Aha, ha, ha, you all make me wanna laugh, and you bring that secret smile to my face.  Yes, lots of rocks.  I could not imagine rocks being worth anything like what you are all saying.  The rocks that you see in that rock pile, well beneath the surface is even more than the imagination can withstand.  There are probably millions and millions of rocks that are even the size of a cob marble, a king cob marble, pee wee marble, well you get the picture......I am rather anal retentive about stuff, hee, hee.

Brian I remember you speaking about the house that was built from rocks in another post.  I could probably make a bee barn with some with mortar........but that would be another day and another story for surely.

SgrMaj.  I have dug a pond for the barnyard critters, it is getting deeper and wider every time I dig in it.  It is about 2 feet deep now, by about say 10 feet across.  I have been working on it for a couple of months now, it is pretty cool and is going to be another amazing piece of work (well, I think so, I do have to toot my own horn).  I'll show pictures one day when it is bigger and deeper  ;) :) :) :)  I have thought of lining it with rocks, but I don't think I could ever get the water out.  We live in a pretty damp place and when I dig, I am now below the water table and it is pretty much filled constantly.

The fence(s) around the apiary are to keep out things......things like bears, skunks, whatever you choose.  It will even keep out the human part too, hee, hee, kidding.  We live in an area where there are bears.  We actually live on a bear path. There is a stinky old bear that travels along the deep dark ravine that borders the south of the first 1/3 of our property.  The dogs have a hay day running after the scent of the bear.  I think it is gone now for the year though, because the dogs don't have the intense desire to head to the ravine as soon as they get up and outside.  That is a sure sign the bear is no longer traversing the ravine.  I am glad.  I wish that it would not come back, it makes me rather nervous with all the kids around here that love to play in that deep dark ravine!!!

The chairs, well, those chairs broke, got rather old I guess and have gone by the wayside.  I now sit on milk crates or the big rocks on the side of the rock pile that is on the bee side.  I have placed a few very nice rocks there for the butt to be as comfortable as a rock could be  :lol: ;) :) :).

Wonder if I pitched the rocks way down south I could become a very wealthy woman.  I should work on my distance aiming now, hee, hee.  Have the most beautiful and wonderfully great day, Cindi

[mtman1849]

Are u sure you weren't in the Army Corp of Engineers they have a weird attraction to rocks as well. :evil:  I remember one time they left a piece of surveying equipment in Hondus to bring home a really neat rock  :-D

[Frantz]

Ok, now I know for sure that you all, (and I) are nuts. Did you notice that we are all talking about a pile of rocks???? Now, as for me, I am a mason by trade... Lots of rock foudations and walls etc in my past. So its ok for me to go on and on and on about rocks. Thats what I do, I build things with rocks.. Brick, Block and other things as well, but mostly rocks... But all the rest of you are nuts :-D
I love being amongst friends :-D!!!
F

[eri]

Crazy? To like rocks? Rocks are about as solid and stable as you can get! I love your rock mound, Cindi. I have several, almost all white quartz, that grew as generations of previous farmers tossed them from the plowed fields against trees along the fence lines of what is now my property. I move them around for garden borders, dry creek beds, etc. But there is one pile I'm afraid to remove too many from because it appears to be the anchor for a now mature maple tree.

I pick up a few small interesting rocks almost everywhere I go. They are stored in dishes and bowls and jars and drawers and windowsills all over my house. My daughter even gave me rocks she'd collected from a mountain stream for Christmas one year, presented in an artistic display. I ask friends to bring me rocks from places they visit that I may never get to. I have rocks from Italy, Greece, Ireland, Scotland, Mexico, Alaska, Hell's Backbone. 

I think I was a rock in a previous life  ;)  Bet you were, too, Cindi. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

[sc-bee]

My wife would want them moved, but I'm sure only a few feet at the time :-D!

Would make a nice fire pit wit a little stick-em!

[mtman1849]

Hey Cindi
you inspired me I started my own