I intend to build a wall, a rock wall near the house. There are thousands of suitable boulders in the inaccessible forest east of my house. Over the next two weeks, I intend to devise a clever means to move several tons of very heavy boulders to my house without motorized assistance. This is a physical and intellectual challenge. More to follow.
Stones in the Forest
- Thread starter quick dog
- Start date
Invite a bunch of Kings fans to form a human chain and ... oh, wait.
You said "very heavy boulders," didn't you?
Hmmmmmm....
VF21 leaves to look for her copy of "Secrets of Ancient Egypt" which - she thinks - might have a chapter all about moving large stones.
VF21 resists urge to giggle insanely over "moving large stones" reference because of the immediate image of kidney stones, which everyone knows aren't a laughing matter
VF21 loses the battle and giggles...
Maybe this fellow could help:
You said "very heavy boulders," didn't you?
Hmmmmmm....
VF21 leaves to look for her copy of "Secrets of Ancient Egypt" which - she thinks - might have a chapter all about moving large stones.
VF21 resists urge to giggle insanely over "moving large stones" reference because of the immediate image of kidney stones, which everyone knows aren't a laughing matter
VF21 loses the battle and giggles...
Maybe this fellow could help:
Well, I started. Day one.
The best source of building stones is a pile of tailings boulders that remains from early placer gold mining. The boulders range in size from 5 to 36-inches in diameter. They are located about 200 feet east of the house, and the best boulders, those covered with thick moss and lichen, are just a few feet higher in elevation than the house. The side-hill slope is steep, slippery, and full of downed trees, 100-year-old manzanita, live oaks, and pines. It's tough to walk, much less carry anything. The forest critters don't seem to mind.
I decided to rig a 3/8-inch steel cable through the trees on the side-hill slope. The plan is to stretch the cable tight, and fix burlap sacks full of stones onto the cable with steel pullies. In theory, the bags can then be pulled from the source pile half-way to the house. I will unload the bags of stones at the down-slope end of the cable, and thus transport the stones across a nasty ravine. In theory.
I had to clear brush and chain-saw down some small trees. I climbed a skinny old manzanite to move the cable, and the limb broke. I left a lot of hide in the forest, and ended upside-down in the sticks on the brushy slope. Not to worry. It's not Fallujah.
Tomorrow is another day.
The best source of building stones is a pile of tailings boulders that remains from early placer gold mining. The boulders range in size from 5 to 36-inches in diameter. They are located about 200 feet east of the house, and the best boulders, those covered with thick moss and lichen, are just a few feet higher in elevation than the house. The side-hill slope is steep, slippery, and full of downed trees, 100-year-old manzanita, live oaks, and pines. It's tough to walk, much less carry anything. The forest critters don't seem to mind.
I decided to rig a 3/8-inch steel cable through the trees on the side-hill slope. The plan is to stretch the cable tight, and fix burlap sacks full of stones onto the cable with steel pullies. In theory, the bags can then be pulled from the source pile half-way to the house. I will unload the bags of stones at the down-slope end of the cable, and thus transport the stones across a nasty ravine. In theory.
I had to clear brush and chain-saw down some small trees. I climbed a skinny old manzanite to move the cable, and the limb broke. I left a lot of hide in the forest, and ended upside-down in the sticks on the brushy slope. Not to worry. It's not Fallujah.
Tomorrow is another day.
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I want to see pictures at the conclusion of your venture! 
I absolutely LOVE rock walls! Most of my family lives on the East Coast but I was born and raised in California. I love the rock walls in the east and, yup, I believe most are made from either mine tailings (coal/slate) or from unearthed rocks left from clearing fields for crops. I think they are beautiful (and my E.C. family thinks I'm crazy-and they may not be alone! LOL), I hope your venture is both successful and beautiful!!! Skinned knuckles notwithstanding! Best of luck and good fortune to you, QD!
KK!
I absolutely LOVE rock walls! Most of my family lives on the East Coast but I was born and raised in California. I love the rock walls in the east and, yup, I believe most are made from either mine tailings (coal/slate) or from unearthed rocks left from clearing fields for crops. I think they are beautiful (and my E.C. family thinks I'm crazy-and they may not be alone! LOL), I hope your venture is both successful and beautiful!!! Skinned knuckles notwithstanding! Best of luck and good fortune to you, QD!
KK!
No rattlesnakes observed in 11 years, but a good point. I have seen two snakes in 11 years. A green racer with yellow pin stripes hiding in a potted tomato plant, two feet off the ground. A worm snake in the kitchen. It was the only worm snake that I have seen in 45 years of hiking in the bushes. Looked like a night crawler with a tiny mouth and no dark ring in the middle.
Can't pan boulders. I have a small trommel and sluice, and have run tons of local silt and sand. Only found a few flakes. This ground has been worked over repeatedly since 1848. A Spanish fellow named Mr. Vaca allegedly walked out of the valley where I live in the summer of 1848 with $15,000 worth of gold. That equates to $400,000 at the current price of gold. He allegedly did it with a pan! Timing is everthing. No wait. It was location, location, location, plus timing.
I tried to hire a strapping young man to jack-hammer the hillside to set a foundation for my new wall. He aint coming, so again, I'm on my own. Scheist. My wife has conveniently left town again.
Oh well, I need to lose 10 or 15 pounds and lower my cholesterol 30 points.
Photos coming. I got one of those fancy digital cameras to rebuild an engine. You know, photograph the damn thing before you remove all the wires and hoses. I gave up on the engine idea, so I got a camera for fooling around.
Can't pan boulders. I have a small trommel and sluice, and have run tons of local silt and sand. Only found a few flakes. This ground has been worked over repeatedly since 1848. A Spanish fellow named Mr. Vaca allegedly walked out of the valley where I live in the summer of 1848 with $15,000 worth of gold. That equates to $400,000 at the current price of gold. He allegedly did it with a pan! Timing is everthing. No wait. It was location, location, location, plus timing.
I tried to hire a strapping young man to jack-hammer the hillside to set a foundation for my new wall. He aint coming, so again, I'm on my own. Scheist. My wife has conveniently left town again.
Oh well, I need to lose 10 or 15 pounds and lower my cholesterol 30 points.
Photos coming. I got one of those fancy digital cameras to rebuild an engine. You know, photograph the damn thing before you remove all the wires and hoses. I gave up on the engine idea, so I got a camera for fooling around.
Panning boulders bad idea, pan the soil UNDER the boulder where something heavy might have been traped for some time. Rattlers bad idea, leave them alone. Jack hammergood idea, if you rent one can you run it your self? Engine rebuild-great idea, love getting greasy and bringing an old car to life. (I like the litte ones, like my 72 Triumph)
PS. I suppose it makes sesnse that up in "Gold country" the area would be prety picked over, but down here on the San Joaquin river I have always a luck finding a little gold every time out (enough to make my exwifes engagement ring).
PS. I suppose it makes sesnse that up in "Gold country" the area would be prety picked over, but down here on the San Joaquin river I have always a luck finding a little gold every time out (enough to make my exwifes engagement ring).
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My wine cellar/bistro is a converted gold mine, specifically an early placer ground sluice which was driven on an 11-degree incline. A section of the roof of the tunnel caved-in about 66 feet from the portal during a "run" in the early 1870s. I am certain that the tunnel continues behind the cave-in for another 500 feet or more. It is likely that the floor of the ground sluice was never cleaned! This would have been one of the main tunnels coming from a Tertiary channel that likely produced hundreds of millions of dollars in gold, and most of the production went unrecorded. There are no photographs of the operation due to its age. If I were 30 and stupid, I would try to open up the tunnel. I would love to see what's wedged in the cracks of the slate floor behind the muck pile.
Absolutely right.
I think Bill is of questionable lineage, just like me. He is smarter than one of those classic brick-headed Labradors. He is not as smart as a Border Collie, just like me. He doesn't bite, and rarely barks. He has never made a mess in the house or chewed anything wrong. He's very clean and rarely drools. He is not a pig-dog, and takes treats delicately.
By the way, if he really wanted to come into his compound, he would have done so without difficulty. The dreaded hillside path is shown below. The "forest stones" project continues.
I think Bill is of questionable lineage, just like me. He is smarter than one of those classic brick-headed Labradors. He is not as smart as a Border Collie, just like me. He doesn't bite, and rarely barks. He has never made a mess in the house or chewed anything wrong. He's very clean and rarely drools. He is not a pig-dog, and takes treats delicately.
By the way, if he really wanted to come into his compound, he would have done so without difficulty. The dreaded hillside path is shown below. The "forest stones" project continues.
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Has Bill been slacking off again? Perhaps your plan has been vetoed by your "superior" instead?
I was out in Folsom yesterday (and again today) and noticed a short rock retaining wall along Folsom Blvd. and I thought of you and your wall project...so I was curious as to which kind of wall you were going to build. Are you talking about the kind of natural stone wall they have there (various sizes of boulders filled in with dirt and smaller stones) or the kind where they rocks are roughly formed into fairly uniform sizes?
P.S. Any news on the program/time your daughter may be appearing in on the Food Channel? I'm thinkin'...if she comes home for her Christmas holiday she looks a bit more energetic and helpful than Bill (sorry, Bill...you're a beautiful dog but your boss seems to think your work ethic is lacking, something about too many breaks and needing too much direction! ).
KK!
I was out in Folsom yesterday (and again today) and noticed a short rock retaining wall along Folsom Blvd. and I thought of you and your wall project...so I was curious as to which kind of wall you were going to build. Are you talking about the kind of natural stone wall they have there (various sizes of boulders filled in with dirt and smaller stones) or the kind where they rocks are roughly formed into fairly uniform sizes?
P.S. Any news on the program/time your daughter may be appearing in on the Food Channel? I'm thinkin'...if she comes home for her Christmas holiday she looks a bit more energetic and helpful than Bill (sorry, Bill...you're a beautiful dog but your boss seems to think your work ethic is lacking, something about too many breaks and needing too much direction!
). KK!