Saturday, November 15, 2014

Cairns




When you live in a small farming community you never know what you will find on your walks. 


 They were not here the last time we past by...only a few days ago.




This is a project of many hours and many hands. 
Cairns are placed on both sides of the stream, in the stream, on the banks and on both sides of the bridge.  





 What do I know of the Builders?
Very little. 





These carefully placed and designed cairns were built by children. 
Eight of them and all from one family. 






The family lives in a very small house.





Because their house is so very small. I hear that they like to spend their free time outside. 
Rumor has it that all eight children are very talented.  

They are all accomplished musicians

It is the most fascinating little spot.  Each time we pass by we see new details, all so carefully designed and planned.  

Happy weekend to you my dear friends.  

Gina 




12 comments:

  1. I truly love this story - and your pics showing the beautifully built cairns. The view looking upstream in your last shot is so thought provoking - perhaps it felt to you like fairies appeared overnight and constructed a new little community - gnome skyscrapers come to mind!

    Children with time on their hands and imagination in their minds, that's what childhood needs to revert to. Bet they don't communicate with one another across the dinner table by phone, spend hours on computers, or watch mindless reality TV. Their real life is what reality should be - growing up simply, close to nature and with music - how special that family must be!

    Have a lovely weekend dear Gina - hugs, Mary

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    1. Dear Mary, You are so right. I could not have said it better. These children are different.
      I am so sorry that I missed the whole building process. Their house is not close by so they must have walked or taken their bicycles to the stream. It would have been so interesting to see the band of eight strolling down the road and then working together.

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  2. Dear Gina,
    Beautiful story. I love smooth rounded stones and have a small collection from various places. I display them in the home and I have piled them into my own cairn in the garden from time to time. Nightly visitors like Opossums will stumble over them and make them fall apart. I have given up putting them back together again after a while.
    Warmest greetings, Sieglinde

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    1. Dear Sieglinde, We don't have Opossums but we are overrun with Raccoons .It's been a few days since I have been past the place but I know that Raccoons like to play in water and they are always busy overturning stones to look for insects. I will have to see if they have "improved" the architecture.

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  3. Dear Gina - I love the creativity of these eight talented children. They are fortunate to come from a home with imaginative parents who direct their energies into making things of beauty.
    I remember passing through a wonderful valley in Norway where years ago someone had obviously started building cairns in the landscape. Others had also taken up the idea and the cairns ran for several miles up and down the mountainside. We enjoyed looking at them as we drove along the road and wondered who and how many had been responsible for creating such spectacular pieces of sculpture in the landscape.

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    1. Dear Rosemary, I have been wondering the same thing. Will others come by and continue working in the area? There is room for more creativity. I would like to think that others will honor the work of these youngsters and leave it as is. What doesn't show in my photographs is the minute detail in design that was done with tiny pebbles.

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  4. Dear Gina,

    I agree with Mary — it's so refreshing to know these children are playing and creating together away from the digital world, using their imagination. The great irony is that these children are probably the very people who will advance our world. Your posting makes me want to know more about them, as I'm sure your walks do, too.

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    1. Dear Mark, there is no doubt in my mind that this family will make a difference. I am so surprised that I didn't see this in the making. I walk along this path most every day...and there it was, one morning, as if created by little spirits from outer space.

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  5. This is very zen! The peacefulness of the water and stacked stones is wonderful.

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    1. Dear Theresa, I took these photographs a few days ago. The stream is now without water and light and fluffy snow has fallen. I can't wait to see what snow has done to the design. Hope the snow has not melted. I was too lazy to go for a walk yesterday. I had a good excuse...it was.2 degrees Fahrenheit during the early morning hours.

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  6. Wow so happy to see this now, missed it before. We saw something like this in Montana and took pics t make our own, these are amazing...those beautiful, talented children~

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    1. Dear Mary, Let us see your cairns when you finish them. I think that they are fascinating. Happy New Year to you and yours. Wishing you all the Best. Gina

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