This is common in the south, where I’m from, too, so no problems there. I’ll tell you what shocked and offended me, though. We had a connection through the airport in New Jersey, and all of the people were dicks. Like, all of them. I’ve never seen such a massive collection of rudeness and indifference in my entire life. THAT I would have trouble getting used to.
New Hampshire isn’t New Jersey by any stretch. It is closer to a (very cold and white) Southern culture than that of the Atlantic states from Eastern Massachusetts into the Middle Atlantic Region. I made the move straight from the South to New Hampshire and didn’t have a problem with the people at all except for a few tourists. It isn’t exactly the same but the basic idea is.
A segment about stonewalls aired on NHPR this morning during my ride in.
I’ve always found it interesting to be walking in the woods, especially in the autumn when the bugs are gone and the leaves are beginning to explode with color, and seeing so many stonewalls stretching along amongst the trees.
As a kid, I’d try and imagine the people who put so much effort into building all the walls that cover the landscape. As I got older, it began to dawn on me that all the wooded land around me was once cleared of trees and that all that incredible effort has been rendered obsolete.
So, I figured I’d throw out the unique charm on NH stonewalls (well, all New England) as another nice feature worth exploring.
My friend has had a piled of rocks in his backyard for the longest, to expand the network of walls he already has. But building them is a real exercise for him – he has to stand and take his time evaluating where exactly that stone is meant to be placed.
I’ve got a couple of books on building stone walls – done properly, it is time-consuming, and an art.
I subscribe to the notion that most Stone Walls in New England are really “stone dumps” – they needed some place to put all the stones they pulled from the ground for farming. The fact that they formed a wall was a convenient by-product… But it also meant that most stone walls weren’t as well-constructed as those wonderful ones in the books and specials – there really wasn’t the time to do it (had to get on to the farming), and it really wasn’t the primary goal…
As a result, those stone walls had a tendency to fall down, especially after a winter of jostling by the forces of nature. So you get things like the Robert Frost-described spring walk with your neighbor to repair the parts that fell down during the winter (you shouldn’t have to do that with a well-constructed joined stone wall).
Judging from the stone walls around my house (which were there from the previous owner, the original owner of the house), that seems all too likely. My walls are meticulously joined, and I’m perpetually putting them back up afain. An I haven’t the time right now to build an artisan joined stone wall.
Mending Wall by Robert Frost for those who are not familiar with it.
Is that true in a climate where you can expect several hard freeze-thaw cycles that heave the soil under the wall?
In Michigan the soil under my barn would freeze and heave the concrete floor such that you couldn’t close certain doors until a thaw came. If a freeze can move concrete surely it can move even the most nicely placed dry stone wall?
In a lot of places, the “bedrock” is close enough to the surface that frost heave isn’t a factor. There are plenty of older houses in NE with fieldstone foundations, stacked right on ledge (carefully, and with mortar) that will never move a millimeter. I have one myself.
Those rocks come from a the freeze-thaw cycle. Every year a new crop of rocks will push their way up into fields due to the way they are lifted up by differential freezing in the soil. Farmers would “harvest” the rocks that interfered with plowing and haul them to the sides of the fields in rock sleds or sledges, and add them to the walls. That’s why many rock walls are more long piles of stones rather than a well build and fitted wall.
Ayuh, OP, you’ll see frost heaves in the road later in the winter and into spring:
Get a house on an unpaved road and you’ll learn about Mud Season, too.
Yep–you’re pretty much going where the ruts tell you to:
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/blog/weather/uploaded_images/mud-720068.jpg
Our driveway is crappy so sometimes I arrive at work looking like I’ve been off-roading–in my Corolla! Mud chunks do not come off in the automatic car wash!!
Yep, we’re not like New Jersey. Writer John Irving (an NH native who moved away) said that NH has more in common with Canada than NY, and I have no doubt that he’s right.
There remain some really old houses in New England with dry-laid (mortarless) stone foundations. They heave a bit in winter but settle back to their original configuration in spring. An architect from Vermont named John Connell mentions them in his book about vernacular architecture, Homing Instinct (1993).
Wow. That must cost a fortune to fix every year! I’ve never seen that.
It would…if they fixed them every year. They didn’t bother to this year. You should see the potholes everywhere (well, in Rockingham and Strafford counties, anyway) still.
So true! I was heading to work the other night and came across a moose. Deer just tend to scamper off, but not most moose. This was a bull moose too. So very beautiful, and it’s tempting to get a closer look, seeing as how they will stay still for awhile. But for the love of Superman and all that is Holy, if you come up on a moose, STOP. Don’t try to go around it. Either let it wander off, or if it doesn’t, reverse VERY slowly, and don’t take your eyes off of it. I sat infront of this moose for 10 minutes. After backing up about 20 feet, it charged. A healthy respect and understanding of wildlife, and you’ll be just fine.
It charged your car? Holy crap. Were you able to escape it or did it damage your car?
They will usually stop before ramming your car. It’s not a situation you’re likely to encounter in southern NH and it will only happen during rut.
As for the mud, it’s much cheaper running a road grader over the mess than deal with frost heaves on a paved road.
Also
Learn the proper pronunciation of “Kancamagus” or you’ll be pegged as a flat lander. A hint: It rhymes with Saugus.
There’s a road up north that runs from Conway to Lincoln called the Kancamagus Highway. It’s about 30 miles of wilderness and oh so beautiful anytime of the year. Be sure to gas up before the drive. No gas, phones, or stores.
Enjoy NH! Welcome…
This ain’t gonna help most people. There’s a Saugus in Massachusetts where I live, and there’s one in California (named by Massachusetts transplants) and that’s it.
To the rest of you – “Saugus” is pronounced pretty much the way you’d expect – “Saw-gus”. But you wouldn’t know that for sure unless you heard it here.