Mandela © by
lilyas 2014
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SPIRIT
LODGE
LIBRARY
Stones
& Minerals Information
Page
22
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(Main
Links of the site are right at the bottom of the page)
50 pages of this Stones & Minerals Information section are
below. The other 4 are in the index, page 5. (see the end of
the page for link)
I
Love Limestone
By Minna
Hello - I was asked to write about
my love of stacking stones. I then asked that if I write this,
that it be removed if it appears to be of no intrinsic worth.
Here goes.
I love limestone. I live in the
Texas Hill Country, full of limestone, caliche (white crushed
limestone which tries to pass for dirt), cedar and oaks. We
are blessed with limestone - little actual soil, but an abundance
of limestone. I'd like to tell about my love and respect for
this wonderful - and, I guess, very common rock. It is a sedimentary
rock, built of the soils and minerals of the ages.
I've always loved to draw limestone
- the angles, the facets, the time-worn curves and clefts. I
love the color, the light and shadow of limestone, the warmth
and coolness in sun and shade. I love the way rock workers can
use one piece of limestone on another to break away the perfect
shape for a wall or a path or an embankment. This dear stone
is so comforting, so steady and so ready to be of help. Its
kind, strong, clean surface calms and steadies us and gives
itself to us in service.
Sitting on a sun-warmed limestone
boulder is like touching the bones of the earth - sitting in
Grandmother Earth's lap.
The little stones lend themselves
to small children to be thrown so these youngun's can brag of
their strength and prowess. Then there's the wonder of stone
splashing into water - sending ripples out into a pond. They
give the children joy, and to we old folks, the same joy, and
something to wonder and think on.
The boulders let us sit on them
and wonder about the world, talk to Spirit, or just be quiet
and feel comforted. They support us while we gaze in love at
the Spirit of the Land. They hold us, steady and strong.
They give us a dry path across a
creek. They let children build dams and imagine wonderful things.
They provide retaining walls for
the trees, protecting their soil and food from washing away.
They make guardian circles around an old tree, adding honor
and protection to this sacred life. They give us safe and beautiful
pathways. Limestone is the bones of my sidewalk, where, interspersed
between the limestones are other stones and mementos from other
parts of my life - the sandstone from my family cemetery in
Arkansas, the volcano rock Pele gave me from our honeymoon in
Hawaii, the horseshoe from my Grandpa's farm. The rocks hold
these pieces of my life safe in their embrace.
Where we are, the actual soil is
thin, so i can just sometimes sweep the ground - and this sweeping
will expose the beauty of the limestone beneath, supporting
my house, showing a steady path where before there was none,
helping us walk down the hillside in safety and comfort. My
house has two walls of beautiful limestone. Limestone borders
protect my flower beds and
offer their own beauty in my rock garden. Karst is wonderful
for this - beautiful holes all through it, showing so much beauty,
personality and character. Tree roots wind through the karst,
finding room through the places ancient water has washed.
A limestone boulder, embedded deep
in the earth can be a surface for campfires, and a retaining
wall to prevent harm from fire to neighboring grasses and trees.
A limestone circle around a campsite blesses it with protection
and comfort.
Limestone lets this old gal climb
all over her, like when i was a little girl - she holds me steady
when i slip. I can take her 'hand' when i am uncertain of my
balance.
My stones support the art i have
around our place - holding it steady to share a little glimpse
of beauty through the trees.
Stones are a hiding place for bugs,
spiders and other critters -providing protection, or shading
them from the sun, giving shelter and safe harbor.
One time, i lifted a rock and under
it found the most amazing bug i've ever seen. Maybe a centipede,
with many yellow curved legs and a green and red body - i really
wondered if i'd surprised one of the fey, and he had to run
off in disguise.
When i am stacking rocks, i talk
to them - i look around to see who i think will fit within whatever
structure i am making. I look around to see color and size and
shape, and i say - "Who wants to come?" or "Who
wants to play?" Then my eyes will fall on a particular
rock, who seems just right for what i need.
I clear rocks to protect people
from stumbling, then move them to honor and protect a tree.
The stones keep the soil from washing away and protects the
life of the tree. I use the stones as boundaries to show where
it is not safe to drive, or where it is better to walk, or to
outline a cozy campsite. This dear limestone gives so much to
my life and home. I truly honor this common and wonderful stone.
Limestone also reminds me of those quiet, steady people in our
lives who are so important to us, and in their humility, so
very unaware of their importance.
NorthernStar:
Dear
Minna, thank you for the beautiful article. Even reading it
I felt the Beauty of the stones and of nature... Thank you so
much.
Minna:
Thank you so much for your
kindness, NSD. I did feel a little funny about writing it -
wow - and you called it an actual article - wow. I just got
carried away when i was writing though, thinking about all they
do for us. I did forgot about - i love the part where you have
just finished stacking stones, for a walk, or a retaining wall,
and it rains, and you get to see them snuggle down into their
bed to get cozy in their new place. I love that.
CinnamonMoon:
Thank you for the lovely
post Minna! Well done!
Minna:
(((Cinn)))
Dragonfly
Beautiful I felt every discription.
Well done Minna!
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