Big Rock; Big Move

While the Mennonite neighbors had their various pieces of equipment here for the sidewalk and driveway apron project, I asked them if they would move a rock for me. Harlan was the lead man on the job and while the one day that the cement was poured required assistance from three other men, Harlan returned a couple more times to do the finishing. So it fell to him to take on the new task.

Crazy lady wants a rock in her yard.

I imagine the notion seemed quite ridiculous to him, but he was willing to give it a try.

A try? Well, you see this rock was lodged into the bank of a stream near our house. I did a bit of research on the ice age as it affected the region that is now Ohio, and it is entirely possible that this rock was deposited in this stream by the Illinoian glacier about 300,000 years ago. Of the four glaciers believed to have impacted our region, this is the glacier that advanced the farthest south.

So, yeah, moving this rock - or perhaps more accurately this boulder - would require a bit of an effort. After I'd shown Harlan the rock I had my eye on, I suspect that it became a personal challenge to see if he could do it. Or perhaps he was skeptical that his skid loader was up to the task. After all, we only saw a portion of the rock and had no idea how much was underground.

I may have missed the best part of the process, for when Harlan came back to deal with the boulder, I did not get outside in time to see him digging it out of the stream bed. I sure wish I had, though. DH watched, and according to him, Harlan had his hands full with maneuvering the loader, dealing with the incline of the stream bed, wrapping the chain around the boulder to assist in pulling it out, and then wedging the boulder into the bucket.

Here's the part I did get to see.

Harlan hauls the boulder into the yard.

He releases the chain. This damp-looking part was underground.

He dumps it out and backs away. This was the part above ground.

Our ice-age boulder.

Note the striations, that vertical gash on the left, and the lichen.

A closer look at the lichen and striations.

I wish I'd gotten a close-up picture of Harlan's face as he dumped that boulder into the yard. It was priceless! His eyes and grin revealed how incredibly impressed he was that he had actually conquered the massive move. He was so self-contained in his satisfaction, yet his look spoke volumes - he was like a kid who'd caught the giant fish. This boulder may get a little bigger in the repeated telling of the story.  No doubt this will be an oft-repeated tale as he sees friends and family in the coming days and weeks.

And how big is it, you ask? Well, Harlan has a good bit of experience moving, lifting and loading and knows what his machine can handle. He estimated that the boulder weighs more than 3500 pounds, possibly as much as 4000 pounds. Impressive, for sure.

Our next step in creating this garden vignette is to outline the space, dig out the turf, and add some topsoil and mulch. We intend to erect a flagpole for an American flag kit we got last year, as well as plant a few flowers - preferably some that will add color from spring through fall. I'm thinking tulips for spring, coreopsis for summer blooms, sedum for fall, and a hosta or pampas grass for year-round interest.

Fun projects keep presenting themselves, and we tackle them as we can. This boulder thing has been in our plans for a long time, and was totally worth the wait.

Happy Quilting, Friends!