Stone People... Rock!

The first question

that is asked when guests

see my Stone people

is, "are they glued?"

The second is

"what is the meaning behind it?"

The first answer is, "No

they are just balancing there!"

The second is,

"I am not really sure what

the meaning is, but its fun

and I am not sure why!"

During a significant period of time

spent walking the Windsor trail

down by the beach,

a girlfriend and I

would randomly

stop and create rock sculptures

(again, the amount of rocks

in the desert is astounding

and plentiful!

Got to LOVE rocks to live here

and I do,

she doesn't so much.)

Actually, this was her idea

and I had never tried this,

"defy gravity activity

using such large

heavy finger crunching"

objects like a house of cards

and not.

I had admired them

in the silent gardens

and beach scape's of Maui,

feeling as my guests do seeing them

the first time

"why and how?"

After making a few...

the goal becomes clear

how high can you go

and how much you will you ask of

and trust gravity?

To keep rocks balancing

on one another

that really shouldn't,

and then there's how to jump back

quick enough to protect

exposed ankles and toes

when they start to tumble

ground ward

(This is sort of fun to observe,

especially depending on who it is!)

Soon enough it became

clear there was a competition

not just on height

but also creativity

seeking to add

suggestive rock faces, hats,

beaks, noses...

...the crowning glory.

The best part of this,

was when we returned

the following week end

for our ritual walk,

thirty more had been

added to the village.

Had the vibration not toppled

them we might have jumped

up and down joyfully!

What a sight!

When I didn't get down

there anymore

she relayed to me that sadly

someone had knocked

most of them over,

"Are you sure it wasn't the wind?"

I asked!

Hard to believe such beauty

and skill and contribution

would be kicked apart!

Missing this activity greatly

and being in operation revamp

my backyard/ playground mode,

a pile of garden rocks took

on a new purpose.

In the far corner of my yard

Twelve stone people

stand around a metal fire sculpture

like a stoic majestic village.

Tall and short in

an amazing feat of balance

and juxtaposed placement

of shapes and colors and sizes,

each mound, surprisingly,

with their own personality.

The energy that is displayed

is profound

and I see it in my guests eyes

when they

view them for the first time

"would never dream of gluing them

together" I respond

because it is in the act

of building them

that I love.

Can't really describe it.

Instead? I invite you to build

one yourself.

As far as the meaning behind it?

My research

did not find anything significant

about that,

except it is an activity loved

around the world by many!

And to my rock sculpture friend,

...the wind DOES indeed

blow them over.

Gratefully tho,

because the recreation

is an opportunity to go higher

and be more clever than before!

Maybe its all about

the art of balance

in its most basic

and primitive stone beauty!

Pam Piper Rain