The only field guide to stone walls in the Northeast. Exploring Stone Walls is like being in Thorson's geology classroom, as he presents the many clues that allow you to determine any wall's history, age, and purpose. Thorson highlights forty-five places to see interesting and noteworthy walls, many of which are in public parks and preserves, from Acadia National Park in Maine to the South Fork of Long Island. Visit the tallest stone wall (Cliff Walk in Newport, Rhode Island), the most famous (Robert Frost's mending wall in Derry, New Hampshire), and many more. This field guide will broaden your horizons and deepen your appreciation of New England's rural history.

There once may have been 250,000 miles of stone walls in America's Northeast, stretching farther than the distance to the moon. They took three billion man-hours to build. And even though most are crumbling today, they contain a magnificent scientific and cultural story-about the geothermal forces that formed their stones, the tectonic movements that brought them to the surface, the glacial tide that broke them apart, the earth that held them for so long, and about the humans who built them. Stone walls layer time like Russian dolls, their smallest elements reflecting the longest spans, and Thorson urges us to study them, for each stone has its own story. Linking geological history to the early American experience, Stone by Stone presents a fascinating picture of the land the Pilgrims settled, allowing us to see and understand it with new eyes.

In 1871 there were 252,539 miles of stone walls in New England and New York enough to circle the earth ten times.

A dry-stack stonewall is a project that almost anyone can build, and it will last well over a century if built correctly. Like most projects, knowing all of the steps involved is critical to ensure a safe and solid job. This book provides thorough, step-by-step procedures for three projects using stones of various sizes from the smallest all the way up to boulders, with a focus on a safe work environment. Learn a system for planning a project, and proceed through all the steps required to completion. A gallery of wall images will inspire you to start stacking.

Number One Bestseller A unique history and 'how to' book on one of Ireland's most distinctive landscape features - the stone wall. The Irish countryside is a patchwork of over 250,000 miles of stone wall. Built from local stone according to the style of each region - dry stone in the West and the Mourne mountains or mortar elsewhere - these walls are an intrinsic part of the landscape. This unique guide by expert stone mason Pat McAfee covers the history of this ancient tradition, giving illustrated examples and step-by-step instructions on constructing, conserving and repairing stone walls of all types - whether dry stone or mortar. It includes: History of stone in Ireland How to build dry stone and mortar walls Basic and more advanced techniques Dos and don'ts of repair work Appropriate conservation methods

Mary Casal was the pen name of Ruth Fuller Field (1864-1935), a lesbian artist, teacher and entrepreneur. The youngest of nine children, she was born Ruth White Fuller, in Deerfield, Massachusetts, the daughter of musician Joseph Fuller and his wife Lydia, and the niece of painter George Fuller. Field's memoir recounts her life story: her journey of self-discovery and loving relationships with women, her tomboy childhood and instances of sexual abuse at the hands of men, her failed marriage and her contact with the lesbian community in the late 19th and early 20th century. Touching and evocative, THE STONE WALL is a window into an astonishing life.

Anna is eager to begin a new chapter in her life as a Lancaster County tour guide in the picturesque area where her Plain grandmother once stayed. Anna wishes she could talk with her grandmother about those long-ago days, but the elderly woman suffers from Alzheimer's, and beyond a vague hint about an old stone wall, much about that time is a mystery. Thankfully, Martin Nolt, a handsome Mennonite, takes the young Beachy Amish woman under his wing for her training, familiarizing her with the many local highlights, including Peaceful Meadows Horse Retreat, which serves children with special needs. The retreat's mission so inspires Anna that she returns to volunteer, and she quickly strikes up a friendship with Gabe Allgyer, the young Amish widower who manages it. As Anna grows closer to both Martin and Gabe, she finds herself faced with a difficult choice--one in potential conflict with the expectations of her parents. Will Anna find true love and the truth about her grandmother's past in Lancaster County? Or will she find only heartbreak?

This text shows how to build a wall using the traditional method of dry stone masonry in which carefully selected stones are properly stacked and held together without mortar. As well as being beautiful, a dry stone wall is stronger, more stable and more resistant to climate than a mortared wall. More than 100 full colour photographs of walls, bridges and decorative garden elements in various steps of construction are presented as well as illustrations that show the steps and cross sections that highlight the building methods.

This is the fanciful tale of a boy who takes a fall on a stone wall while exploring his family farm in Maine. When he awakens, the wall has turned into a dragon that invites him to climb aboard for a magical ride to the sea, through blueberry barrens, sheep pastures, beaver ponds, and small villages. The imaginative illustrations are done in watercolor and gouache.