For years I’ve been fascinated with the rock piles called cairns.
There is an architectural beauty to the design of these singular piles,
with a large flat rock on the bottom, the smallest rock on top and many
rocks of varying sizes in between, seemingly defying gravity. I read
that cairns date all the way back to the 1500s with the Scottish and
Gaelic and were used as landmarks, monuments and tombstones.
Not too long ago, my mother and I took a trip to the Detroit Zoo. A rock sculpture stood at the front entrance to the penguin and polar bear exhibit. It reminded me of the “Michelin Man”, but made of rocks. I later found out it was a replica of an Inukshuk, from the Inuit (one of the Eskimo people) language and means: “likeness of a person”. The Inuit make these stone figures for different purposes: to show directions to travelers, to warn of impending danger, to mark a place of respect, or to act as helpers in the hunting of caribou.
I have been itching to build my own rock pile. I’ve been collecting rocks, easy to do….our soil is loaded with them! But, where to put my Inukshuk? Will it scare the dog? Will it scare the neighbors? Do we have Caribou on Cape Cod? Hmmmm….maybe I should start smaller. I’ve got some rocks from the beach, maybe I’ll start with a cairn.
Anyone out there ever built your own rock pile? Cairn or Inukshuk? I’d love to see a picture!
Not too long ago, my mother and I took a trip to the Detroit Zoo. A rock sculpture stood at the front entrance to the penguin and polar bear exhibit. It reminded me of the “Michelin Man”, but made of rocks. I later found out it was a replica of an Inukshuk, from the Inuit (one of the Eskimo people) language and means: “likeness of a person”. The Inuit make these stone figures for different purposes: to show directions to travelers, to warn of impending danger, to mark a place of respect, or to act as helpers in the hunting of caribou.
I have been itching to build my own rock pile. I’ve been collecting rocks, easy to do….our soil is loaded with them! But, where to put my Inukshuk? Will it scare the dog? Will it scare the neighbors? Do we have Caribou on Cape Cod? Hmmmm….maybe I should start smaller. I’ve got some rocks from the beach, maybe I’ll start with a cairn.
Anyone out there ever built your own rock pile? Cairn or Inukshuk? I’d love to see a picture!
The Detroit Zoo Inukshuk
My little cairn made of beach rocks
Below: I made a digital stamp of a cairn
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| http://www.etsy.com/listing/83860884/cairn-digital-stamp-for-collage |
Reprinted from my nature blog
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