Glacial erratics

[Nik]

These are the two largest glacial erratics in our yard. Each is more than 6 feet tall and more than 10 feet wide. Their base is above the rooftop of our house, but some distance away. Not that they are going anywhere anytime soon..  They are in the ‘wild’ area of the property and mark the highest vertical point of the yard.

[fermi de Sousa]

What a tremendous pair of "pebbles" dropped by a retreating glacier! Do you know how long ago they would have arrived on your property?
How big is your land for these to be "some distance" from your house?
Looks like plenty of rock crevices for planting out too!
cheers
fermi

[Nik]

Hi Fermi,
The last ice sheet in Connecticut is supposed to have melted away approximately 15,500 years ago. I imagine that is when the erratics settled in their current positions.
For the distance, I meant that they are not right next to the house. About 50 yards away. The property is not very large, close to one acre. It borders (merges with) a nature preserve area which is quite large, with many trails for long walks in the woods..
Best,
Nik

[Jeffnz]

Hi Nik
Interesting landscape, what about soil? Glaciers are powerful beasts\, sad that climate change is now seeing many retreat at an alarming rate.

[Nik]

Hi Jeffnz,
Yes, there is some soil in our backyard, few inches on top of the rocks, if any. Very acidic (great for the moss). Much deeper in our front yard. Trees seem to be doing well either way.
Climate change is a big concern, and we’ve experienced it first hand. There are so many severe wind weather events here, tornadoes, hurricanes, microbursts, strong storms, never before so frequent in this area. We had to adapt, and sadly removed more than 15 very large trees from the immediate vicinity of the house. Majestic oaks, beeches and maples, it was quite depressing and very expensive. Here are the mid stages of removal of our giant tulip poplar in December last year. It was way more than 100 feet tall, but very close to the house, so it had to go. Our town just had a tornado again this Saturday and our neighbors had a lot of damage to their house…
Climate change is real, and only getting worse..

[ashley]

Very sad to have to remove such a fine tree Nik (Liriodendron?), but understandable of course.
Unfortunately there's not much native forest here in Ireland and rarely do people allow large trees near their houses.  In that sense I'm an exception but will also have to reassess the risk of storm damage.

[Nik]

Liriodendron?

Yes, Liriodendron tulipifera. The west coast has the giant redwoods, these are the giants of the east coast.

[Nik]

..have to reassess the risk of storm damage.

Safety is paramount! I was so sad to part with perfectly healthy trees, some of them more than 160 years old (I counted the rings), but it was necessary..

[Jeffnz]

Did the natural tree anchoring let you down, agree that it is always heart rending when what appears to be a heathy tree needs to be removed?

[Hoy]

Glacial erratics are very common here in Norway You'll find them everywhere. In fact most of the landscape is formed by glaciers and most of the soil is glacial deposits.






In the montane pine forest:




Or in the sea:

[Nik]

They are amazing, Trond, aren’t they! Just a glorious reminder of the power of natural forces..

[brianw]

Although I am in the Chiltern Hills, mainly chalk and gravel, there are occasional sandstone rocks that arrived in the last ice age. These are more or less are absent south of here, in the Thames valley. My last house, built in the early 1800's had a large rectangular piece for the main entrance step, and I brought 3 lift-able pieces with me when we moved. When the M40 road was built in 1980's a large piece about the length of my car and a yard or so high and wide was left beside the road near the top of the Chilterns escarpment.

[Hoy]

They are amazing, Trond, aren’t they! Just a glorious reminder of the power of natural forces..

Yes, Nik. I love these rocks. Sometimes it is possible to see where the mother "mountain" is also. That's nice!

This rock has probably been transported from the mountains in the background.

[Nik]

Stunning picture, Trond!

[Hoy]

Stunning picture, Trond!

Thanks, Nik.