What exactly IS a rock cairn (pronounced karen), you ask? A rock cairn is: rocks
stacked up and used as a monument or marker. Mainly used in ancient societies
to mark a pathway or act as a landmark, cairns have withstood the test of time
and the elements, and many very old cairns still stand today. Cairns are not
mortared together, but rather rocks balanced perfectly one atop the other,
utilizing only balance and gravity to keep the structure from toppling over.
Cairns are fun to build, and can be an interesting addition to your landscape.
These cairns have no particular purpose except to look cool. You can imagine
though how a weary traveler of old might find something like one of these
markers a refreshing sign of civilization.
You don't need huge boulders to build a cairn, but a bigger base makes for a more impressive finished piece. Balance is
essential, and if you have small children running amuck, a large base rock with small rocks on the top is definitely something to
consider. You certainly don't want your cairn to topple over onto an unsupervised child. The alternative is gluing or mortaring
the rocks in place, but this seems to take away all the mystery of these intriguing pieces.
You'll start to see shapes and features in rocks that you once overlooked, and your eye will train itself to look for that perfect
piece. It's a very fun and satisfying project, and believe me, you won't want to build just one!
Audio sounds provided by www.Freesound.org 38391- volivieri water flows over rock.wav 72722 - Manuel Calurano - Conversation between a nightingale and a frog.mp3
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