Stone Circles – My Way

What is a stone circle? It's a monument of standing stones arranged in a circle. Like this...

Courtesy of: "Swinside (p4160146)". Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons

 It's beautiful but there's no way I could ever build such a large circle. But I would be able to manage this...

Even though my stones are not standing, nor are they very large, I would call it a stone circle. 

Many years ago I started making these circles on the bay side of the Cape when the tide was out.
I came up with several logical reasons for my behavior.
# 1. I wanted to get my little ones involved in a nature project while playing on the beach.
# 2. I wanted to see if the circle would still be there the next day. 
I'd HAVE to return every day, no matter what, to observe the stones and, of course, replenish the concentric design. It took me to the beach almost every day.
# 3. It was fun.

One summer we were very busy in the gallery and a bit stressed. My fascination with the stone circle became an obsession with me.  I had to go see my creation, even if I was exhausted or it was raining. It forced me to take the time to get in the car, drive to the beach, and check on the progress of the stones. I always encouraged the family to come with me. I'd even drag our summer guests to the beach to assist me in rebuilding the tiny circle. A few times I went alone. By the time August rolled around, the kids had lost interest but Tim and I kept returning. Sometimes to our surprise we'd arrive only to see that another beachcomber had either filled in the circle or built their own right next to mine!

I'm still fascinated with building a stone circle every chance I get. One year I fashioned the stones into a heart. 

This past winter, we visited our son in Juneau, Alaska where we welcomed their new baby and new home. Their house is located on a small inlet from the Pacific Ocean. So what did I do? I built a stone circle with the help of Tim and my granddaughter Casey.

These dark, large rocks are covered with barnacles, very different from our smooth, sandy colored stones in the Atlantic. Tim found one of the largest heart shaped rocks I've ever seen.

We incorporated it into the rock circle. Hopefully Casey, Madison, and little Zack will look out their windows and see Grandma Barbara's circle of love.

Below you'll see the back cover of my second historical novel, The Old Cape Teapot.

That year in 2006, while I was rebuilding my rock circle on the bayside of Brewster, I found a pottery shard. It was beautiful.

I took it home. That fall I visited several antique shops trying to trace its pattern but ended my search with no information. It wasn't disappointing for me because as I traveled the roads of Cape Cod, I began to craft the plot for my second novel with the pottery shard as my inspiration. 

Nancy Caldwell uncovers a pirate mystery that had the Old Salts of Cape Cod wondering for close to 300 years in the historical fiction, The Old Cape House. Was she lucky or a good detective?  Nancy returns in The Old Cape Teapot, the second in a series of historical fiction, to uncover the trails of two survivors from the wreck of the 1717 pirate ship Whydah. Armed with the knowledge that in pirate culture the looted riches were equally shared, she takes us to the tropical island of Antigua and back to Cape Cod searching for clues to more treasure. Using alternating chapters from the 18th to the 21st century, danger and conspiracy follow her at every turn. What will help her this time?

 Click to purchase on Amazon, B&N, iTunes, and Struna Galleries to the right of my blog.
Available as an ebook and paperback.

I eagerly await the disappearance of ice and snow,  so I can begin a new stone circle.