Save our stones!

According to the forecast, today is going to be the last hot day for a while. We decided to run through the Minute Man Park again, which has the advantage of being shady, but also has the associated disadvantage of being un-breezy due to all the trees. So we stopped and walked more times than I cared to count. The other downside to this route is that there are no public trash cans along the way, so I had to carry some extra baggage almost the entire way. You would think that a national park could afford to offer trash cans. Then again, I hear the national park system is in trouble, so perhaps I should just be glad that we still have a park within running distance.

Seeing all the stone fences that line the paths in the park reminded me of recent reports of thieves in New England stealing stones from fences for use in landscaping at private residences. Apparently, stones from the older fences are more valuable because they are more "weathered" looking. Currently the penalties for stealing stones from fences are laughably light, so there are movements afoot to make them harsher. I say Amen to that! Our New England stone fences are so beautiful and such an integral part of the landscape. Maybe someone could invent an inexpensive stone weathering process so that there would be no incentive for wrecking these wonderful structures.