Hi all! Just a little warning about collecting rocks on your own from piles...Don't make the mistake I made. I noticed a nice pile of stone in a field, asked if the owner if he would be willing to part with some. He was a nice older fellow, said the stones had been there for a few years and he wasn't going to be using them or working the land anylonger, so take what ever I wanted. Well I took a walk out to the pile and lifted one, yep one rock. Stirred up a nest of yellow jacket wasps! Luckily I moved quick enough and only got whacked by one. So if you're not sure how long the pile has been there, be aware of what is buzzing around the pile. I must have been by the back end of the nest entrance or I probably would have seen or heard the wasps coming and going. Lucky me. I told the owner about the wasps so he wouldn't go near them. He told me to come back in the winter if I wanted the stone and thanked me for the warning. Well, I did go back and collected a few really nice stone for a wall that was going in. the nest was huge! the rock were on top of an old tree trunk which the yellow jackets were nesting in.

Without some dressing what you have is like stacking bowling balls. Granite Gneiss or Basalt is my guess

I think.....the trees.......will be just fine......think in tree terms......do trees care if rocks are around when they grow in the woods........I think not........trees and rocks will coexist longer than you or I will be be around to enjoy........ Did my best ken impression...although I think he's on to something..

I had forgotten about this post. At the end of August, I lost my job. I had the rock from my front border piled in a bare spot by some pine trees and posted it on a FB page for giveaway. I had over 30 people respond, so once the pile was gone, I let them start taking the other front border. Once that was gone, I started around the house. Once those were gone, I started around the large garden in the back. It was a 3-day project, and thousands of pounds of rock that made a good distraction from the job loss. They are all gone now, except for a few favorites I kept. I bought myself a half moon edger, although I haven't finished with that project yet. It's so funny. I LOVED the rock borders when I bought the house. According to the neighbor, the previous owner had them hauled in about 20 years ago...the only way to get rid of the weeds would have been to take all the border apart and place fabric or something underneath, then rebuild. My eyes finally feel rested from the unsightliness of rocks and weeds. It was literally getting stressful to look at, because it always looked messy, no matter how much I pulled or sprayed or trimmed. There also seems to be an excess of snakes around my house and the neighbors place. I do not mind seeing the occasional snake, but last fall, I was finding them in my garage just about every day, and this spring I was seeing up to 10 a day around the property. Guess what? Haven't seen a single snake this fall. Hoping the rock removal eliminates my home as their permanent habitat!!!!