Sunday afternoon I was walking up a street in Westport, MA, about 0.25 miles from the South Watuppa shoreline. Here's what I noticed in a yard, right next to the driveway.
The neatly placed stone suggests the homeowner realizes this is probably a corn mortar. I had thought they were all lost to development, and here is one incorporated into the landscaping.
Every time I go kayaking on South Watuppa Pond, I notice something I hadn't seen before. It's probably due to changes in daylight and the water depth and clarity.
Monday I returned to the large turtle effigy with a grinding slick. Someone else was also enjoying this serene location.
The water had gone down a little, and gotten clearer from the cooler weather. Directly in front of the turtle a large cluster of stones was visible through the water.
These didn't photograph well because of the the glare, but the cluster is about four feet across. Donations? Used grinding stones? Or both?
Further along the shore is this structure,
which is in the back wall of this small enclosure.
I have seen this type of motif, a long stone resting on smaller ones, in stone rows in RI. A little further to the east is a large manitou, nearly lost in the clutter of cottages and motorboats. It faces north, and a puddingstone is nearly submerged in front of it.
These manitous standing in water are an eery sight. I think this one originally marked the course of the Christopher Borden brook. It now faces north in a lovely marsh.
The first picture of the mortar looks like a face.
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