Guest lightheart Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 I believe that you said there are no bear in the area but it looks a lot like the overlapping bear track found onWill Jevning's site. The back foot comes up and overlaps the front track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Lightheart: I agree. It sure looks like an overlapped bear track. Problem is we haven't had bears in this area since the late 1800's. Kind of a mystery on this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lightheart Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Well my friend bears seem to be turning up in a lot of places where they aren't supposed to be so you never know. ....We have had 2 reported and removed. at the beach in the middle of suburbia in the last couple years. How did they even get here is a great mystery. The FWC says maybe they floated down the intracoastal. Weird huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 The stretch of river bottom we work has about a 1/4 mile stretch where rock stacking can be found, usually there are 5 stacks in that area at one time and they are ever changing. One looks almost like a grave from a Western movie. Some of the stacks disappear and new ones spring up overnight. The rock stacks themselves are ever changing. Some are added to and others have rocks taken away. This one pictured reminds me of children's building blocks. It is well balanced and each rock seems to fit into the scheme a certain way. It's almost like a puzzle. It wasn't at the river bottom a little over a 3 months ago. It seemed to spring out of the middle of no where. What's interesting another stack (The Flying V) that had been there for many months disappeared and no trace of it can be found and this was it's replacement. Rock stack (Building blocks): Found toward the middle of September. Rock stack (Building blocks): Three months later, building blocks scattered and showing discoloration. No other rocks in this stretch of the river bottom we are working are showing this discoloration. Just this handful of rocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 One of the trails that lead back into our area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Example of rock stacking #2: Example of the evolution in rock stacking (manipulation) over a 3 month period of time from our field area. Notice how one rock has been removed and turned to stand on edge. Also the top rock has been turned and is aligned with the rock standing on edge. It almost looks like a directional marker now. Rock stacking #2: As originally found back in September 2014. Rock stacking #2: What we found that had evolved in a three month time period (Mid-December 2014). Rock stacking #2: What we found that had evolved in a three month time period (Mid-December 2014). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lightheart Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 (edited) That is really cool Stillwater. I have seen rock stacks on the Greenbrier River in WVa where there have been reports. I don't see them here because we don't have many rocks in Florida. Here they use the cedar pointers that I have described and sometimes stick symbols in the trails. I have been thinking that the symbols have some kind of meaning but it occurred to me today that it is possible that their main purpose may be to advise others where they have gone. Maybe each individual has his or her own glyph and the arrangement suggests who is traveling with who and where they went. Maybe your rock stacks indicate something similar. Each rock could represent a group member with the pointer rock showing direction of travel. Wish we could understand this..... Edited December 28, 2014 by lightheart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Lightheart: At the time we first found this rock stack, we had something that was vocalizing and messing with our Great Pyrenees in the woods behind our farm. She wasn't getting any rest at night, so I brought her inside. She would lay in the kitchen most of the night, staring out the sliding glass door and watch the wood line and low growl. We are on the south side of a river and this rock pile is about 2 1/2 miles due west of us and on the same side of the river as our farm. The top pointer rock at the time was pointing due east in the farm's direction. Now the pointer rock is pointing due north, pointing to the other side of the river. Tennessee Tracker lives on the north side of the river about 4 miles as the crow flies from our farm. The other night at approx. 3:30 am, she heard a couple vocals on her side of the river which kicked up a group of coyotes. The coyotes raised all kinds of hell for about 5 minutes, then one of them yelped out in pain and they went silent. Approx. 5 minutes later there was another vocal coming from her side of the river, but farther east. Maybe the pointer is showing they have moved their hunting area across to the north side of the river. Your guess is as good as mine on this one. Sometime I'll have to tell the story of how the biggest skeptic out there, my daughter changed her mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lightheart Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 You are lucky to have someone to research with. I have to scratch my head alone....grin. Being on the opposite sides of the river only a few miles from each other will really provide you guys with an optimum situation for analyzing their movements. I think you have your answer with regards to the pointer rock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKH Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Lightheart is right, you are lucky! Sounds like a great place for long-term study. Looking forward to more stories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 JKH and Lightheart: I agree. I'm very fortunate to have a good area to work in and a great field partner. It's nice to have someone watching your back. You most certainly don't want someone with you at 2:00 am, running and screaming, knocking you over, trying to beat you back to the truck. Lol! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 While walking along the river bottom today, near the rock piles, Tennessee Tracker and I were looking up at the ridgeline that was above our position, and we were discussing the ambush advantage point of the ridgeline. Brush covered, packed with trees and a steep hillside. Also a position to watch the river bottom and be thoroughly concealed. We decided to scout it out. We circled back around, climbed back out on the eastern trail and worked our way back to the ridgeline. At the top of the ridgeline this caught my eye. We ended up finding 2 different skulls hanging from 2 different trees. Skulls were hung about 6 feet off of the ground. The 2 trees were about 10 feet apart. Note: From this position you had a perfect view of the comings and goings along the river. Also we previously had found a deer skull and various deer bones scattered along the river bottom near the rock piles. 1st skull: 2nd skull: Found next to one of the rock piles along the river bottom. All feathers, no bones found. Someone had a nice meal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lightheart Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 Interesting how the 1st skull is suspended over the top of the other branches holding them down. I have seen similar manipulations of small trees with one bent over the others holding them down. How were the skulls attached to the branches holding them? Also the site itself seems to be clear of ground foliage and kind of enclosed with some of the dead tree limbs. I notice that the one dead tree has a few small limbs leaning up against it......could be natural. I would monitor this spot to see how it's appearance changes over time. I am learning a lot by doing just that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Lightheart: Skull #1 was hanging like a Christmas tree ornament on the branch. Skull #2 the branch was woven through the skull the entire length of the skull. We hung up a small squeaky toy for them before we left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 This is probably the most interesting of all of the rock piles down at the river bottom. It's approximate measurements are 8 feet long by 5 feet wide. It sits in between 2 other rock piles. If you look closely at the 1st picture, you can see one of the other rock piles in the upper right hand corner of the picture. The 2 skulls up top along the ridgeline we found yesterday are directly above it. Pictures really can't do this rock pile justice. We have been doing some on going experiments at the site of this rock pile. We found a deer skull and other deer bones scattered along our area of the river bottom weeks back and we placed them at the head of this rock pile and when we come back, they are rearranged. Then we rearrange them and come back and they are rearranged again. I get time I'll post some pictures of our experiment and it's outcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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