Comments on: How geology affects your dog’s demeanor and the view from your back yard

By: Greg Laden

Greg Laden — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 03:51:13 +0000

Kathy, you obviously have never seen a dog.

Or at least, you’ve never seen a dog looking out a window in a house with squirrels in the back yard.

There are no differences between dogs once they see the squirrel. Well, there is some difference. The dogs that don’t go after the squirrel? Those are the dead ones.

By: Kathy

Kathy — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 03:30:45 +0000

This is about the dumbest argument for differences in dog behavior that I’ve ever read anywhere! Dogs are hyper or not due entirely to how much exercise they get, what they’re fed, their genetic background and how much attention and training they get from their owners. It has nothing to do with the geology of their owners’ backyard.

By: MikeMa

MikeMa — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 20:46:28 +0000

I have lived most of my life in the rock strewn north east and I will say we also have many rock sculptures in the yard because to remove them takes a lot of work!

I had a house in Elkton MD which was built on old farm ground. I was building a rock wall to flatten a sloping yard and looking for raw material. I found a rock burial ground along the edge of the trees in the back yard where the farmer had dumped the rocks his plowing had uncovered over many, many years. I was able to build nearly 40 feet of 5 foot high mostly wall from that deposit.

By: Greg Laden

Greg Laden — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 13:13:11 +0000

suomynonA: There is controversy in those seemingly still waters. My wife’s family was nearly torn asunder over this. Some thought the side of the house where you pulled up the car was the front, and that the cabin had a lake in it’s back yard. Others thought the lake was the front. The patriarch of the family settled the issue by carving wooden signs saying “Front” and “Back” and affixing them to the cabin, one on each side.

By: suomynonA

suomynonA — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 13:07:18 +0000

With lakefront property, your front yard faces the lake.

Perhaps this post should be retitled “How geology affects your perception of front and back yards”? 😉

By: Lorax

Lorax — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 05:34:03 +0000

Live in Roseville, N of St.Paul/Minneapolis. Yard slopes down, ie House is higher than surrounding immediate area. That was intelligently designed (chosen). Grew up in New England in a low lying area….a sump pump can only do so much. As an adult, Ild rather have gravity on my side.

By: Dave

Dave — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 04:01:20 +0000

haha and 50 area..your knowledge is vast!we are just off the Ft Snelling Reserve and i assume our blocks may have some history.Coldwater Spring is at the end of the street.i’ll look the web over for some old maps.thanks for the start into this.

By: Greg Laden

Greg Laden — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 18:06:57 +0000

Dave, it depends on where in SoMo you live. I’m guessing either east of Hiawatha or near Minnihaha/50th.

By: Dave

Dave — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 17:08:34 +0000

OK..i live in South Minneapolis and the streets are lower than our homes which sit like they are on a canal,if the street was was filled with water.great for privacy as passers can’t really seen in your windows.so whats the story there?
by the way when they replaced the alley house next door and put a bigger home in the pit made for the basement showed we were on a few feet of black prairie dirt over sand,lots of sand.