There's something about the randomness of these rock walls that I find attractive. I'd much rather see these shapes and forms than perfect rows and patterns. I took this picture standing on the lot that Mary's sister and husband purchased to build their home on and is only a few blocks from our home. It was when we drove up there to see their building site that I noticed this scene and resolved to return with my camera. A steep draw slopes off to the undeveloped area to the west, and lots of wildlife and cattle can be seen from the view. When I first saw them I was reminded of structured walls I'd seen pictured in magazines such as National Geographic that were located in places like Tibet, South America, and other places where tillable land was scarce and this was the answer to planting crops in severe inclines.I first saw terraced land when I traveled south to harvest wheat in Kansas and Nebraska. There they make use of them on rolling land to stop the soil from eroding. The dirt berms were too steep to climb over with our machines so instead we followed their curves and combined parallel to them. Interesting patterns began to show through the stubble as we cut the wheat. By the way, the elevation of the land in the picture is about the highest Mandan offers. Stories of the flooding below us along the river will only get more grim. The crest won't hit until about a week from now, and a good deal of property will suffer.
