A cairn is just a pile of rocks. It's not difficult to make one. We did it in less than an hour using rocks left over from our first dry stone wall. We put it by the vegetable garden on top of the ridge with a nice view of the mountains. It'll probably stay there a very long time.
Cairn is a Scots Gaelic word that means stones stacked in a special place to remember something important for a long time into the future. Highlanders made cairns to remember those lost in battles. Today cairns are often used as landmarks or for commemorations. They're markers. We're marking the first season on the farm, a remembrance of something we did together as a family. A promise to never forget. I guess a cairn isn't just a pile of rocks and an hour is a wise investment for a forever memory.
'cuiridh mi clach air do chàrn' - I'll put a stone on your cairn.