I just had a friend head to Liverpool, and of course will walk across the famous Abby Road crosswalk. I asked her to bring me back a little rock by the sidewalk, that’s it! Someone famous has to have stepped on it at one time or another. 😂
We are people “from the mountains”. Probably explains why, to restore my soul, I would more likely choose a cabin in the mountains than a hut by the sea 😊
After a divorce, with two kids at home and a tumultuous year, I needed reinforcement that good things did still happen. Then it dawned on me to pick up a rock (they seemed to grow in my yard) and put it in a certain spot, out of the way but where I could see it from the house. From then on, if something nice happened to me that day, I would go out, find a rock and add to the pile. On bad days it was a good reminder that good days were ahead!
That was interesting! Over my 78 years, there are two groups of items I have found myself collecting.
One, in. 1980, when Mt St Helen’s erupted, we were somewhat stranded where the in-laws lived and couldn’t get home for a while. I was in a store and saw a little Hot Wheels-type car which I liked, a Model T. Those models of old cars seemed kind of rare in that genre. As time went on, I’d see the occasional one and get it. Later, I also added classic Volkswagens, having driven some of the real thing.
Two, pens, fountain pens, the occasional ballpoint and mechanical pencil. I don’t exactly remember when that started, but I’m pretty sure it was inspired by not having much luck with the first fountain pen I ever bought, in 1964, freshman year in college, a Schaefer (sp?), I think, with the see through body. Couldn’t write with it, didn’t understand it, I guess.
I had not considered, really, Why I accumulated those things. The cars, I just liked looking at, maybe fantasizing about driving a real one or the time period in which they were on the road. The pens — I like to write, so each one seemed to have a promise of some clever production, some much-needed witty piece for troubled times. Or maybe just a letter to someone.
Now I think I am over needing any more of either group. I’m slowly giving the cars to grandchildren, who may or, probably, may not appreciate them as did I. The pens, well, I don’t even write enough any more to cycle through and keep their various inks flowing, and my handwriting is getting shaky.
Very much like collecting crystals - which is more expensive but so satisfying. Holding them makes me tingle. They definitely have power and it’s all love.
We shouldn’t take anything away from nature, other than our gratitude and memories. Crabs need the shells. If something exists in a particular place, it’s there for a reason. We’re not children anymore; we should be capable of reflecting on this.
I see your point and have pondered it but it doesn’t work for me. I have loved collecting and by doing so the joy and creativity can carry on. I have made a tall pillar lamp filled with the agates from the beach, my garden gate is embellished with sea glass and driftwood, and I have made feather earrings. I think collecting is repurposing materials in a sense. Sometimes our desire to be part of the beauty around us is too strong to ignore. Everything changes, people are part of that equation. I may in time feel like not collecting but for now it seems to serve a deeper purpose or need that can not be ignored. Thank you for another view.
We are a part of nature though. Due to that, our interest in something like a shell, etc. is fully understandable. It may also be there to help us. From a shell to a person we all matter because we are all connected. There is nothing wrong with living. That is what we are here to do. Adding a shell that has been disregarded isn't taking away from nature. It's adding to the beauty of nature that is in each of us. It's living your life. I see nothing wrong with that. We are here to live.
This was delivered to my inbox and so happy to have read it. At 47, beachcombing is still my favourite beach activity. I still bring home "treasure". Lovely read.
The image of you standing on the beach among thousands of rocks beautifully mirrors your reflection on collecting. Out of countless possibilities, you hand-select just a few—just as we do with art, choosing pieces that speak to us from among thousands or even millions.
If you study which shells crabs use, you must also know that “discarded” shells are used by other crabs once the shell became too small for the 1st inhabitant. You are making housing more difficult for future crabs because you are collecting their houses.
My brother and I do a lot of hiking in the Carolinas and Midwest and in fact we are in the Finger Lakes now. I've collected rocks almost all of my life, I find they are the only true art of nature that I can place on all my tables as centerpieces and have collected them from Alaska to the Carolinas. I spotted a few good ones and will more than likely bring three or four home. I feel they are just a small part of Mother Nature's vast natural artwork just like driftwood and bark from dead trees and so on that does not attach itself to monetary value at all. They bring peace to my home and remind me that they have been here long before my existence and will be here long after.
Love it! I have seashells and rocks from nearly every corner of the world. A glass-topped coffee table with a shell a few inches below the glass makes the perfect place to display them.
I’ve always loved collecting rocks! As a child, I collected rocks in front of my grandparents’ house, separated them by color in egg cartons, and went around the neighborhood selling them for 5 cents per group in each egg indentation. Surprisingly, kind neighbors bought them. I’m 71 now and live on a small farm. We’re getting ready to move and downsize, so I‘ve been feverishly exploring every nook and cranny of our fields searching for rocks to take with me when we go. Some are big enough that my husband has to load them in a wagon and pull them home with our tractor. He keeps reminding me that the pods we are planning to use for our move across country are weighed and have to be below a certain weight. I just figure if my rocks have to travel in their own pod, so be it! I also downloaded an app that scans my rocks and tells me what kind of rocks they are. I’m obsessed!
Years ago, a friend invited me out to a wooded lot to collect rock before the area was to be cleared for a small farm. I came home with several truck loads of field rock, some mundane, some unusual or beautiful. As intended, I built a low rock wall out of them to expand my front garden. Such a satisfying puzzle, especially deciding which most interesting rocks would be placed in visual prominence. When we moved (across town) 20 years later, I did take them with me!
I am an inveterate collector of rocks but choose them for size shape and colour. The tiny ones I keep in small boxes, the larger ones are on a tray that I use as a sort of flower press and sometimes as a press for the small books I make.
Whenever a friend shared their plans on vacations I would ask them to bring me back a small rock. Something that caught their eye, something that caused them to stop for a moment. And if they could, share that emotional connection with me when they return. Why this rock?
I now have several in my collection that were gifts from treasured locations around the globe. Each a tiny memory of a wonderful friend.
Whenever I travel somewhere I pick up at least one rock to help me remember the place :)
I just had a friend head to Liverpool, and of course will walk across the famous Abby Road crosswalk. I asked her to bring me back a little rock by the sidewalk, that’s it! Someone famous has to have stepped on it at one time or another. 😂
Or, recalling Liverpool from her earlier rougher days, a small rock that was possibly thrown through someone’s window 😂
The famous Abbey Road crosswalk is in London😂
Likewise. A rock and a bottle of the local honey.
Oh, I have to add my husband’s last name is: VandenBerghe
We are people “from the mountains”. Probably explains why, to restore my soul, I would more likely choose a cabin in the mountains than a hut by the sea 😊
This was such a nice read. There's a book I got for my kids recently called "When You Find the Right Rock" by Mary Lyn Ray that is also real nice :)
After a divorce, with two kids at home and a tumultuous year, I needed reinforcement that good things did still happen. Then it dawned on me to pick up a rock (they seemed to grow in my yard) and put it in a certain spot, out of the way but where I could see it from the house. From then on, if something nice happened to me that day, I would go out, find a rock and add to the pile. On bad days it was a good reminder that good days were ahead!
That was interesting! Over my 78 years, there are two groups of items I have found myself collecting.
One, in. 1980, when Mt St Helen’s erupted, we were somewhat stranded where the in-laws lived and couldn’t get home for a while. I was in a store and saw a little Hot Wheels-type car which I liked, a Model T. Those models of old cars seemed kind of rare in that genre. As time went on, I’d see the occasional one and get it. Later, I also added classic Volkswagens, having driven some of the real thing.
Two, pens, fountain pens, the occasional ballpoint and mechanical pencil. I don’t exactly remember when that started, but I’m pretty sure it was inspired by not having much luck with the first fountain pen I ever bought, in 1964, freshman year in college, a Schaefer (sp?), I think, with the see through body. Couldn’t write with it, didn’t understand it, I guess.
I had not considered, really, Why I accumulated those things. The cars, I just liked looking at, maybe fantasizing about driving a real one or the time period in which they were on the road. The pens — I like to write, so each one seemed to have a promise of some clever production, some much-needed witty piece for troubled times. Or maybe just a letter to someone.
Now I think I am over needing any more of either group. I’m slowly giving the cars to grandchildren, who may or, probably, may not appreciate them as did I. The pens, well, I don’t even write enough any more to cycle through and keep their various inks flowing, and my handwriting is getting shaky.
Nevertheless, it was all fun while it lasted.
Very much like collecting crystals - which is more expensive but so satisfying. Holding them makes me tingle. They definitely have power and it’s all love.
We shouldn’t take anything away from nature, other than our gratitude and memories. Crabs need the shells. If something exists in a particular place, it’s there for a reason. We’re not children anymore; we should be capable of reflecting on this.
I see your point and have pondered it but it doesn’t work for me. I have loved collecting and by doing so the joy and creativity can carry on. I have made a tall pillar lamp filled with the agates from the beach, my garden gate is embellished with sea glass and driftwood, and I have made feather earrings. I think collecting is repurposing materials in a sense. Sometimes our desire to be part of the beauty around us is too strong to ignore. Everything changes, people are part of that equation. I may in time feel like not collecting but for now it seems to serve a deeper purpose or need that can not be ignored. Thank you for another view.
We are a part of nature though. Due to that, our interest in something like a shell, etc. is fully understandable. It may also be there to help us. From a shell to a person we all matter because we are all connected. There is nothing wrong with living. That is what we are here to do. Adding a shell that has been disregarded isn't taking away from nature. It's adding to the beauty of nature that is in each of us. It's living your life. I see nothing wrong with that. We are here to live.
🤷♀️
beach rocks, in particular, are among the most beautiful. no shame.
This was delivered to my inbox and so happy to have read it. At 47, beachcombing is still my favourite beach activity. I still bring home "treasure". Lovely read.
The image of you standing on the beach among thousands of rocks beautifully mirrors your reflection on collecting. Out of countless possibilities, you hand-select just a few—just as we do with art, choosing pieces that speak to us from among thousands or even millions.
If you study which shells crabs use, you must also know that “discarded” shells are used by other crabs once the shell became too small for the 1st inhabitant. You are making housing more difficult for future crabs because you are collecting their houses.
what a cute meditation on collecting :)
My brother and I do a lot of hiking in the Carolinas and Midwest and in fact we are in the Finger Lakes now. I've collected rocks almost all of my life, I find they are the only true art of nature that I can place on all my tables as centerpieces and have collected them from Alaska to the Carolinas. I spotted a few good ones and will more than likely bring three or four home. I feel they are just a small part of Mother Nature's vast natural artwork just like driftwood and bark from dead trees and so on that does not attach itself to monetary value at all. They bring peace to my home and remind me that they have been here long before my existence and will be here long after.
Love it! I have seashells and rocks from nearly every corner of the world. A glass-topped coffee table with a shell a few inches below the glass makes the perfect place to display them.
I’ve always loved collecting rocks! As a child, I collected rocks in front of my grandparents’ house, separated them by color in egg cartons, and went around the neighborhood selling them for 5 cents per group in each egg indentation. Surprisingly, kind neighbors bought them. I’m 71 now and live on a small farm. We’re getting ready to move and downsize, so I‘ve been feverishly exploring every nook and cranny of our fields searching for rocks to take with me when we go. Some are big enough that my husband has to load them in a wagon and pull them home with our tractor. He keeps reminding me that the pods we are planning to use for our move across country are weighed and have to be below a certain weight. I just figure if my rocks have to travel in their own pod, so be it! I also downloaded an app that scans my rocks and tells me what kind of rocks they are. I’m obsessed!
Years ago, a friend invited me out to a wooded lot to collect rock before the area was to be cleared for a small farm. I came home with several truck loads of field rock, some mundane, some unusual or beautiful. As intended, I built a low rock wall out of them to expand my front garden. Such a satisfying puzzle, especially deciding which most interesting rocks would be placed in visual prominence. When we moved (across town) 20 years later, I did take them with me!
I am an inveterate collector of rocks but choose them for size shape and colour. The tiny ones I keep in small boxes, the larger ones are on a tray that I use as a sort of flower press and sometimes as a press for the small books I make.
Whenever a friend shared their plans on vacations I would ask them to bring me back a small rock. Something that caught their eye, something that caused them to stop for a moment. And if they could, share that emotional connection with me when they return. Why this rock?
I now have several in my collection that were gifts from treasured locations around the globe. Each a tiny memory of a wonderful friend.