Olga and I like this stand of sunflowers on a street not far from our house. Well, I like them anyway. Olga looks a bit doubtful.
We had a quiet day yesterday -- lots of reading, and working in the garden and around the house. We took Olga to Fortune Green and the cemetery in the afternoon, where we saw...
...a new kind of butterfly, at least for me. It's a "speckled wood."
Dave found a lost football in the cemetery undergrowth, which backs up to an athletic field. No doubt the football got kicked over the wall ages ago. Olga was happy to have it and by the end of our walk she'd deflated it and torn off the spongy orange outer covering. We left it in a trash bin in the park.
The other day, when I posted a picture of our front window, someone asked about our little windowsill rock collection. I thought I'd give you a close-up. There is indeed a story behind each rock.
The top row, left to right, includes pieces of old pottery found on walks, a clay lizard my friend Sue gave me in 1995, and two rocks I've had since childhood -- an agate geode and an amethyst geode. (Like many boys, I went through a rock-collecting phase. I collected almost everything at one time or another.) The agate was given to me by a woman who worked for us at home and who helped raise me, a gentle southern grandmother type. The amethyst was given to me by a retired military colonel who lived in our neighborhood, and who collected rocks himself.
The bottom row, left to right, includes a fossilized scallop I found near Venice, Fla.; a smooth rock from the beach in Essaouira, Morocco; another smooth rock from a riverbed in the Draa Valley, in southern Morocco; a piece of smooth pink granite from the beach in Montauk, N.Y.; and a dark rock from Hampstead Heath.
Aren't you glad you asked?
Well, I'm grateful for the explanation as I look at my own small collection of rocks on the shelf above my pc. They include a piece of pumice, another volcanic rock that once smelled strongly of sulphur and a small lump of coal I got from a mine in Wakefield!
ReplyDeleteI have no idea where most of my rocks come from. Which is sad. I do, however, remember where I got my black coral and a beautiful shell. Cozumel, of course.
ReplyDeleteI've just belatedly learned that agatized coral -- like my geode -- is the Florida state stone!
ReplyDelete(Who knew Florida HAD a state stone?!)
http://dos.myflorida.com/florida-facts/florida-state-symbols/state-stone/
That's an interesting collection. Rocks tell a great story.
ReplyDeleteOlga is probably asking you why the heck we stop here all the time.
ReplyDeleteyou would not believe how many rocks I have. I rarely go anywhere without bringing back a rock or two. mostly, these days, they are little, more like pebbles.
Always have pockets full of rocks- my Dad's hobby was lapidary work and rock hunting so I guess it is a natural. Your sill collection is modest, worthy, meaningful. When we lived on the beach on the Rez, the sea brought in a fresh batch every day- it was more satisfying than just about anything, walking the beach , finding treasure!
ReplyDeleteThe orange ball shredding must have been satisfying as well...Olga , ever the happy girl, looks , well, satisfied.
I love that photo of Olga with the ball! She looks so "in charge". Great little rock collection. I saw a lot of smooth rocks on the beach this last weekend but, I didn't pick any up.
ReplyDeleteLove seeing the close up of your rock collection. Our rock collection looks so much like yours. Our bookshelves are lined with rocks and fossils. Do you ever look for heart-shaped stones? They're my favorites!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed learning about your collection too. I had a few rocks when I was growing up. I don't know where my favourite ever went ... a large oval granite rock, very smooth. My father found it and gave it to me. Shoot. Now I want that rock! I never go anywhere much to find rocks these days.
ReplyDeleteOlga cracks me up. She seems to be quite proud of that ball!
I love your rock collection! I inherited my grandfather's collection but I haven't a clue what it all is.
ReplyDeleteOoh I love the sunflowers! I like your rock collection too. We collect them too - but ours are designed to be made into a little cairn in our yard. They're currently in a bucket somewhere because all the "yard-scaping" is on hold until I can help next year.
ReplyDeleteI swear Olga is the happiest dog! So much personality!
ReplyDeleteI collected rocks at one point as a kid when we lived in Panama. I had about half a dozen or so when they were mistakenly taken outdoors. I've always suspected my mother was behind this...Olga is such a happy girl, though she probably wonders why you take so many photos of her. Love the sunflower shot.
ReplyDeleteI love your catalog of treasures! I have bowls of shells and rocks that I've collected from travels and only wish that I'd thought to take pictures of each of them back in the day with a story to go along with them! That's the beauty of iPhones now, I think. And Olga cracks me up -- her face is really so expressive.
ReplyDeleteHow lovely to have sunflowers to brighten your day when you walk along the street. I think Olga has a one track dog-mind and the track is straight to the cemetery/heath.
ReplyDeleteAlphie