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Friday, June 18, 2010

Friday Photo Shoot Out: Rocks


Rocks this week for the My Town Shootout, chosen by Chef E. There are plenty of rocks around, lots of buildings made of rocks, but I just didn’t get around for a tour of them these past weeks. So here’s a little tour of my bookcase instead.
I like to bring something back when I travel, something small and not heavy. Often it’s a small glass bottle or vase, of which I have a good dozen now. Occasionally rocks, so here are my rocks.
These two are from Iceland, my northernmost rocks (see here). Nice bits of smoothened lava picked off the southern beaches. I really like the feel of them, and they’re so lightweight! It would be neat to go back to that part of Iceland now. I’m sure the beach looks quite different with the new layer of ash and rocklets laid down courtesy of the volcano erupting quite nearby. My previously northernmost rock was from Skye, off of Scotland, but it got lost.
This one is from my favorite beach (see here)(sshhhh! You’re not supposed to make off with bits of state parks! Though one time I was there I saw a couple with a pickup just filling it with beach stones. Alas, there was nobody around to report them to. Damned thieves.). When I had an apartment I could put nails in the wall of, it used to hang in the kitchen along with all my little framed photos. It’s shrinking over the years. Every time I move it, it leaves a little sand behind.
. Another one from San Diego, this from the desert in the eastern part of the county.
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This one’s from Oran, in Algeria. Yes, Sheldon, Americans can go to Algeria. The Algerians don’t mind, as long as you have a visa. I’ve been there twice, to Algiers and Oran, and we’ve talked of arranging a camping trip into the desert, with camels and servants and big tents, but so far it hasn’t happened.
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Then there are two pebbles from the beaches in Northern France. Most of the beach stones are white there, but there are black ones and reddish ones mixed in. This one is from Fecamp, on one of my solo trips (see here). They make Benedictine liqueur there, and splash it on crepes for dessert. It was a cold, cloudy, windy weekend in the fall when I was there. The town was all but empty and closed. I like that sometimes. A different kind of getaway.
The other is from Dieppe. That was a stressful day. I went with a friend and her husband and dog, and everybody had a different idea of what would be fun to do. Which is just normal, but we didn’t always do a great job at appreciating each other’s interests, or think the dog should have such a big vote. Plus there was a mountain of tension between them, and a third person always ends up acting like a buffer or trying to stay out of the way. The seafood was fabulous, though. It was the first time I tried a platter of Stuff that Lives between the Rocks, and it was so fresh and I was so hungry I just loved it. An excellent glass of white wine didn’t hurt, either.
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This is the only rock I ever bought. From a skinny kid in Tunisia. My friend Kamel took me on a week-long road trip, and we stopped in touristy places like Matmara (where the underground homes in Star Wars were filmed), and the desert oasis of Tozer, but my favorite place was always in-between. We stopped once at a smaller oasis, for orange soda and some lunch, and it was quite a place for geodes. Any car that stopped would be swarmed by kids selling them. No need to get out and go to the geode shops. Kamel thought I should disdain the semi-beggars and their wares, but I did actually want one.

And now.... Putting Rocks on Top of Other Rocks! It was the Icelandic ones that insisted, I swear. They love that kind of thing. They don’t feel at home if they’re not stacked. The Fecamp pebble was a splitter. Just didn’t want to go. I would have fiddled with it more, but the Torrey Pines sandstone was shedding all over the table and the cats wanted in (or was it out?)(there may have been a cat going each way), so I let it go.
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So that's my Shootout. Join in the fun here!
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14 comments:

Titus said...

Great post! We have rock collections here too, but they never stay balanced for long.
Mostly igneous and sedimentary for us too at the moment. Love that geode!
And the combination of rocks and memories was wonderful.
Rocks, er, rock.

Kerry said...

I enjoyed this Rock's Guide to Nanu's Travels! I could have read more and more. My favorite rock is your favorite, too, even if it does shed sand.

~JarieLyn~ said...

Yep, I agree with Kerry. That one is my favorite rock too. I like all the holes in it. It makes it very unique looking.

GingerV said...

lovely - I tend to also put rocks in my pockets - now have them all over the house but without a clue from where they came.... I loved your story of your rocks and how you (stole!) got them. like memory stones, pick one up and remember the occaision of its capture

Unknown said...

here the stack of rocks is called a cairn. it is a marker for hikers in the woods or on trails telling them that they are going the right way and are not lost. I like the little rock with the ring on it!

Sue McPeak said...

What a neat way to have a small piece of the places you have traveled. Every rock has a story and each one very fascinating...especially to someone who has traveled not at over seas. Thanks for sharing your travels and momentous rocks!

Pauline said...

Love all your rocks. I pick up little stones and shells that take my fancy, too. But always little ones for some reason, don't think they would stack very well. Love that stack!

Unknown said...

I LOVED the tour of your rock collection! It was adorable, informative and quirky! Yaaayyy!!

I'm packing at the moment to move to the other side of the country, and I'm struck with how much stuff I have and, conversely, how little I have. I have some Galway shells which I will keep :)

Jama said...

You have a great collection of rocks there!

Titus said...

I'm now concerned about your cherries.

RedLan said...

You also have rock collection too. And it's actually a huge collection. And I love the last photo very much!

Cheryl said...

I take rocks from everywhere I visit. I used to be organized and labeled them. Not anymore. I love that you showed off some of your collection and where each was found.

The cairn reminds me of Inuksuit and Inunnguaq designs.

Suburban Girl said...

A very scientific presentation. I like your rock pile.

Bagman and Butler said...

Your pictures rock my world as they say. I missed this weeks post and didn't really see many others.