Engineer by day, beadweaver by night (mostly), I like to look for answers to questions.
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Thursday, July 21, 2011

My Long Lost Rocks

I'm going to warn you right now – I have a strong inclination toward collecting rocks. I also enjoy admiring rocks. I think I inherited this trait from my mother. I'm the kind of person who sees something interesting on the ground and feels an overwhelming impulse to put it in my pocket. When I go for a walk on the beach, I come back about 20 pounds heavier because of all the stuff I've picked up, most of it rocks. My husband doesn't feel this way at all, but he tolerates my idiosyncrasies and only teases me when it is absolutely necessary :)

Two years ago we went camping near Bandon, Oregon, on the coast. While we were exploring, we met a rockhound. He gave us some tips on where to hunt rocks. The kids were really excited, thinking they would find gold and get rich. We didn't find any gold, but we did pick up some cool rocks.

After we got home, I picked out 4 rocks to try out for props when I photograph my jewelry. You may recognize some of these guys from my shop pics!

The rest of the rocks were in a big bag together... and then I lost track of them :(




Fast forward to today. I took a day off work so our whole family could work together on clearing one of our storage rooms. We found lots of great stuff we had thought was lost – including my rocks!

I'm so happy, I'm going to share some of them with you. If you are not the kind of person who likes rocks (for example, my husband), I understand if you skip the rest. If you like rocks, read on!

The one on the left is a big rock I love because of its beautiful reddish tone, and it's soft, slippery feel. On the right are my two best shells.














I found several rocks with circular depressions or holes in them.









I picked these rocks up because I thought they had interesting patterns on them.









Last but not least, I found a bunch of agates.









How about you? Is there something you love to collect?

18 comments:

  1. Hi!

    I like rocks too! Used to collect them as a child. Yours are certainly beautiful!
    Happy Friday!

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  2. Those are beautiful rocks! I really love the ones with the holes because they are so different from the normal rocks I have seen. I am not a big collector of rocks but I do like collecting shells at the beach. Have a wonderful Friday and weekend!

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  3. I like the holey ones too. We collect shells every vacation at the beach.

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  4. Colored glass, buttons... Textile samples... And rocks, of course, but I try to keep those to a minimum —it could get pretty heavy!

    Some people coat their rocks with varnish (or enamel) to keep them looking wet and glorious. As long as it's not too shiny, I think it's a good idea. :)

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  5. The rocks with holes are interesting - wonder how they got their holes? I too used to collect rocks as a kid. : )

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  6. My husband and I take a driving trip through the mountains each year for our anniversary and always stop at a stream and pick up an anniversary rock. Love your collection.

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  7. I always leave the beach with pockets filled with rocks, so glad I am not alone.

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  8. :) Love these! I had a friend who collected heart shaped rocks she found - nature is amazingly sweet!

    Love those holey ones!

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  9. I tend to do the same thing when we're on the river :) They guys get mad because I steal all their skipping stones!

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  10. What great rocks! We live by the beach and I like to pick up some cool looking ones now and then.

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  11. Thanks for your comments, everyone! I love hearing about what you like to collect.

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  12. Love your rock collection Connie:) I love rocks too, though haven't collected any in a while...now you have inspired me:):)

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  13. My mom is obsessed with rocks and would love this blog post! I don't know how many times we have been driving and she wants to pull over because she sees a big rock that she thinks would look great in the yard!

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  14. Some awesome finds! Love the rocks with the circular impressions, they look like they are form another planet! Way cool!

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  15. Oooh, rocks. We come home with the back of the car loaded with driftwood, rocks, and big ziplock bags of sand. I still have sand I collected 30 years ago in Cape Cod Natl Seashore and Gold Beach, OR. In nice glass jars for display, of course.

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  16. I love rocks !! I think its been a facination since childhood, :)

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  17. I just discovered your blog, and I'm really enjoying it. I started out looking for info on the Schiller effect in labrodorite, and have kept reading! It's so much fun reading about rocks and all, because I am a bit of a rock hound, too. I come by it naturally, because my dad was a geologist. =grin= Anyway, I hope to reading more about rocks from you, because I have a lot to learn!

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  18. Thanks Fi! I'm glad you liked my attempts to understand and explain... I'm not a geologist like your dad, but I sure love rocks too. I come at it from a material science standpoint because of my background. I'll have to do another mineral post soon.

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I love hearing your thoughts, questions and stories!