My love affair with rocks started in my youth. How could it not? I was exposed to their beauty and utility in my earliest of remembrances.

My father grew up living in a house that his dad built. In fact, my father was born in that house. That was a rather common practice in 1925...at least in small towns.

My grandfather whom I never met, because he died of pneumonia when my dad was only 7 years old ( also common back then prior to penicillin and other drugs being invented ) designed the terraced hillside leading down to Okauchee Lake in the State of Wisconsin. He utilized numerous rocks in it's construction.

The rock garden must have been gorgeous in it's day! Each terrace had not only it's share of different shaped rocks of various sizes and colors, but shrubbery and flowers that would have created a scene of spectacular beauty as viewed from the shoreline looking back up to the house. It was also enjoyed by the people in boats that would be passing this site.

My grandfather also built a number of cottages going down the hill and all of them were lake-side. As the hill flattened out, more terracing was not necessary. These were summer cottages and were rented out primarily to "city folks" coming to enjoy the lake for the season.

It was fortunate that my grandmother had this source of income as her husband died at such an early age. It was hard work getting the cottages readied for the summer. Piers had to be put in to the lake. Painting the cottages; cleaning them and preparing them for the summer occupants took much time and effort.

My dad got the job of mowing all the lawns, among other chores.

Keeping the terraced garden weeded and tended was not just work, but a source of relaxation and pride for my grandmother. The photo of the rock at the top of this piece is one from that very hillside. I am fortunate to have 3 rocks from that location in my possession today.

Rock collecting once begun has continued through the years. The rock above was collected from a Wisconsin Rapids neighbor's parent's farm. The rocks would continually work up to the surface of the fields and became a nuisance to them. They were happy to have us take as many of them as we desired.

We had a sump pump in our basement that would electrically operate when the water table would get high. Instead of water flooding our basement, the pump worked to force water outside into a retaining pond that my husband and I had constructed. Various multi-colored rocks of different sizes and shapes lined the pond, and when not filled with water, the rocks became the eye catching focus of this part of the yard. Flowers lined the perimeter of the rock garden in the summer.

We lived there for 4 years and when we moved back to Houston, Texas, many of these rocks were moved along with our other possessions.

 Now instead of simply wanting a remembrance from my grandmother's home, and also using rocks to fulfill a purpose......like the construction of that pond, I started collecting rocks as souvenirs from various places that we had visited.

The one above is from Moonlight Bay in the Door County region of Wisconsin.  It is a beautiful vacation spot for most people.  In fact, my parents honeymooned there! 

Imagine a peninsula surrounded by water from Lake Michigan with charming cottages and cute little towns.  One distinct memory my husband and I have is of a grass covered roof with a goat on top munching the grass.  One does not see sights like that in most places!  Flower boxes filled with blooming geraniums and other brightly colored flowers are in abundance. 

Friendly shopkeepers and restaurant owners are there to fulfill one's every need and desire.

Spring, Summer and Fall one can count on Door County being filled with tourists.  If you plan a vacation there, make your reservations well in advance to secure a room for yourself.  Then sit back and enjoy this quaint area filled with aquatic views almost everywhere one gazes.

This rock from Door County is in my garden today to remind me of our brief vacation there.

The rock above came from the Hill Country of Texas. My brother helped lift them into the trunk of my car one time when I was visiting him. I like to use natural rocks like this one as stepping stones.

They certainly are prettier than the concrete ones that one can purchase in most nurseries and garden centers.

Have you ever looked at rocks up close? They are things of beauty........inside and out. While some can look quite ordinary on the outside, if sliced open and polished, they become quite extra-ordinary pieces of jewelry or can be put to other decorative uses.

The rock above with the lichens growing on it looks like an abstract painting when photographed up close. It has a prime spot in our backyard where we can enjoy it's distinct form and shapely mass.

 This rock with the quartz crystals was purchased from a rock shop along side the road while we were traveling through Arkansas.  It and a few other purchases grace our backyard and add highlights to the rest of the landscape. 

While most of my rocks have prime staging areas in the garden and become a focal point, others like the ones above are gathered together to show off their contrasting colors and shapes. Ignore the clover! It does not belong there but sneaks in occasionally to capture my attention.

I remember with humor the time I had picked up a number of small rocks from a vacation in Oregon and put them in my suitcase. Some bright orange rocks and some totally green in color were among my prizes.

The suitcase was obviously very heavy and all was well until I got to the area of the airport where my carry on luggage was screened. Not realizing that my umbrella and the opaque rocks looked very suspicious to the person looking at the x ray, I was asked to open my luggage and display the contents.

The airport screen-er just shook her head in disbelief when she realized what those queer shapes on her x ray machine turned out to be. She said, and I quote........"I have never seen rocks worth carrying home in a suitcase!" I know that she thought that I had rocks in my head!

Well........as the old saying goes........one person's trash is another person's treasure.

I value these collected rocks along with the memories they invoke, and although we have recently moved to a new home and had to leave some of them behind, a selection of them continue to happily reside in our backyard garden.

Do any of you readers have a similar attachment to rocks? I would love hearing from you to see what you do with them.