My Rock Collection

Today I'm sharing some of my pictures of rocks. Doesn't that sound exciting! I guess it could be if you are a petrologist (one who studies the origin, history, occurrence, structure, chemical composition, and classification of rocks).

I've found that children love rocks and our granddaughter Avery has shared quite a few of her "special ones" with me. Isn't it wonderful to experience pleasure in the simple things in life by seeing them through a child's eyes.

I've never really studied rocks, but, like Avery, I do have a tendency to notice unusual ones, and discovered that I have quite a collection of pictures I've taken of rocks that have caught my attention during my travels.

This is probably the largest rock I've captured ...

I call it "Table Rock," and found it at a roadside park along the Natchez Trace near the Tennessee-Mississippi state lines (Glenrock Branch at Mile Marker 364.5). If you would like to read my post about this Natural Wonder and see more pictures, you can click on the link.

This next rock is one of the rocks surrounding the waterfall in our courtyard. Its shape reminds me of the state of Mississippi.

Here are some more rocks in our pond and waterfall areas ...

The lichen or moss on this rock caught my attention beside a path at Mynelle Gardens in Jackson.

You can take my "tour" of Mynelle Gardens by clicking on the link.

I was wrong about the "table rock" being the largest rock I've photographed. I forgot about my visit to Mint Springs, a natural waterfall here in Vicksburg.

To read about my adventures at Mint Springs and see more pictures, you can click here.

This picture is one I captured after a rain shower of a stone on the path leading from our courtyard to our backyard. The reflections in the puddles remind me of liquid gold ...

And this last picture is one of my favorites because it brings back sweet memories of one of our family vacations we spent at Blue Ridge, Georgia. I took it standing at the edge of the Ocoee River.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my rock collection, and I hope I have inspired you to look at rocks in a different way. Perhaps you can even take a nature walk with a little one sometime and see how many interesting rocks you can find. I promise you it will be time well spent.

On the Rocks

It amazes me sometimes, not just how many pictures I have collected during my travels, but the variety of subjects I've photographed.

Yesterday afternoon, I happened to notice a rock in our pond that I've always called our "Mississippi rock," because it is shaped like our great state of Mississippi. It's the reddish one to the left of Harry, our Blue Heron.

Taking those pictures prompted me to think about some of the pictures I've captured of bigger rocks I've come across during our travels:

Along the Natchez Trace ...

The Ocoee River, near Copper Hill, Tennessee ...

Mississippi's "Little Grand Canyon"
near Columbia, Mississippi ...

Mint Springs, Vicksburg, Mississippi

And while we're on the subject of ROCKS, have you ever thought about some of the expressions we use everyday that include the word rock? Here are just a few, if you're curious:

This cake is hard as a rock!

I couldn't make up my mind. I was between a rock and a hard place.

I like my Dr. Pepper on the rocks.

The accountant said their business is on the rocks.

His poll ratings have hit rock bottom.

Let's just leave things as they are and don't rock the boat.

And one of the latest usages of the word, if you say someone "rocks," you are complimenting them, as in "She rocks!" (Replaces cool, hip, and groovy.)

So, in closing, I hope your day rocks and you don't get caught between a rock and a hard place, or hit rock bottom. Try not to rock the boat, and stay cool by having all your drinks "on the rocks." Rock on, my friends!