Wednesday, February 28, 2007

The Heart Rocks.

Grandfathers. Grandmothers...

In the garden, on the porch,
in the living room, bedroom, bathroom,
in the kicthen window and built into the walls.
On my desk, in the car & sometimes, around my neck.
From the woods, the rivers and the salty sea
From places and spaces that used to be
to now and eternity...

Grandfathers & Grandmothers.

"The Grandfathers are rocks, stones, things I pick up and carry with me. They are called Grandfathers because they possess all knowledge. They have been here on Mother Earth for all time and have seen everything that man has done to Mother earth. They hold all the teachings. They are made from the bones and hair and blood of those that walked before us. So, we call them Grandfathers, (and Grandmothers)."~ Spado

Having Monday & Tuesday off I had hoped to go camping, but instead ended up taking the path photographed. The hills were deceptively steep & the soft, moist clay and dirt were riddled with deer prints...untainted yet by the summers' crowd. The trail itself disappeared upon us, opening up into a hillside field. We trapsed on through to the otherside. We stopped and listened. So quiet but humming with life.

At the basin of our trail laid a quick moving, rambling little creek which fed into the river where we had left the car. We ventured down to the creek. There was a log that went across the creek that looked like a great place to sit after our little hike.

I simultaneously tried
to straddle the creek and jump my bum up onto the fallen tree and when my hands grabbed onto the log...my right one landed onto this little fellow. A small heart shaped grandfather...perhaps, the soul mate to my sisters' latest find.

Rocks. Seashells. Keepers. Savers & Givers.
Grandfathers & Grandmothers. So wise...







25 comments:

Me said...

Another poetic discovery :)

singleton said...

yep, the soul mate.....
Funny, isn't it, how you just stumble on heart shaped fate?
ILYSVVM

Mel said...

:-)

Lovely treasures--and what a gorgeous spot to have a hike around.

M@ said...

I found $20 once. I lost it ten minutes later.

Fuzzylogic said...

I loved the analogy of the grandfathers and grandmothers for these treasures.I have quite a collection of rocks myself back in my parents home.Your post made me all nostalgic:)

kitten said...

Your post made me remember many things I'd forgotten about living in the South. Especially how it looks in the Spring, with all the brown leaves, bare trees, little tufts of green mossy or grassy patches here and there. You are so lucky to be able to find such great stuff...rocks, arrowheads, and the like.

skinnylittleblonde said...

Orhan! Your moniker is ominous! :) I like it...but miss your face!

Singleton~ I thought he was waiting for me. ;)

Mel~ Yes, and quite close to home :)

Matt~ I found a ten once...same thing here...gone in ten minutes. LOL. But these rocks, they'll be here for a spell.

Fuzzy~ I liked that too. Spadomans' words just made sense to me. I've always liked rocks... they kinda help make me feel grounded, reminding me...Next time you find a 'keeper' rock you'll have to start a collection for your own place :)

Kitten~ Ha! I love your comment because it made me go back and look at the pics again. The 'tufts of green mossy grassy patches' were so pretty...but very splotchy & small... more like for an elf, than us ;)

Spadoman said...

Sometimes, when I am on the road, I will grab a few of these Grandfathers and put them in my pocket. If I meet someone and engage in conversation, I'll reach in and grab one and give it to the person.

I tell them to hold it and see if it has a message. Sometimes, the rock will need to be passed to yet another, (the cycle is endless, like the circle, no beginning and no end). I explain that if you think someone needs it, give it to them.

Last year, I went on a motorcycle ride to Crow Creek Reservation in South Dakota. We met many people. One woman that I was talking to was telling me about reservation life and we had a long informative conversation.

I reached into my pocket and I handed her a Grandfather, (Mother), that I had picked up on the Mississippi River bluffs at the beginning of the ride in Saint Paul, MN. She took the stone, caressed it, and said to me, "My Grandmother is from White Earth in Minnesota. Do you know what her name was?"

I, of course, had no idea what her Grandmother's name was, and she told me.

"Her name was Great Stone Woman."

Coincidence? I don't think so. The Spirit of her Grandmother called to me to make that journey to visit her Granddaughter, no doubt.

Peace to all.

skinnylittleblonde said...

Great story Spado! Thanks for sharing...I love it! Obviously your words made an impact on me :)

I'm bad in that I have a lot of 'keepers' ... but each one reminds me of a person, a place, a time, a life change and/or a lesson learned in my life. Maybe, for now, it is time for them to soak up some of my energy? :)

Angela Marie said...

I have alot of these keepers! I have given my daughter some, and she has kept some and also given some of them away. I will never forget the first time she did this. The look on my face said it all. She just gave me a hug and said "oh mom.... it is good to share the love!" She is right!

Anne said...

What a beautiful story, and an awesome rock collection! Thank you for sharing your lovely hearts! :)

Enemy of the Republic said...

I once did a post called The Heart is Fully Alive. Your post makes me think of it. Hope you are well. I've been on hiatus--trying to come back.

skinnylittleblonde said...

I am bothered that 4 or 5 times I tried to leave a comment here yetserday & could not. As I ventured around blogland, I discovered that many comments that I thought I had left around the community are not there. I just switched over to the new blogger2 a couple of weeks ago & have noticed this happening to me quite a bit. this, too, I imagine shall pass.

Angel Marie~ I am nott surpised at all! When I wrote this post I found myself thinking of a few bloggers, including Spado, you, Anne & Vicci...I perceive you all to be very earthy, profound & sentimental :)

Anne~ TY for bopping in. I wouldn't be surprised if you and your son didn't have a special piece of earth tucked away somewhere... be it a bottle of sand, a seashell found together or a rock.

Enemy~ I will have to come find that post. I understand completely about the hiatus thing. I have found myself slowing over the past couple of months & downright discouraged in the past couple of weeks.

skinnylittleblonde said...

wow! I can't beleive my comment took ... now must race around and post comments everywhere I have already read ;)

I, Like The View said...

what a beautiful post, and what lovely pictures! wish I'd taken that hike, but so glad to have shared it here because you shared it here!

I, Like The View said...

(and such cool words from spado!)

thanks you both!

Pixie said...

Looks fantastic!

vicci said...

I love heart shaped rocks....I just found one the other day...love you!

slaghammer said...

Winter has is own particular kind of beauty I am told, but not so much in this part of the country. As I am partial to green, I couldn’t help noticing how green your hiking path is likely to get in the coming months. It has all the earmarks of a potential paradise.

Kilroy_60 said...

Great stuff!

I used to pick up special stones when I sent walking with my loved on. There was something about them; you could tell with just a look.

Think I asked before; perhaps not. Did you want to have links with my main page - The Gonzo Papers - or stick just with Things I Found In The Blogosphere?

I've opened a new photo gallery; perhaps you'll find some interest there.

A Photographer's Eye

I'd appreciate you touching base back with me. Commenting or shooting an email, link in my profile.

Cheers!

8-)

mindy said...

heart-shaped rocks? i haven't seen them, because i wasn't looking. i will now.

skinnylittleblonde said...

ILTV ~ Thx...I enjoyed it again today!

Pixie & Trekant~ Thank you for dropping in. Indeed, fantastic & lovely :)

Vicci ~ I am so not surprised taht you found a heart shaped rock too! you are so precious! Soooo Vicci....this means that me, you & Singleton all found heart shaped rocks in just a few days of each other! :)
Anybody else? Mindy? Anne? ...I wouldn't be surprised if you found one soon ;)

Slag~ Yes, the green is just beginning to show up. The trees all have buds for the Spring and before long Kudzu will be climbing everywhere ... making it very, very green. I moved up to this area 12 years ago...lol, because I wanted to be closer to some great camp sites. I bought this old house 7 years ago & now, rarely go camp... so I treasure these hikes.
Kilroy~
Hi! Thanks for bopping in! Rocks just feel good in your hand. i will come to Gonzo Papers & comment. I haven't been there in many moons. I do enjoy your photography blog :)
Mindy~ :) I'm sure you will! Please let me know!

JustRun said...

I keep "silly" things like that, too. Seashells, rocks my little cousins gave me, all that stuff. It's worth something, if only to us.

I, Like The View said...

yikes! was that what you deleted from the other post? no wonder!

skinnylittleblonde said...

justrun~ I couldn't agree more! I even have locks of hair from when I was a little girl.

iltv~ Yikes indeed! Yes, it was! I'm not really for censorship... but the bottom line is this is MY blog and if THEY wanted to communicate, rather than dictate, they would have THEIR OWN blog AND would not have commented as anonymous...so that our communication could be two ways.