neither kris nor i can remember when we started collecting stones during our travels. probably 20 years ago. now we have enough stones that some folks have told us they will never, ever help us move again because it was so ridiculous to move so many boxes of stones.

while some stones turn into bookends and doorstops, many of them are made into cairns that are scattered around the house and often tucked away in non-obvious places. neither of us have a particular reason for scattering cairns around the house. we just like them and i guess it’s what you do when you have an abundance of rocks laying around 🙂

this one is about 1.5 inches tall and made with stones from the UP and topped with a tiny origami crane made by the son of a longtime flickr friend ( who also happens to work at flickr ) who left it for us after a visit.

all of the cairns remind me of the stories behind the stones so maybe that’s why i enjoy them.