As I walked along the pebbly beach in Southampton, Ontario, it brought back many memories of a childhood often spent scouring beaches for fascinating rocks and fossils. I remember reading voraciously about geology, learning about sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks, and I couldn’t get enough of information about plate tectonics, volcanoes, and the like. My parents encouraged my interest but may have regretted it when our crawlspace became filled with boxes upon boxes of my “special” finds. If it wasn’t beaches then it was islands that we sailed to or even rock quarries where I loved to discover new finds for my collection.
Looking at the photos below, I see many interesting prospects, including some possible fossils, and I wish I was there right now to begin my collection again. Can you see the layers and colours and textures? Do you remember what you used to collect as a child?
photos from the loonybin 
I collected seashells. The big finds were at Naples, Florida where we thought the whole beachfront was a scene of infinite treasures. There is a book I think you would love – a short novel entitled “Remarkable Creatures”, by Tracy Chevalier.
Ooohh, I have collected my fair share of seashells too over the years, but they were usually only temporary collections because we would get rid of them eventually. 🙂
I collected books…did you find any for me 🙂 Nice shot. I would love to walk here.
I have always collected books too, and I never, ever thrown any out or give any away, so I have accumulated quite a few now!! 🙂
Geography was my absolute favourite subject at school, and I’m also fascinated by different rocks and layers. Love the shots of the pebble/rock beach, especially the stripey rock in the second pic. 🙂
Yes, the stripey rock stuck out for me too! Thank you fellow rock hound!!
We are in the process of packing up our current apartment to move to another one in 2 weeks. Every time I pack, I religiously pack with care a small plastic box (I think it once contained Xmas chocolates) full of rocks my hubby & I picked on our first date more than 15 years ago. We went walking on the beach after a small meal & each started picking up small rocks that caught our eye. We have each & every one of them to this day. It brings back great memories.
That is soooo romantic – I love it!! I think you should do it again on one of your milestone anniversaries and make new memories :).