A conker and a piece of string
A shiny pebble
A feather from a jackdaw's wing..

My attention finally fell to the state of the gravel areas around the pond, so I got my bucket and small fork and set to work on the ground elder (with stinging nettles it is the bane of my 'gardener's' life). Do you have that in the States? It has long, white, worm-like roots that criss -cross just beneath the surface of the soil and, if left too long, can form a dense smoothering layer; hence the bucket as they are a nightmare in the compost heap .

Still, I digress with the prolific habits of the pesky ground elder. It was while digging and sifting that I found a rather unusual shaped piece of gravel; twisted star-like. I sat down and examined it more closely, the twisted star became an eagle, wings raised, strong feathered legs, talons splayed as if about to seize its prey. It really was rather beautiful. I remembered something a visitor had said about the gravel of the drive being so rich in fossils and soon the weeding was forgotten as I searched for more interesting shapes.

Do you remember when you were young and had to turn out your pockets either searching for something or because your Mum wanted to wash whatever it was you were wearing? Do you remember all the odd things you had in there? A treasure trove of pebbles, nuts , bits of bark, feathers...? Go on, admit it, your pockets are still the same after a walk today. haha

Well, as I sat on the gravel it wasn't too long before my eagle stone was joined by a piece of lego, a pine cone, a shard of pottery. No, not ancient, part of my old dinner service. I once threw out a plateful of crumbs for the birds and somehow threw the plate as well. Fine! Saves on washing up, but with those objects came memories that made me smile. I heard dogs barking and a child's laughter; I emptied a pocket full of conkers, found a pebble, a piece of string… Funny, isn't it, how one small stone can touch another and pretty soon they're tumbling together and you've got a landslide.