Two things I learned to do well as a kid were run fast and throw rocks accurately, usually not at the same time.
These were valuable skills that came in handy, especially when crossing paths with a bully. A member of the high school track team, I was usually faster than anyone I’d run against or from. I could also knock cans off a fence post from fifty paces so if you wanted to mess with me you had to take me by surprise.
I actually knocked a pigeon out of the air once but I felt so bad about it I never tried to pull that one off again. The bird was stunned, hit the ground, and then got up and flew away. I felt bad (I never thought I could hit him) but I had learned my lesson and from then on left the birds in the air. I guess he took one for the flock.
All this just to say I have an appreciation for rocks that goes way back. Take a look:
I don’t have a record of where I took this one, but I still see what I saw then.
Ayers Rock is a huge monolith in the Red Centre of the Northern Territory and as such it can be called a rock. There is a trail leading to the top that is very doable if you’re younger than me, which I was when I did it.
This pile up I spied from the highway while driving south of Kingman and couldn’t help but pull over and traipse back for a portrait.
I’m one of those people who will pick up a rock from a special place I’m visiting and put it in my pocket, just to take a piece of that place back with me. Most of the time it’s much easier to take a photo.
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David Ryan Photography 