The Collector

The trail that we frequent the most on our hikes is in a very rocky canyon. It's super close to home, so its proximity allows us to go several times a week. I always let Edith out of the backpack for a bit so she can explore, but it's still pretty tough for her to scale the rocky terrain. Because of this she has developed a routine. A super cute routine. 

While the other kids climb around, Edith sits on a special big rock she has chosen and starts to place littler rocks she thinks are pretty on the boulder's open surface around her. She started doing this a few weeks ago, and every time we've gone hiking her rocks are sitting there, undisturbed, waiting for her to add to her collection. 

Edith was so happy to show her collection to Ginger today and tried to convince her sister to start a collection of her own, but you can tell that Ginger just doesn't get the mania. 

(Being a bit of a rock-collecter myself, well...we can talk about how crazy she is and how much she's missing out on when we're looking for rocks together. Okay, Edith?)

Seriously, it's so cute to watch Edith gather the rocks she likes and to hear her tell about why she thinks they should become a part of her collection. "This is pretty and pink.", "This one is sparkly." ,"This rock is huuuge!", or "Look, Mom! A triangle!" Then she finds just the right spot on her boulder to place the new addition.

Edith loves rocks. And I mean loves them. Not just a little bit. See?

I could watch her gather rocks for hours. Look how happy she is! And cute! (Yeah, I know I've mentioned how cute it is but, come on!)

There's a slight problem, though. Edith's collection is starting to outgrow her storage space.

Looks like next time we're up in the canyon we'll be searching for a new, bigger boulder where Edith can park her collection. It's not the kind of thing we really have the proper display space for at home. I do let Edith bring home a little rock she finds particularly nice each time we hike, however. Most of them have gotten lost as she carries them around, but she's combined a few of the rocks with the other item she collects. 

I'm sure the collection will just keep growing in size. Especially considering the fact that she awoke, sobbing, from her nap today, distressed about a pretty rock that she had left in the canyon and had meant to bring home.  The barrettes are easy to come by, too. 

I love your collection, Edith. It's beautiful.