The hobby of sand collecting likely started before the 20th century. Sand isn't new. Sand such as green sand found in Hawaii and Brazil is considered rare. Exotic locations, not easy to get to or get permission to visit, is also rare for collecting. Some locations forbid collecting any local rocks, including (or especially) sand.

An arenophile collects sand, with an interest in the variety of texture, colour, mineralogy, history, and place of origin.

A psammophile is a sand collecting specialist, photographing and looking at sand at the microscopic level. A small sample of sand can contain colorful minerals, tiny fossils and geological features the ordinary human can't see without technology to help.

International Sand Collectors Society

We collect sand. We save it as souvenirs of places visited, planned or imagined. We collect it because of scientific interest or natural curiosity. We store it in pretty bottles or uniform containers. We examine it microscopically, research its components and location, photograph it, and share it with others. We ask friends to bring us samples when they travel. If you do any of these, you are likely also a sand collector.

• Sand World - Sand collection of Daniel Helber
• Rock and Gem - What Is a Psammophile? A Guide to Collecting Sand
• Reddit - Sand Collecting (Not very active).
• Magnified Sand - Site by Robert Maronpot.
• Sand Grains - The Microscope Photography of Dr. Gary Greenberg PhD.
• Splendid Sands
• Sandatlas

Here's What You Need To Collect Sand

• A container to hold the sand. You should try to always have a container with you (in case you find some great sand to collect). When I travel, I usually carry a bunch of plastic bags with me. They are light and easy to pack.  Sometimes, I'll take Baby Soda Bottles. They are cheap, easy to carry, and have a screw top. Remember, if you want to collect enough sand to share or trade with others, you may need a bigger container.
• A pen and paper. You should record the time and place where you collected the sand. I usually write it on a small piece of paper and stick it in the container with my sample. You can also use a permanent marker to write directly on the container holding your sand.
• A metal spoon. You need something to dig with. You can always substitute your hand if you don't have a spoon.
• A magnifying lens, eye loop, or hands lens. You will want to look closely at the sand you collect. Sand is fascinating when it is magnified!

Things to Keep in Mind

• You don't have to travel to some exotic location to start your sand collection. More than likely, you can find sand in your own back yard.
• Sand collected in the field is often a little moist if not wet. You should always allow you sand to drive before storing it.
• Find a good place to store your samples. Remember, your collection will grow. Find a place that is safe and convenient. I like to display samples from my collection in Gem Jars.
• You may want to get a magnified view of your sand samples. A good microscope can help. With one, you will be able to truly appreciate the sand you are collecting. You can purchase a good dissecting microscope for $15o.
• Make sure that you observe the laws in areas where you plan to collect sand. If the land is privately owned, you should obtain permission before collecting any samples. Also, you should be aware of any local, state, or federal laws which might restrict you from taking sand.

Source - Brian Williams Science - What Is Sand Collecting?

Originally the Ontario Barn Preservation newsletter, June 2024.

Dear Members,

I've been thinking about the trees which barns were made from, originally. There were huge trees long ago. I wonder if people now can even imagine the size of the trees in early Ontario history. Jim Campbell and the others at the first Tenon Talks were talking about the size of trees used to make barns a hundred, and more, years ago. Jim said most of the barns in his area were made from pine trees.

Online, I found the Ontario Tree Atlas Project, from the University of Guelph. They created a pdf file, a science survey of Ontario's tree species. Here is a link to read it online, or download it.

Also useful is the Ontario Government's Tree Atlas, online.

Coming up to road trip season you might like to find places to visit from an Ontario travel blog by Stephanie, The World as I See It.

Does your barn have a lightening rod?

I like practical heritage things like lightening rods. But, I wondered how practical they really are. In order to be legitimate, they need to be grounded. This means a copper or aluminum line runs from the lightening rod on the barn roof (house or other building) down the side and is then buried in the ground attached to a metal rod, called a grounding rod. The idea is for lightening to be directed down the the earth to dissipate safely in the ground. A large building, like a barn, may have bonding connectors linking the rods. So, its an old fashioned surge protector.

How many lightening rods still around are actually grounded? Not all of them I'm sure. Nothing wrong with a pretty, decorative lightening rod... except that an insurance company might want a functional lightening rod before insuring a barn. 

This question came up in email recently. The contractor said the barn could not be insured without a lightening rod. That brought up the question of how effective a lightening rod is at preventing lightening strikes and possible barn fires. The consensus at OBP was, not much. Some even thought a lightening rod could cause more lightening to hit a barn. 

In the end, I think a lightening rod is still pretty decorative and a little touch of history for a barn, but it doesn't have a real, practical use. Which is a little disappointing but, I'll get over it. 

Laura

Highlights from the monthly Directors meeting...

New barn related words: silage, hay harpoon, and hay hole. My brother and his friends would have loved to know a phrase like hay hole not so many years ago. Now he's too old and serious for those kind of things. (Most of the time, I know he'll still laugh about it).

At least twice now the subject of heritage designation has been brought up. Some barn owners are concerned that we will be pushing, or are affiliated with, heritage designations for their barns. We are not. It may be useful for some barn owners to look into, but we don't especially support or have influence about heritage designations. If you have concerns please ask us. 

Heidi, our Regional Representative for most of Northern Ontario has left. I hope she will come back when she feels she has more time. If you know, or you yourself, would be interested in becoming a Regional Representative please let us know. It'd be glad to find someone else in Northern Ontario because we don't hear very much about barns and rural history from the north. 

In case you missed it!

I posted about heritage apple trees in Ontario to our social media accounts. If you missed it, here's the post.

Are you curious about heritage apples in Ontario? I see them growing along the roadside, unpicked or cared for all over Ontario when we go on road trips, visiting and so on. My Mother and Grandparents talk about the apples they used to have for making pies and wonder where they could still find those now. They don't see them sold in farmer's markets and certainly not in stores any more.

I found a few good links and then this book, by Sher Leetooze, "Identifying Heritage Apples Across Ontario".

Orchard People The Kitchen Orchard The Ontario Heritage and Feral Apple Project

Pick some wild apples this year. You could even try planting some of the old trees seldom seen any more. Give them a chance to get a new start and have apples close at hand when you get into pie making mode.

See also, a CBC link: Set in Stone: Ontario man turns the clock back at ancestral farm

I have also posted to our social media about dry stone walling/ fencing. A skill I have admired and even tried a few times in a small way. I'm sure it would be useful if you were making Inukshuks. 

Dry Stone Canada

Dry Stone Walling Across Canada

Screen capture from https://sdstone.ca/why-drystone

One Last Thing...

I cross posted this wonderful photo from Facebook today. 

I'm interested in rocks and art made with rocks, stones or pebbles: buildings, bridges, cairns, Inukshuks, and rock balancing. The old stone farm houses are my favourite to see and photograph in rural Ontario.

Rocks are used as a way to mark the path of travelers, to tell others they had passed that way. It's not just a romantic notion. There are good, practical reasons for wanting people to know where you have gone and where you might be found. Hikers get lost, have accidents and run ins with wildlife.

I like the custom of putting little pebbles on graves to mark that you were there, still remembering and still visiting.

Geomancy interests me because I especially like rocks, stones, and even pebbles (rocks you can hold in your hand or put in your pocket). Stone is like a hard, cold fact with a very long history, by our human standards. You can find rocks, or stones, in a lot of good places: the beach, the forest, the side of the road. You know, you've seen them. I don't pick up rocks/stones which belong somewhere, like someone's yard. Is it silly to feel they have a home there and shouldn't be taken? Maybe, but that's how I feel.

I haven't tried geomancy in an official way, not to read the future. I just enjoy stones. I keep them around, in my bedroom (give them a little clean up if you bring them indoors), outside in the yard and the garden we have a lot of rocks. They make great pets, if you feel the need for dependable companionship with few needs, like grooming or feeding. You can make a little house for them, if you like. I like just having a few good rocks around.

At most, I use a stone to point me in a new direction. Just warm it up in your hand for a bit and see where it falls as you turn around (slowly, give the stone a little time and don't make yourself dizzy).

You could find other ways to use stones as a do-it-yourself divination. I think you need to have some connection to the stones, at least liking them for their history, their shape, colour, usefulness, connection to the Earth... something. Otherwise you may as well be completely random. I think divination works due to at least some belief in fate. Some idea that outside things can influence you, the world in general.

Geomancy is divination using stones. I find most divination has a lot of rules but essentially the whole thing is about how you feel looking at the cards, entrails (not for me) rocks, etc. At least that's what it used to be. People do have a way of taking something simple and making it a huge complicated knot they can make some money out of.

A system of divination that employs the scattering of pebbles, grains of sand, or seeds on the earth and then the interpretation of their shape and position.

I especially like this description, from The Mystica site. The site has been taken over and just posts click bait now. No sign of the original post I read this from.

Geomancers are spiritual ecologists. (Found on a group no longer online).

It's not feng shui, and it doesn't have anything to do with ley lines or dowsing. It's been called earth astrology, a Western equivalent of the I Ching, and the forgotten oracle of the Western world. It was one of the most popular systems of divination in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and stands at the center of traditions of magic, philosophy, and initiation deeply relevant to today. What is it? Geomancy.

Geomancy is a traditional art of divination that uses the sixteen geomantic figures – patterns of single and double dots – to explore the mysteries of past, present and future. As a branch of the Hermetic tradition, an ancient Western system of spiritual transformation and magical philosophy and practice, it relies on the fundamental Hermetic law, the unity of the macrocosm (the universe around us) and the microcosm (the universe within us) to open up hidden potentials for knowledge, wisdom, and power and, in the words of the legendary Hermes Trismegistus, “perform the miracles of the One Thing.”

Quote Source - Collegium Geomanticum

• The Geomancy Group - An association of practicing geomancers and other like-minded folk over the UK.
• Land and Spirit - History of Geomancy – A Long Time Ago

Geomancy, a compound of Greek roots denoting "earth divination", was originally used to mean methods of divination that interpret geographic features, markings on the ground, or the patterns formed by soil, rocks, or sand. Its definition has expanded over time (along with the recognized definition of the suffix -mancy), to include any spiritual, metaphysical, or pseudoscientific practice that is related to the Earth. In recent times the term has been applied to a wide range of other occult and fringe activities, including Earth mysteries and the introduction of ley lines and Bau-Biologie [de].

Geomancy was a common, and cross cultural, forms of divination in premodern times. In regards to Africa and Europe, it was considered a forbidden practice by various Christians and Muslims across the medieval era. In other regions and cultures, geomancy practices include Sikidy and Ifá (found in Africa), I Ching and Feng shui (found in China), Kumalak (found in parts of Central Asia), Vastu shastra (in India), Kahuna kuhikuhipu'uone (in Ancient Hawai'i).

Quoted from Wikipedia.

All of that should give you a starting point, if you want to learn more about the 'rules' for geomancy as a method of divination. Or, you can just enjoy having more rocks around.

You need at least thirteen stones (not big rocks) which are about the same size and shape. You're going to put them in a bag you can shake up a bit so you don't want to have something too heavy or clunky to carry around. If you like tiny and micro you could work with little pebbles (pessomancy) but you need to be able to tell one from the other.

They can be wild stones collected from the beach, the garden,. a park, the side of the road, your driveway... or polished stones, tumbled and shiny. You could pick stones that have something in common with the symbolism you give them. Of course you can paint the stones, write on them, but you could also choose odd stones with a hole in the middle, a very green stone, a stone found on your vacation. The stones don't need to be exactly the same size, or weight. If you find a unique stone in an unusual shape or colour, use it.

I've heard lithomancy is about analyzing the shine on stones, but that would not work so well on the common garden or road found stone. I'd rather use a common stone I found than buy fancy, shiny stones. If you get to the point of focusing on the shine on a stone, maybe you have gone too deep and need to make things just a little simpler. But, that's just my thought.

If you really want to keep things simple have just two stones. One for "yes" and the other for "no". Ask yes or no questions and see which stone comes closer to you when you give them a toss up.  Or, if you don't want to go searching for a lost stone you threw just a bit too far and wide... have three stones. The third stone is your personal stone. When you pour your three stones out of the bag the personal stone is you. So, yes or no, depends on which stone is closer to your personal stone.

The stones represent/ symbolize:

1. The Universe -- Represents the entirety of life on the cosmic level.
2. The Spirit -- Embodies your inner self.
3. The Sun -- Symbolizes energy, life, and power.
4. The Moon -- Signifies psychic ability, intuition, and the power of the mind.
5. Mercury -- Corresponds to intelligence, wit, and improvement of self.
6. Venus -- Is the symbol of love and happiness.
7. Mars -- Represents courage and bravery, but also conflict.
8. Jupiter -- Signifies finances, prosperity, wealth, and other money matters.
9. Saturn -- Stands for health and longevity, as well as protection.
10. Earth -- Corresponds to family and the home.
11. Water -- Embodies healing, cleansing, and compassion.
12. Air -- Symbolizes desires, wishes, dreams, and aspirations.
13. Fire -- Shows passion, determination, and will power.

(The above list comes from Tana Hoy).

• 1 Stone for each of the 7 Planets.
• 1 Life stone.
• 1 News stone.
• 1 Luck Stone.
• 1 Lovestone.
• 1 Home stone.
• 1 Magic stone.

(This list comes from Good Witches Homestead).

Using the stones:

You may just straight forward pull three stones out of the bag and consider them in answer to whatever question you asked (out loud or quietly, to yourself). Divination is mainly about interpretation.

You could make a board and pour the stones onto it. See which stones land near various things you add to your board. Which stones are close to each other and which are far apart? Do some stones point towards something or away from it? (Assuming the stones are not completely round).  A board can be about your life, include your family, friends, work, school, the future, the past. It's up to you. Think about what you most want to know about. What matters most to you. Make a new board as your life and your questions change.

I think of all divination as inspiration, and a chance to figure out what you really want when you stop trying to think so hard. Like losing your keys and going all over the house trying to remember, finally taking a break and then... you remember you left them outside on the deck last night when you had lemonade and hamburgers. It's when your mind stops trying so hard that it sometimes gives your subconscious a chance to be heard. Subconscious being that part of your brain not always in charge.

Last of all, I had not even thought of making your own stones.

Making and Reading Tell Stones

These were not called Runestones, but "Tell" stones, and were simply a method of divination.

Tell stones were made from clay and were rounded into fairly thick stone shapes. Some were made into a definite ball shape and these were rolled within a wooden frame, about two feet square. The flatter ones were preferable, though, as they could be thrown on a table or onto a flat surface without rolling away. One stone, which represented the querent, was fashioned of plain clay. It was placed on the table, with the other stones held in two cupped hands as the question was asked. These were then thrown onto the table towards the querent stone.

The stones landing neared the querent were closer in time or importance. Any group of stones was read in conjunction with each other. Those that landed with the symbol hidden were removed as they were not communicating. If one landed on its side then its answer was iffy and could go either way.

Although this was a very simple method, with practice a lot could be obtained from these stones. As with any method of divination, the more they were used, the more the practitioner learned of their meanings.

The tell stones had the following symbols on them:

A five-barred gate -- News, letters, ideas

Water -- Journeys, distance to be crossed symbolically someone traveling.

An even-armed cross -- Parting, angry words, quarrels, bad feeling

A door -- A death of something, a finishing, some kind of severing.

A ring -- Marriage or a joining of some kind, either people or things.

A gold spot -- health, wealth, happiness.

A crescent moon -- A waiting time, possibly a woman involved, intuition.

A silver spot -- Hopes, wishes, dreams, and ambitions.

An Apple -- The fruition of something; a harvest; combined with the gold spot, could mean the birth of something new.

These, with the plain stone to represent the querent, are the complete set of Tell stones. They can be made from handcraft clay, a stone color being used and the emblems pained in colors or colored clay can be used, a different color for each, and the symbols painted on in a complementary color. I do not think it matters if the colors are altered, as long as the user knows which is which.

For myself, I use my own wild stones and I like the symbols used with the tell stones. Switch them out for what feels right to you. Consider your own symbolism for relationships, health, happiness, career, etc. Whatever magick there is, comes from you. So add your magick to it, every step of the way.

Happy stone throwing... I mean, divining.