In a neighborhood near the Extended Stay, there are lots of painted stones. They’re placed on bricks, retaining walls, mailboxes and tree stumps at the borderline of someone’s yard and the street. On Google, “kindness stones” usually feature illustrations or words. But the stones I see in Tucson are painted solid, metallic colors.
The other day, I decided to photograph some of these stones. A few side notes:
1. There aren’t many sidewalks in Tucson — you either walk in the street or the dirt/gravel “pathway” next to the street.
2. The only people who go for walks in Tucson are either walking a dog or homeless. Then there’s me.
3. There are many piles of dog poop on the dirt/gravel “pathways.” So I usually walk in the street.
I was standing in the street, photographing stones in front of one home, when the owner hollered at me from his front door. “What do you think you’re doing?!?!” I blankly stared back at him and moved on. In front of a different house, the owner came outside while on her phone and asked, “Can I HELP you with something?” (Are all of you perched at your front door doing surveillance?) I responded, “I’m just photographing these painted stones. What’s the story behind these?” She looked at me like I was crazy and answered, “I dunno! They just show up in my front yard!” I was surprised and said, “Oh. I figured the homeowners or their kids painted these.” She shrugged and returned to her phone call.
So these metallic painted stones are not as special as I imagined. But I am considering making my own and adding them to my potted plants. Just need to settle into an apartment first…