Cairns

"A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones. The word cairn comes from the Scottish Gaelic: càrn [ˈkʰaːrˠn̪ˠ] (plural càirn [ˈkʰaːrˠɲ]). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes, from prehistoric times to the present." Wikipedia

I saw my first cairn in Iceland. They were all over the place. I had to look up what they were.

Maybe they were always all around me and I never noticed.

Going to the chapel high above Argelès we noticed a number of cairns along the path.

Then one day I found a cairn on our patio in Argelès. I knew it was neither a route marker nor a burial ground. My husband had built it.

Back in Geneva, another cairn appeared on our patio. However, when the yard men come to clean, it was in danger of disappearing. It is now safe in our studio. This one resembles a duck statue.

I don't attach any religious or geographical directional significance to them, but they illicit a smile. That's a good enough reason for being.