Backyard treasures

POOLSIDE SURPRISES

Five years ago Tracy and George Weaver, owners of Monterra Landscape Inc., were replacing the flagstone that surrounded the edge of their home swimming pool when George visited the shows.

They had already started putting moss stone around the pool when it hit George that embedding fossils would be "kind of like a surprise," Tracey recalls.

Now on a mission, George picked up about a dozen fossils, including trilobites, ammonites and other spiral sea shells.

He used the fossils to fill in gaps between the rocks, throwing in a couple of petrified wood pieces a friend got from a show vendor.

"He just squished them in the mortar," Tracey explains.

Now, people can see the fossils as they walk up to the pool as well as on the underside of the edge when they're in the pool.

"It was fun to do, just because we could use these," Tracey says.

SCULPTURAL FISH

David and Diane Steward buy what they like at the shows and then find places for their finds.

Avid anglers, they liked the look of a fossilized school of mullet. With the surrounding rock cut away, the dusty black fossils create a spiky piece of art.

David found the perfect place right next to the similarly shaped agave. When it's lit at night, the piece casts an interesting shadow on the fence.

A hollowed-out rock serves as a water bowl for birds and the couple's dog. The birds like to perch on two ammonite shells that are embedded in the rock perpendicular to the bowl's lip. It's part of a patio vignette with a birdbath and flowerpots.

A piece of bumpy white quartz sits among the river rock like a treasure in the earth.

"At sunset when the light hits it, it kind of lights it up," Diane says.

She says she likes using these pieces rather than man-made outdoor works. "They look more natural in your yard than yard art."

Continued on next page

Continued from previous page

If you go

Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase

• What: 44 shows sell geologic and other merchandise to wholesalers, dealers and the public.

• When: Jan. 29-Feb. 13.

• Information: www.visittucson.org

Coming Thursday

Caliente offers a complete guide to the gem shows.

Shopping the shows

MJ Jensen, owner of marketing company IdeaMagic, has gone to the showcase for 11 years and brought home plenty of minerals and rocks for the backyard.

This year she and her husband, Charley Delve, want to find rough stone-unfinished minerals within rock-for a garden.

She offers her strategies for shopping the showcase:

• Have a list of what you're looking for.

• Set a budget.

• Wear comfortable walking shoes and bring a backpack.

• Don't be deterred by the wholesale shows that aren't open to the general public. There are plenty of retail shows that also have bargains.

• For a wide variety of items, walk the frontage road west of Interstate 10 from West Speedway to West 22nd Street.

• For easy parking, go to Kino Stadium, 2500 E. Ajo Way.

Contact local freelance writer Elena Acoba at acoba@dakotacom.net