Between a rock and a hard place
Last week the Mossel Bay Advertiser published a photograph of pet rocks on the boardwalk which extends from the tidal pool at the Point in Mossel Bay towards the harbour.
We asked who had placed the rocks there and received a number of emails and a WhatsApp from people who said they were part of pet rock Facebook groups.
The members of these groups paint rocks and place them in public places where they "brighten people's day" and "spread kindness".
One reader's email was especially uplifting: "My name is Roxanne and I am part of the Southern Cape Rocks group.
"My son and I have faced many challenges with his health, especially with all his medical tests.
"I found a rock one day with my son's favourite animal on it - a duck, and it read: 'This too shall pass.' It was like a message from above - a message I needed, and it gave me so much hope.
"I felt so inspired, I decided to paint rocks. I put Bible verses on my rocks and hide them, in the hope they will mean something to someone out there.”
'You can move mountains'
Ina van der Merwe contacted the Advertiser and said she had painted one of the rocks pictured in the newspaper last week. "I did the one with the writing, 'You can move mountains'."
She is part of the group, Cape Town Rocks. Another reader, Poppie van Zyl, mentioned two other Facebook groups: SA Rock Journey, of which she is a member, and Forest Creepies.
Pauline, of Reebok, wrote: "I have found two pet rocks in different streets."
She is ready to rock and adds: "It is a nice hobby and I will be doing some painting of stones soon, to leave around as I do my walks in the neighbourhood.”
Mandie Black of Southern Cape Rocks enthuses: "We're a group of people from Reebok to Jongensfontein, who paint stones and place them at strategic place to liven up people's lives. We place photos on the Facebook page."
Mandie noted that it was not only women who painted the stones; men and children did too.
"It has been a lovely lockdown activity."