I'm a rock thief

Because I live in the Seattle area where it rains a lot, my yard has many French drains. A French drain is basically a ditch filled with gravel or rock with a perforated pipe that redirects the rainwater. When we bought this 50-year-old house, all the drains were buried and clogged. With a lot of sweat and backbreaking labor, I dug up the drains, sifted the rocks and then my husband and I replaced the clogged clay pipe with plastic pipe. We did not cover the pipe with earth, just left the rocks exposed.

I must confess that I am a rock thief. Whenever I go up to the North Cascades and walk along the Skagit River, I pick up rocks like the one you see with the white line running through it. I add these larger rocks to my drain. I call the drain my "rock river."