Friday, November 25, 2011

Sticks and Stones (and Leaves and Seaweed)

On my daily walks, I usually pick a "theme" to photograph that day, for example, rocks, trees, leaves, abstracts, houses, cars, wildflowers and the like. It gives me a focus and makes each walk around town just a bit different from the last. Above, a nice windy day created whitecaps as the waves neared the shoreline. The sounds of seagulls and the rushing waves was trance-inducing. These abstractions and closeups look great when enlarged. Just click on 'em.

Seaweed and algae clings to rocks frequently under water. This was shot at low tide, exposing more or the rock than most of the time.

Fall leaves catching the light just so. I know I once learned why some trees turn orange while others change to yellow or red, but I can't remember now... 

Different types of rock melded together. I'm guessing this process took place millions of years ago.

A lone sailboat enjoying a lazy September afternoon off the coast.

Small tidal pools are formed in the depressions in the rocks during low tide.

Fractures and cracks all along these impressively huge boulders and shoreline rocks.

Euonymous turning its eponymous Burning Bush firey magenta.

Slippery when wet!

One can imagine the extreme temperatures and forces that took place millions and millions of years ago to create these shoreline boulders. The glaciers thousands of years ago probably added to these strakes and grooves as they tore across the land.

This huge stone has an area of the Connecticut shoreline's famous pink granite blended right into the more common shoreline gray rock. My great-great-grandfather, John Beattie made his fortune quarrying this granite. His company was called Red Rocks and he supplied much of the stone for the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, as well as almost every turn-of-the-century shoreline railroad bridge between New York and Maine. A bit about his 1899 funeral, here. And a few photos of the quarry workers, ca 1880s, here. My other great grandfather was a sculptor at the quarry.

I'm not sure what causes this oxidation on some of the stones. I'm guessing a higher iron content in these areas.

Reaching to the sky...

Erosion and water softens the harder edges on these boulders. How many hurricanes and dangerous galeforce storms have these rocks seen through the eons?

Glaciars left many huge rocks in odd places throughout New England. We had one ten times this size just sitting in the middle of a hill by itself at our family home.

Elephant skin or rocks, lol?

Seabirds frequently use shoreline rocks like these to drop their clam- and oyster-shells onto from the air to get at the gooey goodness inside.

A lone Winterberry tree ready to shed its leaves and show off why its named Winterberry.

Trillion-ton glaciers once inched along the Connecticut shoreline leaving behind these deep scars.

Some rocks show a more melted-looking visage.

A tight little cluster of early-turning autumn leaves. The rest of the tree caught up a few weeks later.

6 comments:

  1. ...may break my bones, but photos (especially Casey's) will never hurt me.

    I feel I am beginning to know your shoreline quite well.

    Any leftover pumpkin pie around your place?

    'burp'....oh, my excuse me!

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  2. Yeah, I guess I have to start walking to new towns!

    plenty of apple and pumpkin pie leftover. I like cake better, but I went with tradition,

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  3. I'm not sure if that particular rock formation was sculptured from the last ice age, but it all ended around the general area that we call Long Island Sound.

    Long Island has one very flat-smooth side (South Shore) whereas the North Shore was untouched by glaciers because it has hills and plenty of rocks along its shore.

    A huge bolder which is 1/2 mile away was left behind from the Ice Age and the Native Americans had used that rock to protect themselves from the drastic weather conditions, thus calling it Shelter Rock.

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  4. Thanks for that little tidbit Woody. Very interesting, being a California girl these little facts have escaped me. Well, I still consider myself a California girl even though I reside in Missouri.

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  5. I LOVE ANYTHING WITH ROCK FORMATION. IF YOU LOOK HARD ENOUGH YOU CAN SEE MANY THINGS.IN ONE OF THE PICTURES I CAN SEE A HORSES FACE, A HAND PALM AND MORE. IT PICTURE TELLS A STORY OF THE PAST. EACH ONE HAS MANY BEAUTY POINTS.

    LOVE WHAT WOODY SAID. YOU LEARN SOMETHING EVERYDAY. I WILL ALWAY BE A N.Y. GAL. I LOVE THE MOUNTAINS AND THE BEACH AT MY FAVORITE LAKE. ONEIDA LAKE 30 MILES LONG AND BEAUTIFUL.IT'S WILD WHEN THE WIND BLOWS.WHEN YOU SEE A STORM COMING YOU BETTER GET OFF THE LAKE. VERY DANGEROUS.

    CASEY,THANKS, FOR SHARING ALL THE ABOVE PICTURES.YOUR WAY TO COOL.

    GRANNY TG

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  6. OOOH, just beautiful...hard to believe you and I live in the same country! LOL...My photos at thanksgiving are all flat cornfields (with a little "bump" here and there) Makes it interesting though doesn't it?
    Woody..thanks for the info...love the knowledge everyone here has..
    Casey...you'll have to bake me a cake one of these days...my fave too! :)
    Mare

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