Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Thematic Photographic 83: "What I Did On My Vacation" v.6.0 - E.T. Phone Home


"I'll be right... here"
North Topsail Beach, NC - December 2009(Click to embiggen)

Thematic Photographic hosted by Carmi - Button Image by Smarmoofus Hosted by Written Inc.

You can find some very unique rocks on Topsail Island, among them fossilized sea creatures of bygone eras. Most of these are shellfish, and most are far too worn down to determine what specific kind of shellfish they once were. Then there are the ones like the E.T. lookalike you see here. I don't know for sure, but I suspect that this was some sort of coral or possibly sponge when it was alive. How long ago that might have been I wouldn't venture to guess, but the patterns in its surface suggest that it grew while anchored to the sea bottom. Weathering and erosion can only account for so much of its features, and in fact, most of the stones that have been shaped by the ocean are smooth and rounded, not fluted like this. We found literally hundreds of specimens along the four-mile stretch of beach we walked, some of which bore resemblance to continental land masses or other -- much smaller -- objects. But this one, which looked shockingly like Steven Spielberg's now famous lover of Reese's Pieces was easily the most captivating. But being too big to fit in a pocket, I opted for a photograph instead. Much easier to carry.
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5 comments:

Daryl said...

A piece of the moon!

SandyCarlson said...

And I thought you found my brain. Oh well. I'll keep looking.

Truly, though. These rocks take you to the bottom of the sea, to the moon, to right where you are and you get a new perspective on time and life and how everything counts, everything is forever.

catsynth said...

Really interesting texture on the rocks. They are definitely quite weathered by the action of the ocean waves. It does have an otherworldly quality when seen in isolation.

Urban Thought said...

Such a great photo... Must have been a great vacation.

Maude Lynn said...

That's weird!