'Matter of time'

Another image in the 'time' series

I could also title this one 'Measure of time', either title would be fine & fitting. 

The fog recedes long enough to let sunshine throw great sharp shadows from this half man-made / half nature-made time piece. A small root from some dunes grass spins in the wind, making concentric grooves in the sand, a compliment to the two hands of a clock. A small creature of some kind leaves it's trail. All the elements here are on different measures of time - circles on sand, trails left behind, a clock that keeps ticking, ticking, ticking relentlessly on, fog that has a schedule all it's own. And sand that is the end result of who knows much rock building and then grinding 'til what was once VERY large (perhaps covering continents) and heavy becomes the consistency of table salt. In one of John McPhee's books about the geology of the US, from east to west (a marvelous series of books, ending w/ 'Assembling California') he writes: The top of the Himalayas is made of marine shale - hope you didn't miss that - marine shale, made in the ocean, now at 25,000+ft elevation. Now that takes some time doesn't it?

Desert time

The last post was long, the next few will be short, hopefully sweet.

Mottos for this one might be:

"Self-dependent power can time defy, as rocks resist the billows and the sky."

or Latin "Pulvis et umbra sumus. (We are [dust and] shadow."

The Golden Gate Park sundial now sits not on a stand, but on the broad leaf of a prickly pear cactus. What does this say about time? Perhaps that just like the cactus we have no choice but to keep hands off, unless of course we like pain. 'Leave time alone, don't mess with it. You think you won't get old? " 'Fuhgeddaboutit', as they say in New York City - it can't be changed anyway".

The gnomon (which casts the shadow) is instead a tree which will grow, casting a slightly different shadow as the years go by, slightly longer every year. But the hour, the time told, will remain the same, only the shadow gets longer, as yours will too.

(The gnomon casts a shadow; the shadow shows the time.)

There's a hand-colored version of this one:

If you like my images, check out any of my three self-published books:

'California Beach Trip':

On Amazon:

www.amazon.com/dp/1364579138

'Desert Trip'

On Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1367900190

'Seeking the Vibe'

On Blurb:

http://www.blurb.com/b/6834807-seeking-the-vibe

Previews of all at:

http://www.bobbennettphoto.net/BB_Books/index.html

Please do stop by again - every 2 weeks, somethin' new :-)