I am working on a slightly more serious post but my mother, who is visiting for the holidays, came in from a morning walk all excited about a discovery in the new dirt on the sides of my driveway and I just had to share.We recently had work done to widen and regravel our driveway. If you live in the South, the bright red clay soil will come as no surprise to you. If you don't live here, then what we call dirt you would probably identify as pottery clay. Seriously, they make bricks out of this stuff.
Anyway, we have not planted anything on the banks yet since it has quickly turned unseasonably cold. Last night is got down into the 20s and the result is the pictures you see here. I apologize for the poor quality since this is a cheap camera but I had to snap pix in a hurry since the ice is quickly melting now that the sun is out.
It is spread out over the whole area and consists of long strands bunched together. The strangest thing is they seem to have grown up out of the soil, pushing the dirt up so that it rests on the tips of the ice hair. Don't know what causes this and I'm sure one of you more scientific types will be able to explain this phenomenon, but until then - I will think of it as a marvelous gift from nature.
Rocky: If you live in the South, the bright red clay soil will come as no surprise to you.
ReplyDeleteMaybe this is similar to the clay one finds in parts of New Jersey ... red soil on top, red clay underneath that causes water to pool, followed by red shale (a soft form of shale which, when damp, is brittle and breaks easily).
If this is the same, then it is called "Triassic Shale," named for the geological period when these rocks were formed.
BTW, down in the deep where I come from, we call those white things, "Ice Anemones." But this is not the answer you were looking for.
ReplyDeleteFascinating -- and great pics, Rocky. One of the redeeming aspects of winter is the beauty of natural effects it brings with it -- it almost makes this stinking cold worth it.
ReplyDelete8pus, these did put me in mind of anemones. They had that wavy sort of under the sea quality.
ReplyDeleteAs for the red dirt; while NJ may have soft shale, this dirt is clay - you can put a shovel in the ground, remove the top layer and make bricks.
Elizabeth - this was incredibly cool but I'm not sure that putting up with the cold and now they're predicting at least a foot of snow for tonight!
I may have to move further South...