Sand Grains
"To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour..."
Auguries of Innocence
Have you ever noticed yourself walking on the beach trying to find the largest shell possible? What if you look for the tiniest one instead?
I guess, until a certain moment I did not give it much thought. Growing up in the very middle of the largest continent on the planet, I was quite used to river-bed silica sand. And this concept of sand as just one of the formats of soil long prevailed at the back of my mind.
The first revelation came with seeing macro photos of tropical sand somewhere on the internet. All of a sudden the sand was not just a shape variation of quartz particles, it was a miniature museum filled with the incredible alien-looking specimen.
A second "sand surprise" happened after coming to Okinawa. While googling up all the amazing stuff one could find in the most southern Japanese prefecture I came by a page about unusual star-shaped sand. After that, a trip to Iriomote island and visiting Hoshizuna beach (star-sand beach) was as unforgettable as inevitable.
The sand stars turned out to be so tiny, that I did not even get it first. It took me a certain period of staring at the pile of sand in my hand to realize - they were ALL stars.
Star-shaped sand grains are produced by calcifying marine microorganisms - Baculogypsina sphaerulata. While alive they dwell along the bottom of the sea. And when a life of the star-builder ends, they join their predecessors on the beaches of beautiful Okinawa.
According to one of the local Okinawan legends, little stars were no mere sand grains, but former children of the North Star and the Southern Cross. They were assailed by a giant snake monster and fell into the Ocean. By tradition, a pinch of star-shaped sand can be thrown into the fire, allowing the star children to return back to the sky with the rising smoke.
Okinawa really opened my eyes to what sand can be. And I keep staring at the beach sand ever since. One thing I know for certain: even the littlest beach at the seaside - of just a couple of meters in width - always has its own special selection of sand grains. There are no two sandy beaches alike.
This being said I must confess - I am not an actual arenophile (collector of sand), although I try to get interesting sand samples when I have an opportunity (that`s why I also try not to forget to have a little empty container or vial with me wherever I go).
So far, I have only obtained components of sand from Okinawa (Japan), Indonesia and Scotland (UK). But this collection was never really meant to contain all variants of sand possible (is there even a limit?).
Picking up sand grains is rather about finding breathtaking and miraculous things right under our feet, about revealing and admiring the beauty of Nature`s miniature creations. I can spend hours under the burning sun or sometimes under the rain (but also once in a while distracted by a beautiful sunset) collecting tiny bits and pieces hiding at the seashore.
Personally, I find biogenic sands to be the most impressive and captivating. Vivid example - on the photo below. Green seashells, pink seashells, red seashells, yellow seashells... I`m still waiting for Nature to release a blue version though 😅.
But what about that crazy glittery black stuff on the next photo? This sand has a volcanic origin and moreover - it`s magnetic!
If you scroll further down, you can see other variants of Indonesian sand. Corals, seashells, foraminifera and more in a centimeter of a beach surface.
I think those ooid foram sand grains are absolutely stunning:
And here comes sand from Scotland - full of tiny life traces as well. Thin fish bones give it a bit of a Halloweeny look:
To sum up, my point here is quite simple really - if you look at the sand close enough it will never seize to surprise you. It`s not as difficult to find tiny miracles in the world around us. So often we just need to look under our feet!
PS Now, here is a little riddle: where did I take the photo below?
(there is a clear hint on it if you look carefully)
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour..."
Auguries of Innocence
BY WILLIAM BLAKE
Have you ever noticed yourself walking on the beach trying to find the largest shell possible? What if you look for the tiniest one instead?
I guess, until a certain moment I did not give it much thought. Growing up in the very middle of the largest continent on the planet, I was quite used to river-bed silica sand. And this concept of sand as just one of the formats of soil long prevailed at the back of my mind.The first revelation came with seeing macro photos of tropical sand somewhere on the internet. All of a sudden the sand was not just a shape variation of quartz particles, it was a miniature museum filled with the incredible alien-looking specimen.
A second "sand surprise" happened after coming to Okinawa. While googling up all the amazing stuff one could find in the most southern Japanese prefecture I came by a page about unusual star-shaped sand. After that, a trip to Iriomote island and visiting Hoshizuna beach (star-sand beach) was as unforgettable as inevitable.
The sand stars turned out to be so tiny, that I did not even get it first. It took me a certain period of staring at the pile of sand in my hand to realize - they were ALL stars.
Star-shaped sand grains are produced by calcifying marine microorganisms - Baculogypsina sphaerulata. While alive they dwell along the bottom of the sea. And when a life of the star-builder ends, they join their predecessors on the beaches of beautiful Okinawa.
According to one of the local Okinawan legends, little stars were no mere sand grains, but former children of the North Star and the Southern Cross. They were assailed by a giant snake monster and fell into the Ocean. By tradition, a pinch of star-shaped sand can be thrown into the fire, allowing the star children to return back to the sky with the rising smoke.
Okinawa really opened my eyes to what sand can be. And I keep staring at the beach sand ever since. One thing I know for certain: even the littlest beach at the seaside - of just a couple of meters in width - always has its own special selection of sand grains. There are no two sandy beaches alike.
This being said I must confess - I am not an actual arenophile (collector of sand), although I try to get interesting sand samples when I have an opportunity (that`s why I also try not to forget to have a little empty container or vial with me wherever I go).
So far, I have only obtained components of sand from Okinawa (Japan), Indonesia and Scotland (UK). But this collection was never really meant to contain all variants of sand possible (is there even a limit?).
Picking up sand grains is rather about finding breathtaking and miraculous things right under our feet, about revealing and admiring the beauty of Nature`s miniature creations. I can spend hours under the burning sun or sometimes under the rain (but also once in a while distracted by a beautiful sunset) collecting tiny bits and pieces hiding at the seashore.
Personally, I find biogenic sands to be the most impressive and captivating. Vivid example - on the photo below. Green seashells, pink seashells, red seashells, yellow seashells... I`m still waiting for Nature to release a blue version though 😅.
But what about that crazy glittery black stuff on the next photo? This sand has a volcanic origin and moreover - it`s magnetic!
If you scroll further down, you can see other variants of Indonesian sand. Corals, seashells, foraminifera and more in a centimeter of a beach surface.
I think those ooid foram sand grains are absolutely stunning:
And here comes sand from Scotland - full of tiny life traces as well. Thin fish bones give it a bit of a Halloweeny look:
To sum up, my point here is quite simple really - if you look at the sand close enough it will never seize to surprise you. It`s not as difficult to find tiny miracles in the world around us. So often we just need to look under our feet!
PS Now, here is a little riddle: where did I take the photo below?
(there is a clear hint on it if you look carefully)
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