Forces in Nature

life_in_maine_force_in_natureAlong the rocky coast on Maine, you see cobbles, large weathered stones. These granite cobbles are on a basalt dyke on Little Moose Island. They have obviously been rounded by erosion. And they are big—I doubt I could lift the larger rocks in this image. The amazing thing is that these cobbles did not fall onto this spot—there is no place from which to fall—but rather these were cast out of the sea by the force of the tides, currents, and storm swells. If you are thinking these are near the waterline, you would be mistaken. This ledge is about 5 m or 15 ft. above the water, not far below where this picture was taken. Click on the image for a larger view.

The Gods Roll Dice

life_in_maine_gods_roll_diceChance, luck, fortune—the building blocks of life. The gods cast the stones and the players fill the gaps. Chaos was the first Greek God. From Chaos, meaning gap or chasm, came Gaia, the Earth. Chaos and beauty seem to be eternally linked. Click on this image of Little Moose Island in Acadia National Park to see a larger version.

Oak Apple Gall

life_in_maine_oak_apple_gallWhile clearing up some low hanging limbs on one of our oak trees, I found this under a leaf—an oak apple gall. The gall is created by a tiny wasp of the Cynipidae family that lays its egg in a young oak leaf. The secretions from the egg cause the leaf to mutate and create this structure—humans are not the first to experiment with genetic engineering. If you open the gall up, you will find a small center capsule that holds the larvae and is suspended by filaments stretching out to the thick walls of the gall. The wasp will emerge later in the summer. This gall is about an inch in diameter. Click on the image for a larger view.