please join me for my exciting evening at Rakke West, a pearl on the wonderful rocky Skaggerak seacoast in southern Norway
down at the water's edge the view was very different depending which direction i looked. to the east the clouds were starting to take on some evening purple hues
in the west the sun was just about to sink beloow the thick cloud cover
but out to sea in the south it was raining
inland more north there was more blue sky in places
while clouds were amassing behind me where i had come from. but it wasn't just the weather i came here for
these rocks are amazing. one of them cracked and has since slid away a bit. it's a magnet to my eyes as my mind sees how the pieces would still fit together
but the forces of nature are constantly at work driving them slowly apart and grinding them down. glaciers of the last ice age smoothed them and maybe even cracked them but since then the stormy sea and the winter ice have taken over, though ever so slowly. being here away from daily routines gives a totally different perspective of time. it's eery how a lifetime, mine and indeed anyone's could fit into just a few centimeters of distance between two rocks by the sea.
soon after i found myself focusing in on the detail in some of the rocks. so much is going on here yet it seems nothing is changing at all. it's amazing that the lichen manages to take hold in this seemingly impossible place. they are true pioneers, bringing life to where there was none and eventually allowing other species to survive where they previously could not.
though lichens are classified as species, they are actually a symbiotic relationship between a fungus, algae and bacteria. basically the fungi are uniquely able to fasten to rock and break it down while the algae and bacteria provide nutrition through photosynthesis and more. i stood wondering how such unlikely relationships came about.
in the meantime these crystals are something else. the stone is larvikite, famous for use in building facades but it's awesome to see the shining blue facets occurring naturally right under my feet
i looked up to the east where everything seemed to be clearing up
but rain was approaching from the west
i came upon some driftwood that had washed up, first bleached in the salt sea then again by the sun giving that lovely silvery gray patina to an already attractively twisted branch
the first raindrops fell on another driftwood log lying on the rocks
it was so beautiful i didn't mind the rain and lingered a few minutes but to get back to my car i had a fairly steep climb over smooth rock that gets dangerously slippery when wet
the scene from a little higher up
as i was making my way up the hill the sun peered from under the clouds in the west adding a rainbow to the already sublime scene
still raining out to sea
i took my time carefully crossing the increasingly wet rocks taking time to turn back at the scene below
but now it was the rainbow that i was more interested in capturing
as the sun was partially blocked by the clouds there were just traces of a double
but there it was. rain in the west and clear in the east separated by the rainbow
up the hill back again close to my car
and off i went but i'll be back
thanks for joining
[//]:# ([//]:# (!worldmappin 58.97710 lat 10.02564 long an evening on the rocks of Rakke West d3scr))
