Textures (II)

The Texture theme continues to intrigue me. I found a lot of photographs from last year’s beach trip that documented the imprints left on sand by wind, vehicles, animals and humans.

This sandy expanse is located in Jockey’s Ridge Park, in the Outer Banks, North Carolina.

I followed these vehicle tracks simply because it was a bit easier to walk on than in the loose sand.

vehicle tracks

Some of the dunes appeared smooth and only slightly rippled by the wind.

dune and blue sky

Others sported striking patterns, like this one that made me think of the sand worms in the “Dune” movies:

dune patterns

Could this be the immense expanse of the Sahara Desert as seen from a plane?

ripples in the sand

I was drawn to this particular dune, first because of the wavy texture on the flat part on top, then the bird prints on its side:

dune in evening light

And this must have been quite a party, lots of greeting and mingling going on here:

bird tracks

I wondered what happened here – social gathering, food source, a combination of those two?

close-up of bird tracks

And WHAT came through here before me, a deer perhaps?

mysterious tracks

These prints seemed as interesting to me as hieroglyphic writings. I am sure someone experienced in tracking could tell who was here, how long ago, and what they did. Perhaps this is how animals “write” with their feet, in the process recording their presence and activities in the medium of sand. Unlike the more deliberate writings on papyrus that survived thousands of years, these animal “writings” only endure until the next strong breeze of wind wipes the (sand) slate clean again. The animals and the wind together will write more textured sand essays tomorrow…

The WordPress Photo Challenge this week is about “Texture:” “share a texture found in an unexpected place. It could be made of natural materials….or with man-made objects.” More info here.