siftin' sand

The letter I is the letter of the week for Round 5 of ABC Wednesday. For me it stands for the illusive nature of the sand and rocks that are washed up on the beach. And my wild imaginings of where they came from and just how old they might be.


These are a few of the rocks I found while walking on the Lake Michigan shore. I always look for heart shaped rocks and wasn't disappointed this time. As you will recall from Geology 101 [which I barely passed with a C] these are predominately igneous rocks [the others being your metamorphic and sedimentary types]. Below are some good examples of the variety of 'wash up' I found, including two pieces of sea glass...most likely old beer bottles...plus wonderful little shells and fragments of shells.

All day, all night, Marianne

Down by the seaside siftin’ sand

Even little children love Marianne

Down by the seaside siftin’ sand

from the 1950's song 'Marianne' by Terry Gilkyson, Frank Miller and Richard Dehr