It's so wonderfully tactile, and that dear little starfish, what a find!

Stunning pictures. I have been painting for a month and out of touch. These pictures remind me of what Jerry and I are reading, Annals of the Former World, by John McPhee. It's all about how rocks are made and destroyed. How beautiful they are in their destruction.

I can't tell: is the starfish on top of the "lace," or has it made an indentation in it? How mysterious and strange these rocks are . . .

Lucy, thanks, we saw so many of these starfish everywhere!

Anne, glad to hear you are busy painting! And that book sounds fascinating, will have to try find it. Geologic transformations are just amazing.

Bee, the starfish is on top. Its dark colour makes it seem to disappear into the rock.

Beautiful and the one with the star fish is amazing. I was thinking about the lace rocks again this morning and thought of giant bones - yes, the bones of a giant. I've always been a fan of magic.

If you don't stop I'm going to have to buy a plane ticket forthwith!
But don't stop! This must indeed be a place of wonder and magic. I wonder if there's a National Geographic Special or a DVD that exists?

Susan, I've always thought of bones too! It's a magical kind of place for some of us...

R, shhh, don't tell everybody! Already the population on the island booms over the summer. The permanent residents are generous folk but sometimes too many tourists get tiresome for them, and water shortages become a problem.

So beautiful! I like these even better than the first set you posted. What an extraordinary place that must be.

I don't think I would ever tire of these rock lace pictures. Thank you.

I love the loofah lookalike!

Beth! Thank you. You know, many of the Gulf Islands have these interestingly weathered rocks and unusual rock formations. Hornby is the only one we know, because our dear friends have a summer place here and kindly invite us there! You might remember much earlier photos that I've occasionally posted, some of which have been used in my prints.

Joe, it gives me pleasure to hear that!

Olga, a giant loofah to scrub a dinosaur's back, hmm?!

Marja-leena: beautiful and intriguing photos! I'm wondering if maybe there is limestone in those rocks? Our island is solid slate/shale, and it doesn't weather like this. At any rate, I should love to see those rocks in real life some day - but so thankful to you for sharing the images!

Hi Jackie, great to hear from you! I'm slowly reading a fascinating book on the ancient geology of Hornby and the other islands of the area. I think there's a lot of different rock though I think this may be sandstone. There's a lot of shale, conglomerate and lava rock as well and they all weather differently. I think it's the presence of pockets of fossils and sediments that wear away faster, thus we see these odd patterns but I really don't understand it all yet.