Most Popular Post

Friday 12 October 2018

The old wharf

These pilings are well weathered though I don’t know their age. They are the remnants of a wharf long abandoned to the sea. This old wharf is one of the reasons my husband and I love St. Peter’s Harbour.


From a distance, the pilings don’t look like much. 





However, up close, the weathering of the posts make them unlike anything we’ve ever seen. 





These look nothing like firewood or trees rotting in the forest. The sea makes a huge difference to this wood. 


Individual pilings remain solid in the sand. 





The bleached wood shows the remnants of the limbs which once spread out from the trunk, holding leaves which kept the tree alive. Now the trunk is like a sculpture in the sand.





These are not nails from recent history. They go back decades. The salt clinging to the rusty metal indicates the sea spray or water which has covered this nail, though not today at low tide.


The wood which is high and dry today is covered in salt as well.





The texture of the wood is visible and the knots break up the linear nature of the piece. The light gray and rusty brown colouration are curious too.


Even at low tide, the sea is relentless in its crafting of the pilings. 





One can imagine what it’s like on a stormy day at high tide or when the ice has settled in for the coldest months of the year, encasing the wood in its cold blanket. The fact this wharf has lasted so long is a wonder of nature.







36 comments:

Ginnie Hart said...

A wonder of nature, indeed, Marie. You can't get a much better photo-op than that!

Debbie said...

as you said, from a distance, the wood looks ordinary...but there is nothing ordinary about it. the wood is gorgeous up close...i like it with the water splashing on it!!!

Linda d said...

Being in a city where the oldest structures are just not that old, I find the nostalgia of your photos so endearing and beautiful.

Debra She Who Seeks said...

SO beautiful. VERY wabi-sabi.

Tabor said...

What a wonderful photographic opportunity.

Secondary Roads said...

Very interesting shapes and textures. Colorful too.

Joanne Noragon said...

Do you know who used that wharf?

William Kendall said...

They have taken on the quality of feeling like sculptures. Beautiful shots!

Celia said...

Nature is the ultimate artist.

Jenn said...

Wonderful photos! I love the second one, the angle and the shadows...yes!!

Bill said...

I love how nature sculpts the wood, day after day, until it becomes a piece of art. Your photos show nature's beautiful work. Thank you, Marie.

DJan said...

What a truly unique place, Marie. That salt looks like powdered sugar! :-)

Barb said...

Great photos of these piling which are so sculptural.

PerthDailyPhoto said...

Wonderful series of images of nature at its most creative Marie ✨

Elaine said...

Water always wins!

Shammickite said...

Beautifully weathered wood. Amazing that these stumps of the wharf have lasted so long. They must have been well anchored into the surface of the beach to be still hanging on, through all the winter storms.

Marie Smith said...

It is a favourite location of ours, Ginnie.

Marie Smith said...

I’d love to capture photos during a storm, Debbie.

Marie Smith said...

Thank you, Linda. The California landscape and skyline is foreeign to me but beautiful in its own way.

Marie Smith said...

Yes it is indeed, Debra.

Marie Smith said...

It is a great place for photographers, Tabor.

Marie Smith said...

The colours surprised me the first time I saw the old wharf.

Marie Smith said...

Local fisherman used the wharf. They stopped using it in 1951, Joanne.

Marie Smith said...

They are beach sculpture for sure, William.

Marie Smith said...

She sure is, Celia.

Marie Smith said...

You would take beautiful photos of these old pilings, Jenn.

Marie Smith said...

Nature is a patient artist, Bill.

Marie Smith said...

The salt was a unique sculptural addition, Jan.

Marie Smith said...

Thank you Barb. All the best to you and your husband!

Marie Smith said...

Thank you, Grace.

Marie Smith said...

It sure does, Elaine!

Marie Smith said...

The wharf was abandoned in 1951 so it is amazing any pilings have survived this long, Shammi.

Stewart M said...

The way that the sea breaks things down is why there is always something to photograph on the beach I think! Nice shots.

Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne Airport (!)

jenny_o said...

It's a wonder of nature - including man's ability to construct something that will withstand the pounding of the sea!

Danielle L Zecher said...

It's amazing what the ocean does to things. I love pictures of things like that. Thanks for sharing them.

Down by the sea said...

The remains of the wharf have turned into fantastic wooden sculptures. The nail looks similar to the old shipbuilding nails that are occasionally found here and were used to build boats some of which went out to Newfoundland! Sarah x