ICE GROTTOS

Ice formations in the Grottos of Independence Pass, Colorado.

GROTTO

noun | /ˈɡrädō/

A small cavern scooped into a cave wall, usually by erosion, is called a grotto. The term vaguely suggests protection, shelter or sustenance. As a river term, grotto usually refers to a small, shaded hollow at the foot of a cliff that, most often, leads back to a hidden spring or rivulet.
— ARTHUR SZE - HOME GROUND, LANGUAGE FOR AN AMERICAN LANDSCAPE

ELEMENTS & TEMPORAL CYCLES
 

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One and a half billion years ago,
magma cooled


structuring
[verb: to arrange | 1. the arrangement between parts of something complex]


 a bed
of quartz monzonite
fire -> rock
glittering boudoir undisturbed
 

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15,ooo years ago,
the glacier began to melt
sending its waters


coursing
[verb: to pursue | 1. the sport of hunting game animals]


boulders and sediments


scouring
[verb: move rapidly | 1. to clean or brighten something by rubbing it hard | 2. to subject a place to thorough invesitagation in order to locate something]


into the rock bed
ice -> water
 

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Water is a pilgrim
in the night
searching for a place
to rest
 

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One month ago,
my breath caught in the chambers
cooled to clouds
when the outside world ran rivulets
under a hot sun


water stays here
rests a while
as ice
but will move on
when spring knocks
on the door of rocks

water -> ice
 

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It is exquisite to observe
the way a billion-year-old-rock


cradles
[noun & verb: to hold | 1. the bed of an infant | 2. to hold protectively]


something as ephemeral
as seasonal ice
 

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Dripping water in a mossy ice cave.
Still pond in a pine forest.
Mushroom amongst pine needles in a forest.
Independence Pass in winter, Colorado.
Trees growing in the cracks of a grotto.
The Grotto ice caves, with ice formations, Independence Pass, Colorado.
The grottos, with blue ice and rock formations.
Ice waterfall in a cave - the Grottos of Independence Pass, Colorado.