Here are some things I’ve seen that remind me that nature is amazing all on its own.

On the left are the vertical columns of basalt at the Giant’s Causeway. On the right are ridges in beach sand.

We visited Giant’s Causeway and the next day went to Dunluce Castle, not far away.

The Giant’s Causeway is made of basalt columns. The tops are visible here. On the right you see a wall at Dunluce Castle made with basalt quarried from Giant’s Causeway. They cut off the tops of the stone columns to use in the wall–the five and six-sided pieces. Notice that the man-made wall isn’t nearly as lovely as the natural formation.

Can you identify the source of these two patterns? They are from land and sea. See below for answer.

(Grazing sheep, fossil coral)