This large rock stands alongside my walking path by the river.

It’s approximately 4 feet tall. The face of it is covered with tiny crystals that shimmer in the sun.

The other side of the rock shows that it has been split sometime over the course of its long life.

There are no other rocks in the area and no signs of any excavation, so I’ve been curious about what kind of rock it is and how it arrived alone on this spot.

I sent the photos to my nephew who is a geologist. He told me that this is a large specimen of “gneiss”(pronounced nice). He suggested that it likely originated on a mountain and was transported great distances through several periods of glaciation.

“Earth is ancient now, but all knowledge is stored up in her. She keeps a record of everything that has happened since time began. Of time before time, she says little, and in a language that no one has yet understood. Through time, her secret codes have gradually been broken. Her mud and lava is a message from the past. Of time to come, she says much, but who listens?”
~ Jeanette Winterson