The Beast

Corroding tractor wheels and tread, Bodega Bay, CA

All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. Ecclesiastes 3:20

The sand master is reclaimed by the sand. When exposed to water and oxygen iron corrodes and breaks down through an electrochemical process enhanced by the presence of salt. Rust results from iron losing electrons to oxygen under the right conditions. The constant salt spray off a pounding ocean is a perfect crucible for rust. The once mighty iron treads of this bulldozer-like machine have been reduced to an inert curiosity. It's hard to imagine these parts were all once independent and well-lubricated, turning, pulling, yielding to the thrusting power of a diesel engine and thousands of tiny percussive explosions every minute. The peaks of the thick sprocket wheel look like mountains, also eroding, from very far away. The whole appears chiseled from solid rock. The beach behind is deceptively peaceful. The soft foam and fine sand belie the all-consuming ferocity of this slow-moving but all-powerful lip of the earth. The beach is the great equalizer, and that is why we bow before it.