A Time to Vent

The eruption of a volcano on the Eyjafjallajoekull glacier in Iceland last week put the world into a tizzy, and continues to disrupt day-to-day life for many people. Six days into the event, the volcano is finally settling down a bit and releasing less ash and more lava. I guess mother Nature is entitled to her time to vent just a little.

For many people, the idea of a volcanic eruption is terrifying and most of these people swear they would never live anywhere near a volcano. For others, especially inhabitants of most Pacific island chains like Hawaii, volcanoes are a fact of life. Some of you may be saying that's one reason you wouldn't visit Hawaii, but if you've said that, raise your hand if you've ever been to Yellowstone National Park or driven through northern Arizona on your way to the Grand Canyon. If you have, you've been near a volcano. I know several people who were dismayed to hear that a place like Iceland, known for being a more arctic region, could even have volcanoes, but the fact is that anywhere there are breaks in the tectonic plates that form the earth's crust, there can be volcanoes! Many of them, like Sunset Crater here in AZ have been dormant for hundreds of years. Some of them, like the massive caldera volcano under Yellowstone National Park and Stromboli off the coast of Sicily, are constantly venting - often with major eruptions only occuring once in many tens of thousands of years.

Vulcanism is a natural part of the geology of Earth and a source of wonder and beauty. Volcanoes are unique as they are both destructive and creative at the same time. As lava cools, new land is formed, rich in its composition and beautiful in its geography. Volcanoes have inspired many artists and artisans in their expression of creativity and I'm happy to share some of that unique beauty with you in this post today.

The picture posted at the opening of my blog article today is titled Powerful and is available at CrowellExpressions on Etsy.

The stunning POW Black Textured Lava Necklace to the right features a chunk of natural lava in a lovely silver setting and comes to us from valkasinskas .

Several gemstones and rocks like obsidian, rhyolite, andesite, and even granite have their origins in the depths of volcanoes. Some, like the specimen in this gorgeous Green Goddess Long Rhyolite Necklace from HerRoyalMajestyBags have a rainbow of colors ranging from light greens to rich browns and every color in between!

Our Mother Earth, in all of her moods, is an entity of amazing wonder, beauty, and strength, and like our own mothers, doesn't always do what we think she should, but rather what she knows she must! With Earth Day just around the corner, and Mother's Day coming up, take a moment to remember our "other mother" and enjoy her gifts to us on our amazing and beautiful spaceship Earth!