Everything weathers or wears or frays, each according to its materials. It is such a commonplace process yet produces so many extraordinary results, including the intricate silhouettes of mountain ranges and beach sand that massages your feet as you walk.

I am especially fond of rust, provided it is not my stuff that is doing the rusting. A stairway in the U. Colorado, Boulder, athletic stadium is doing the rusting here. The pooled water is surely causing yet more rust, plus an artful reflection of a railing that was boring in real life:

Nearby, the stairs come with cartoon faces (I promised myself I wouldn’t mention beings from other dimensions again):

And these stairs suggest star nebula images from the Hubble telescope (if you ignore the yellow non-skid tape):

Out in West Hollywood, CA, I’m pretty sure this brand new sidewalk tree root cover is not supposed to be rusting already, but I’m glad that it is!:

This rusting sea wall in Santa Barbara, CA, looks very much like my daughter’s knee after a horrendous scrape, but let’s not talk about that and I will resist the urge to post a comparison photo:

Here is the sea wall with a little more context:

In the low-slung light just before sunset, even a rust hater would have to enjoy this view of the same sea wall:

 

The WP Weekly Photo Challenge is Fray.