So arenophiles is a singular word, huh? This is going to take some serious head scratching.

TM

Oh, TM, not enough coffee!!! No, arenophiles is a group of 'em. Sorry!!

Nancy.

Nancy I'm pretty sure I know this one, you usually either stump me or I need lots of clues.
These guys collect something that is minuscule, comes in many colors, and at times is used in a certain art form, right?
Myself I'm hooked on the same stuff only in a bigger way. I'm forever on the lookout for a good one :).

Annette

I know 'philes', but as to the rest of the word, will wait for clues. Annette has me thinking, but I will wait to find out if I am seeing clearly or not.

Cynthia

Someone who is fond of sporting arenas? No, that can't be it.

TM

Heehee. I thought of that, too, TM! Funny.

Cynthia

Aahh, but so close for an unusual reason, TM!! Annette, ;)) I am glad you are in the loop!!

There are two basic types of the admired subject, and only 3 sources of the green variety.

I just had a power - outage, no doubt due to the high winds. If I disappear, I will try to get back, somehow.

Nancy - who still can't seem to upload pics on photobucket. Does anyone use another format to post pics?

Nancy.

'Star' is one of the more desirable types. 'Green' is one of the rarer. Hmmm...

Nancy - who is freezing cause the windows in this old house do not seal properly!!! and the wind is blowing though the miniscule voids!!

I used to use Picasa, but now I just upload from my saved pics in the "Image file to upload" box above this message box.

It is in the 50s here today. I just came in from sweeping the deck after taking the Christmas lights off the railing. It took me forever simply because it was so nice that I didn't want to come back in here. I hope it is this beautiful tomorrow for our President!

Was my hint in the right direction Nancy? Guess not if you didn't notice it! ;)

Cynthia

Cyn, my brain must be frozen - I didn't catch your clue...was it in your last post, or before that? TM has been the closest so far, though I think he doesn't realize it. I think Annette has it....

Nancy.

This is the most desirable....oh wow - this works yea, I am shed of Photobucket!!

My clue was in the previous post where I said "seeing clearly or not?" or something like that (thinking of an art form used in churches and some homes). I think I have it, but I don't quite have the connection to sports arenas. Of course, that would lead me in a slightly different more celebratory direction- ????

Cynthia

Yes Nancy I believe I do know the answer, never knew about the type in your picture tho...rather unique isn't it.

Annette

Cyn, I am scratching my head here. The subject of the 'philes' can be used in several different art forms, or admired in it's 'raw' state, as above. And yes, tis a pretty thing. As to sports, you need to get to your 'roots'.

Nancy.

Well then I do know it, but still can't connect it to sports other than some track and field events. Yes, I prefer it in its raw state and would very much like to be near some now!

I recognize the photo items. Did not know that I am an arenophile as I have collected this from both coasts and the Gulf of Mexico and several of the Great Lakes areas. Don't have any of the green. I also have an art object from New Mexico made with multicolored bits of this.

My cold is a bit better today, day four. Wish I were someplace warm to collect some of this today, maybe a big island.

Sports, would it be the ancient arenas used this as their base?

I think I know where you are all pointing with this, but that photo doesn't look like any little bits of this I have ever seen. The areno part hasn't come to me yet either.

TM

Bobbie, the above version is found on one island only, in Japan. And the arena part seems strange to its modern usage, say as the political arena, unless you start thinking blood sports.....hmmmmm...any more guesses/ideas??

Nancy.

Here is a combination of the two types!! I love that I can post pictures again, though it would be nice to be able to size them....

I think sand is the key word here.

Annette

Well, as Bobbie and Annette sussed, an Arenophile is a collector/lover of sand - it could also be a plant that thrives in sand. Arena, in Latin, means a sandy place, and came to mean an enclosed space, usually covered in sand. As usual, English took the word and changed it around a bit. Cyn mustn't have come back to see the last picture - someone put it on my Facebook wall - it is sand, magnified 250X. So beautiful, and I thought, well, there's a question in there somewhere!! There are 2 kinds of sand, as I said: the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal settings is silica (silicon dioxide, or SiO2), usually in the form of quartz. That gives you colours; the second most common form of sand is calcium carbonate, for example aragonite, which has mostly been created, over the past half billion years, by various forms of life, like coral and shellfish. It is, for example, the primary form of sand apparent in areas where reefs have dominated the ecosystem for millions of years like the Caribbean.
For our science geeks, and you know who you are: ISO 14688 grades sands as fine, medium and coarse with ranges 0.063 mm to 0.2 mm to 0.63 mm to 2.0 mm. In the United States, sand is commonly divided into five sub-categories based on size: very fine sand (1âÂÂ16 - â mm diameter), fine sand (â mm - 1/4 mm), medium sand (1/4 mm - 1/2 mm), coarse sand (1/2 mm - 1 mm), and very coarse sand (1 mm - 2 mm). These sizes are based on the Krumbein phi scale, where size in æ = -log2D; D being the particle size in mm. On this scale, for sand the value of æ varies from âÂÂ1 to +4, with the divisions between sub-categories at whole numbers. Silt is smaller, and feels silky between ones fingers.
Click on the link below - it is short but interesting!! Also google star sand to see how tiny those little animals are!!

So, for everyone:
{{gwi:594516}}{{gwi:594516}}{{gwi:594516}}{{gwi:594516}}

Thanks for playing! See you all next week.

Nancy.

Here is a link that might be useful: Arenophiles

GGrrrr - I was so sure the little O with a - through it was going to translate to here, but no. Sorry.

Nancy.

Thanks for the stars. It was your clues that helped me come up with sand. My first thought was stained glass which is sort of connected. I love that second picture. Whenever I see microscopic things blown up, it amazes me. Don't you wish we could see that level of detail? Well, not with bugs, of course, but crystals, sand, and such. ;)

I ended up watching the Baltimore Ravens playoff game. Woohoo. By the end, all I could do was trundle off to bed. Nice to be off today and not looking forward to work tomorrow. *sigh*

Have a wonderful week everyone.

Cynthia

Thanks, Nancy. I see what you were getting at now with the connection to sports arenas. Sand - who knew?

TM

What amazing beauty there is in something we consider plain or ordinary.
I've always wanted to visit Japan and now I have another reason. Thanks for the special stars.