Category: Nature

The Beauty is in the Details

Sometimes the beauty of, or the interesting look at something is up close in the details that would otherwise get lost in a larger view.

Eastern Red Cedar is a fairly common tree locally, usually getting a good start in fence rows and abandoned fields. Many consider it to be a weed to be eradicated, yet they provide rot proof wood for outdoor use along with the fragrant lining of cedar chests or closets. This is a view of some of the seeds just as they begin to mature and turn the darker shade of blue.

This is a wild grass called Wide Leaf Uniola that grows well here. The seed heads are it’s most notable feature, mostly because of the shape of the seed clusters and the droopy look of them. They also move in the least bit of breeze and make me think of schools of little fish for some reason.

I don’t have a name for this little flower yet, don’t recall ever seeing one of these before. This was a single plant I spotted while out for a walk a few days ago, it was really wanting to be photographed so I obliged. Surprisingly, this one didn’t seem to be suffering any from the hot dry weather we had through most of June and the first couple weeks of July.

Finally, a very orange fungus, tentatively identified as a Cinnabar Polypore, all dressed up for autumn in pumpkin camouflage. Pretty tough to miss this one. A few years ago there was a large dead tree at this location, the trunk of which was almost covered with this same fungus. That was quite a sight with hundreds of these popping out all over the tree. All I know for certain is that I won’t be having any of these on the menu at my house!

Thank you for reading, until next time.

A River and a Smartphone

Out with my wife this evening for a bit of a date, or, at least as much as a milkshake from the clown food restaurant and a spur of the moment drive to the river qualifies as a date. When we got to the river she opted to stay in the truck rather than fight mosquito hordes both ways across the parking lot and boat ramp, (one smart lady she is).

Since we both grew up in the area I wanted to show her what the river looks like today, so I used my phone to capture a panoramic photo of the area. As is typical of such photos it came out looking a bit wonky. Then I noticed an option to view it as a motion file, and now I’m hooked.

I hope the motion part comes through for you, I’ve never tried to use one of these photos before. If it doesn’t work as planned then the wonky looking version may have to be used instead.

Now for some of the personal stuff. This river holds a special place in my heart. As I said we grew up in the area, and that included swimming, fishing and canoeing as part of the experience.

At one time the Army Corps of Engineers had started initial work on a series of dams for flood control on the three rivers in the system. Somehow the entire project got placed on the ballot back in the 1970’s and on August 8 1978, 64% of the people voted for free flowing rivers rather than flat water recreational pools.

Looking back I will say that had it been possible then to see the future, the outcome may have been different. We have experienced the two highest flood crests on record since voting down the flood control project and some people are wanting to revive the idea.

Still, in my private thoughts we made the right choice. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy it.

Just Because……..

Sometimes I just want to see what something looks like as a photograph, usually as a matter of curiosity. Some of them go into the “what was I thinking?” category. Others speak to me on some level.

This photo was made last Sunday, a rather hot day by most accounts. When I first stepped into the shade of this tree I just stopped and looked up. Noting the play of light and shadow in the leaves I pulled out the trusty phone and took several photos trying to capture how things looked and hopefully the way it felt.

The following photo was made this morning, again in the spirit of curiosity. Some rain last night had brought the lichen and moss back to life after the dry hot weather of recent weeks. The change was quite dramatic.

Thanks for reading.

On Trees, Unusual

One fine morning last summer my wife and I were taking the scenic route on the way to the grocery store, meaning we were wandering about on backroads following the front bumper of my truck. Then I spotted this tree alongside the road.

The shape, the bends in the branches made this tree stand out from the others. I don’t know if the straight trunk is a part of this tree or a separate one growing very close by. While curiosity was wanting answers, caution was observing the thick hedge of poison ivy and shouting NO! Prudence recalled the emergency room visit for the last poison ivy episode and enlisted the help of thrift and tightwad then proceeded to wrestle curiosity to the ground. It was a struggle but all ended well.

Foggy Morning

Yet another episode of morning fog. Sometimes I miss driving past this peaceful field on my way to work.

This was an unusual occurrence with the layered look, the normal thing would have been the fog in the foreground and clear air along the treeline

Take heart, my friends, eventually the supply of photos from this spot will run dry…….unless I go make new ones.

Weekend Adventures Part Two

Returning home Sunday evening, I decided to drive to the end of the road to see what was happening and make a photo of any interesting things I chanced upon. The sun had set already so it was going to be a bit tricky, since all I had was my phone. Still, it is a camera, and Ansel Adams said something to the effect of the most important part of any camera being found in the twelve inches behind the viewfinder.

This is a corner of the old barn I keep returning to with some attempt by sun and clouds to add interest to the scene.

I had passed these deer earlier but they were too far away for a good photo, and I was thinking they would be gone by the time I came back . In reality they were much closer to the road! There was none of the usual whitetail deer nervousness, just a calm look to see if I was a danger, then back to grazing. Gourmet soybeans, anyone?

The Butterfly Weed is a bonus shot as it was actually getting fairly dark by this time. Still, I had to try. Photos like this are good since they can be worked out several ways with good result. This one still has possibilities for some other versions. I chose to bring out the foreground and flowers for now.