Tag: Nature

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.