JULY 8, 2013

WELL THE CREEK'S UP MA!

I went down to the river yesterday about mid morning and saw that the water we have had in the past  week (s) had done it's thing.  

The walk is about nine blocks below us, with a nice parking lot, restrooms and a pavilion.  The trail is a connector from the parking area to the walk which runs parallel to the river.  This is part of the connector which is raised boardwalk as you can see from the photo.  I was there an hour and by the time I left that area at the end of the photo was under water.  It's not official, but I think that the river is up 25-30 feet in just the past five days.

Under normal conditions the river bank is out there at that tree on the left of the photo.  This is big water but can be waded at certain points during the dryer summer months.  We are scheduled for afternoon thunderstorms for the rest of the week and then there is that tropical storm/hurricane/whatever scheduled to be around next week.  If the water gets too high, they will close the walk and I will have to find some other vantage to photograph.  But we'll just wait and see.

The good thing about all this, from a photography point of view, is that the whole area is now new!  And that offers all sorts of photo ops not normally apparent.  

This is a tiny turtle living in the land of behemoths!  He/she was only a couple of inches long and had found a protected log tip not normally under water.  Made a nice image as opposed to those measuring over a foot to a foot and a half.  If you double click on the images they can become clearer. 

I have no idea what kind of water bug these are.  If you can zoom in on them, they could be mosquitoes are just the water bugs you see on the surface of most ponds.  Would make a heck of a jig saw puzzle!  Yeah, I know!  I'll try to get back down there today and report back.  Good day all!

JULY 8, 2013

STROLLING THROUGH THE SITES

I did walk the new section of the River Walk last week.  It is a nice section and mostly wooded with occasional glimpses of the river.  But we have had so much rain in the past few days that getting out and about is rather dicey without ones own personal bubble.  With all the rain the river is up of course, but because the Congaree River is the product of the merging of the Saluda and Broad Rivers, an interesting phenom can be seen.

The two different colors show the nature of the two rivers merging.  One more muddy than the other.    

I have seen this take place rarely on the Chesapeake after major storms, but this is rather common on this river

The rain can also play little tricks with the mind.  These two ghosts are out walking the walk but not talking the talk.  Actually the dampness of the boardwalk is evaporating in that area where the sun's rays are most intense.  Hence, the ghosts.

Or.....Maybe there really are?

One of the critters we see on the water are the turtles.  Because they are cold blooded critters, they have to haul out to take to the sun and thus warming up their blood so they can move comfortably.  They have been a bit cold in the last few days even though we have been in the 80's and 90's.

Just a reminder, you can click on the photos and get an enlarged version.  I did not walk most of the holiday weekend because of the presence of the weekend warriors.  So, I will be out  there today hobbling along with my stick and camera.  Conjuring up more pearls to share with you.  

A new Gallery has surfaced on the website, and if you have an interest please go and spend some time (money).  As the more astute of you know, I spent about 59 years of my life on or about the Chesapeake Bay.  As a result of that and my interest in fishing, I have a large library of "Watermen" images that I will be sharing with you.  The descriptions for each photo comes from my experiences and are "as close to the truth as I can get".  My eternal thanks to my friend Pat Biddle late of Chestertown and currently of Easton, Maryland for that last pearl of wisdom....always told the truth or as close as he could get to it.  The entire web site is going to be expanded dramatically over the next few months and I hope you enjoy those additions.  Well, I see that it's 6:22 am so I had better get to work.  Hope you all have wonderful day defeating your challenges and creating your happiness.

July 6 2013

I will refrain from using the much maligned jokes about building the ark.  And "It's rained so much that".......one liners.  Probably all of my east coaster buddies have heard em all in the past couple of weeks.  It has rained a bunch down here and even the mushrooms in the front yard have mold growing on em.

I put in a bunch of hours yesterday culling old slides, scanning them, cleaning the images and making new files that you all will see in the weeks to come.  I don't know the actual count of photo, but it will take the rest of the year to get them all posted.  Probably four or five thousand.

The dogs, actually only Mcgee, wake me around seven each morning wanting to go out, eat and play.  Nice dogs and of course the two birds will also get into the act unless I cover their cage with blankets in an attempt to convince them that it is still dark outside and they really should be asleep because their flock leader (me evidently) will feed their sorry butts to a higher level in the food chain if they aren't quiet.  And on and on it goes!

I ran across one of my father's old slides in this culling process which reminded me of his early education of his only son.  He taught me, and my son, how to work.  One summer he arranged for me to join a travelling maintenance crew for the Borden Company's New York region.  In fact in High School and College I worked for them twice.  The afore mentioned crew and in College I worked as the sales rep for them in 1964 at the World's Fair on Long Island in New York.  I wrote my Master's Thesis on what effected milk sales at the fair.  Low and behold it was found that the higher the attendance the higher were the sales.  Duh!  Well there's a no brainer and I had to spend the entire summer to learn that.  Oh well it beat going to Nam!

The farmers are delivering their days milk in those cans you see on the belt going into the plant.  It was at this plant in Watertown, NY that I learned just what made that glass bottle of milk the guy delivered to the back door every other morning back at home.  And chocolate milk really doesn't come from brown cows.  I also learned how work all day long at physical labor just so I could go back to the boarding house and sleep, then do it all over again the next day.  Not much play that summer.  I would leave home on Sunday night, drive to the group foreman's house to meet the crew on Monday morning early and make the drive to upstate. Then back again on Friday night.  I might have been able to go out Saturday night....maybe.  I was sure glad to see school start again in September.

  God Bless him.  I miss him.  He was a good man!  And I should have listened more closely!

JULY 4, 2013

Well, happy Independence Day folks.  

For most of my life this day meant .... A day off!  But as I get older the real reasons for the holiday take hold of me,  but I discard the opportunity to rant.  When you think about it all, those rebels a long time ago took incredible risks just signing a piece of paper saying that we were in fact independent.

I read yesterday in an annual speech given by Rush Limbaugh's dad,  just what happened to those devoted signers of the declaration and what happened to them after the signing.  Simply and condensed...They lost everything from health to wealth.  Because after all they rebelled against a tyranny from across the pond.  We're lucky!  It's right here ... right now!

  I wonder today if there are those amongst us that would do the same.  Probably and sadly not.  Our leaders are more prone to manipulation and accumulation than those poor idealistic souls that made it possible for us to celebrate this day with all the wealth that we have.

  And yes we are wealthy and way fortunate,  at least by most standards.  And our fleeting freedoms have always been primary to that wealth.

  So Happy hot dog and hamburger day everyone.  Celebrate that potato salad and have your choice of mustard for that dog.  Want sauerkraut with that or maybe some chili and cheese. 

 Down here we pass around the "Sweet Tea" or break out the bud and we don't know anybody that lives in a mud hut! 

JULY 3 2013

IMPONDERABLES

I guess it's sorta like--- Why does the toast always land butter side down?  I do keep the kitchen clean floor clean enough for the five second rule to be reasonably acceptable....But why?  It just as easily could have gone the other way.

Or when you're in a hurry to get out the door for an appointment and the stupid dog has to go out? Didn't want to back when I asked him to go and now I'll be rushed waiting for the duty to be done.

Or when first thing in the morning before the Starbucks has even perked she says the dog pee-d somewhere and it's all your fault.  Just imponderable how that is!  I mean, I didn't hold and aim it for him!

Or my flat bed scanner has a place where I can ask for dust reduction!  Huh!  Dust reduction?  Some geek type with a pocket full of pencils and a slide rule hanging from his/her belt sat in a cubicle somewhere, sometime ago and figured out how to tell a scanner to eliminate dust from the work it was copying.  BTW if you youngsters don't know what a slide rule is, google it.  I never was able to master the thing.

Or when you are farming 2,000 acres that look as flat as a pool table...why in the world do you leave one tree right in the middle of the place untouched.

What was the reasoning all those hundred years ago when, before the slide rule even, the farmer decided to leave this beautiful old sycamore for eternity to see?  The base chocked with poison ivy and the limbs now bereft of life.  Did those original agriculturists have an eye for art.  Or was it the tree where the community hung that dirty, two timing skunk of a horse thief?  And it was left in glorious remembrance.  Maybe the farmers wife all those years ago used it to anchor the cloths line.  But then some witness to the existence of a house foundation should be apparent. 

Or maybe the horse died before they could get to removing it.  Who knows, but I for one am glad that farmers do leave an anchor point in a field or two just so we outlanders can ponder the imponderables.

7 2 13

The idiots are already putting off fireworks off in the neighborhood!  And it's not even noon and only the second!

Last Friday, our Mayor (Bless her heart) opened the new section of the Riverwalk and it was a nice ceremony.  A lot of politicians praising and thanking each other for doing a job they were expected to do in the first place when we elected them.  I still say the downfall of this country was when the colleges starting calling Politics, "Political Science".  But the Riverwalk is, in my humble opinion (when have you ever seen me be humble?), one of the best ways to spend taxpayer's dollars.  And I don't care what program did it, in the end we paid for it and other things like it.  It is an excellent form of recreation.

She is a pretty lady and doing a terrific job.  I am happy to call her my friend even if she has to bite her tongue when I rant to her about something that I can't explain and she can't understand.  But then again that falls into the category of old age on my part.  I've earned it and am going to execute it to the best of my vast ability.

I did not walk the walk on Friday.  Too many people and politicians skipping along and holding hands.  But, this morning I did make my appearance just to be able to say that the old guy with the camera and lethal walking stick has shown up after the big dance.  We had a nice calm rain all morning (let's see it's not over yet) and the only sound on the walk was that of big drops hitting leaves.  It was quiet and no people.  I mean I love my human counterparts, but let's face it for the most part you're just pains in the potatoes.  Let's see it has been open four days and all I could find was some guy's t-shirt (like to know that story) and an un-recycleable plastic bag.  

I took this at a slower shutter speed lust to accent the rain, so your glasses or monitor don't need adjusting.  But it is apparent that the place hasn't yet been FOUND!  None of the I-generation was present.  You know that group of I-phoniers, I-padders....... I, I, i, ME, me, me group!  So without the uninformed amongst us walking, jogging, talking, laughing at inappropriate times at the top of their lungs.....it was nice.  I could not even hear my moccasins padding along the wet walkway.  Animals are fun to stalk, people are to easy!

Saw no deer trails yet, but they are coming.  Did see two does as I was leaving.  They had this year's offspring(3) with them and were headed for the river through the woods.  Relatives of St. Louis were there but not in huge numbers.  St. Louis you say?  Go back a month and read the blogs to see who he is.  Happy to report that no snakes or other creepy crawlers made their presence known and that's probably a good thing.  

All in all, a good morning was had by all and that is what I wish you! 

July 1, 2013

July first .... Huh?  What happened to April?  Yes all my younger friends time does fly and as you get older it goes so fast that you can't even remember Saturday because it's Monday and you can't even remember why your in that room looking for something in the first place ... but what was it?

I have been asked by people far smarter than I .... Why is my grammar so bad and if it were not for spell check even I know it was spelt wrong.  Yep, I do proof read but when you have no idea in the first place what's wrong, how do you expect to be able to correct something that a retired English teacher catches?  I love retired English teachers, don't get me wrong.  I just feel they all should be on
Downton Abbey (?).  I do love phonetics to, don't you?  But proofreading, now that's an art!