A curious bull and curious photographer come nose-to-lens
at Sauder Village, Archbold, Ohio, on a recent visit there.
at Sauder Village, Archbold, Ohio, on a recent visit there.
I was running a bit ahead of schedule on my way to work this morning. I stopped by the David Fortier River Park, in Olmsted Falls, to take in some quiet beauty. It was a good morning.
Fridays off with not much to do are a good thing. I did not plan to go to Hinckley Lake this morning but the day began too pleasantly to spend much time indoors. I tossed the camera bag in the trunk and headed out. I stopped along the way to watch and photograph turkey vultures, perched on bare tree branches, warming themselves in the early rays of the sun. At the lake, I set off to see what birds {herons} I might see. Checking their favorite haunts from the lakeside trail, I was richly rewarded. In one of those favorite spots, I crept towards the water and peered around the lakeside vegitation. There, a literal stone's throw away, was a Great Blue Heron standing still as a statue. We regarded each other cautiously and I squeezed off a few shutter clicks. The bird was nervous. I was being attacked by mosquitoes. Not a good combination for a photo session. Off flew the great bird but not before I made my catch of the day! There were other beautiful scenes to be enjoyed and recorded as I hiked around the lake. None, however, matched the close encounter with one truly great bird. It was a surprising morning.
Driving to Hiram today I passed a field dotted with huge rolls of hay that had been cut and bound. It looked like someone's avant-garde art installation. I turned around and parked the car in a nearby lane, and extracted my camera to take a few shots. As I strolled along the road shooting photos, neighbors shouted questions like, "haven't you ever seen hay before?" Well, I explained, yes I had but I haven't often seen it like that! I'm sure they thought I was crazy-odd but I don't care.
We woke up late and to a beautiful day. The first thing She suggested was a visit to the East Harbor State Park on the Marblehead Peninsula in Lake Erie. We'd only recently heard about the park and were interested in checking it out. Well, long story short, it seems to be a fine and popular beach but the mapped nature trails were not well signed and extremely difficult to find. We spent little time there and decided to move along to the little town of Marblehead. Marblehead (map) is really kind of a stepping off port for those who wish to fish, enjoy the party island of Put-In-Bay, or relax in the quieter environment of Kelly's Island. The town does offer its own assortment of gift shops, antique stores, and eating places. Lunch for us, however, was a disaster.
We found a pizzeria that offered a pleasant atmosphere and had a "Veggie Delight" pie on its menu. After what seemed a very long wait –we arrived with the rest of the lunch crowd– our pizza arrived. I took one bite and the first impression was good. Then a particular texture and flavor filled my mouth and triggered an old memory… pepperoni! Our "veggie" pizza was really a pepperoni pizza with some veg toppings scattered over the meat! We were hungry but, as vegetarians, to us the pie was inedible. We refused the offered discount explaining it was a meat pie served to herbivores, and were then told we owed nothing. Nice waitress, dumb kitchen.
Eventually we stopped in at the small local grocery. It's a convenience for locals and an important source of provisions for visitors. We discovered a tub of prepared hummus, some whole wheat flat bread, and a vast array of very cold drinks. We gathered our purchases up and had a picnic in a public park which, as it happens, was right behind the pizzeria. Delightful and delicious. Following lunch we headed to the Marblehead Lighthouse.
The Marblehead lighthouse used to be a lonely monument to bygone days of maritime technology — quietly standing on its rock foundations, posing for pictures made by occasional visitors. In 1998, however, the light and adjoining property became a state park. We were astonished today at the number of people enjoying the little park, the ca. 1821 lighthouse, and the Lake Erie surf splashing over the light's rocky foundations. The scenery, the beauty of the day, and the lake breeze made the day. We returned home happy.
Sometimes it takes a lighthouse to help you find your way.
We were minding our own business, heading out on a pleasant little Saturday morning trip to a shopping area, more as an outing than an expedition. Stopped for a red light at an intersection, all was was quiet when suddenly –BOOM– a heavy blow from behind rocked the Insight! A second later we realized we'd been hit by a large black car. I shut off the engine, carefully got out of the Honda –the guy who hit us was already out of his– and we examined the results. (He said he "thinks" his foot slipped off the brake at the stop.) Whew! Nobody hurt. No broken glass. No smashed plastic lenses. No folded or torn bumpers.
The Insight, however, now wears as part of its rear bumper the distinct impressions of the other guy's license plate bolt heads (you can count the sides) and license plate frame. Of course, the other guy showed no signs of impact on the front end of his car. Probably nothing to be done but application of a bit of touch-up paint and. Too little damage for a call to the police or a call to the insurance company. So we were given the guy's license info, shook hands, and parted company. I think I know what I'll do about the bolt impressions –a new bumper sticker will do the trick– but some small scuffs and scratches will be harder to hide. The Insight is only a bit over a year old and was unscathed up to this point. Now it has its first permanent marks and I'll be reminded of the incident almost daily.
Well, crap!
Tasha knows how to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon: A favorite comfy pad on a chair next to a window… all that's needed. We didn't nap but some light miscellaneous shopping, and prepping for the arrival of a new TV pleasantly occupied the day.
Heading home after dinner out tonight approaching storm clouds caught my eye. Lit by the setting sun, they were full of color and backlit translucence. The sky showed subtle streaks of crepuscular light contrasting against a deepening blue sky. Not long after we arrived home and settled in for the night the storm arrived. It was full of lightning, wind, and rain — lots of rain. It can be scary and it can be beautiful when a storm's a'brewin'.
When working with nature, don't turn your back… not even for a second! This morning I was strolling to the back of my car to stow camera gear for a quick pre-work visit to Hinckley Lake. As I cleared the corner of the garage I spotted, directly across the drive, a doe deer and three tiny spotted fawn. They froze, uncertain whether to flee and in what direction. Carrying my camera bag, I slowly opened the back of the car, turned and placed my bag inside, withdrew my camera, changed lenses, fired up the camera, and turned back to photograph the scene. Gone! In the space of 30 seconds or less the whitetail family had silently fled the scene to the relative safety of a nearby wooded area. I felt bad about it until I realized my camera lens had completely fogged over and was useless — it had come out from a cool storage area into a warm and muggy world. Ready or not, I'd have missed the shot. {sigh}
I climbed into the car and headed to the lake. Strangely, though Hinckley Lake is a favorite fishery for Great Blue Herons, I saw none. I can usually count on seeing several in the early morning hours when the lake is quiet and human fishermen are scarce. Eventually one of the big birds descended from a tree and alighted in a favorite fishing area, a bit distant for my purposes but at last I was seeing a heron! I watched the bird as it stood still, waded a bit, and stood still even longer. Eventually it jabbed the water with its spear-like beak and produced a minnow which it promptly swallowed. Again it stood. And stood. Tired of staring I examined my more immediate surroundings. Two brilliant yellow flowers –cone flowers– were lit beautifully in the morning sun with a deep green grassy background that made them really stand out. I focused and shot a couple of images. Nice. I turned to see what the heron was doing only to discover that it had silently taken to the air and was already more than 100 feet away and flying close to the water. I'd wanted to at least see and photograph that takeoff and missed it entirely because I'd turned my back for half a minute again.
Repeating, the lesson for the day: Don't turn your back.
Although it's a Sunday, we consider this the last day of our vacation week. (Somehow it seems wrong to consider Sunday a vacation day but never mind.) We set off on an expected short visit to our own Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. We arrived just before official opening for the day today and hope to plan our visits that way often in future: early arrivals get prime parking spots, no lines at the gate, and the animals are active. The flamingos were more interesting today than at any time we have seen them before, close to their enclosure wall as well. The cheetas were also busy: chasing, pacing, and one even jumped up into a tree — also something we'd not seen before. We were shooting photographs a good part of the time, taking it easy and trying not to overheat in the mid-July sun and humidity. It was in the Primate, Cat & Aquatics building that I got my two "shots of the day." A newly-arrived clouded leopard was exploring its indoor enclosure giving me many opportunities to capture its image. I consider the clouded leopard to be the most beautiful of the great cats. At any rate, I shot many exposures of the animal using my little Canon PowerShot G11 and was rewarded with two pictures that I love: a lovely still portrait and a more dynamic image of the cat. Then we went home to hide from the heat. Tomorrow it's back to the daily grind. It won't take long for the stress to build back up but at least we'll have pictures to remind us of happier times!
PhotonStopper 