Driving over the last couple miles to this water has a calming affect on me for some reason. The crazy interstate drive, dodging little toy cars and loud, intimidating trailer trucks seem unimportant and are forgotten when I pull into the tiny parking lot adjacent to Beech Creek. Everything slows down. Everything! This is where I escape from chaos and enter a wild, fantasy land where wonders never cease.
I don’t move quickly but with care and thought when I prepare the boat for launching. Everything and anything falls under my scrutiny. Time has slowed down and the efforts to get underway are focused on doing it right – far different than the idiotic dodging away from crazy cars and trucks trying to squash me. I talk out loud to myself while changing lanes trying to avoid being hemmed into a trap situation between fast moving vehicles driven by old scrawny men with thin faces - their lower jaws dropped open and saucer shaped eyes that glair straight ahead, refusing to look left or right as they lean forward in the drivers seat, leaning forward with chins just above their steering wheels. How stupid this ridiculous race to nowhere is! I suddenly envision all those people travelling down that interstate sitting in driving positions without any car. Just hundreds of car-less people in sitting positions flitting over three lanes of highway moving at 70 to 80 miles per hour. I’m going nuts!
I eased down the waterway and enjoyed the morning unfolding before me. This is mighty sweet.
The first word that came to mind was “WOW!”
I checked out a little notch in the river bank and there was a black crowned night heron. This is the perfect time of day to find them. I’m seeing more and more of them along this river.
I had to make some wild camera adjustments to photograph him as the fog was thick and I knew the color would be degraded on the final image. He came out OK, I guess.
I mentioned last week on an entry that I believe I’ve found their nesting island. The place is still flooded and I can’t walk around on it yet.
The sun was starting to burn off the fog. Soon I’d be enjoying a gorgeous East Tennessee day.
The trees were already in the clear of fog near their tops. What a sky! It’s great to be alive on a morning like this!
Every now and then I see something insignificant that catches my eye. The sun may touch it a certain way or it may contain exaggerated colors. Something about it makes me want to photograph it. So it was with the old, bleached out log below.
I couldn’t pass the beaver dam without shooting it. What a gorgeous spot!
It’s a good thing these cameras are digital and not film cameras. I don’t think I could enjoy this pastime due to the cost of film and processing.
He came down the shoreline just like clock work. I can find these guys anytime I want now. I have their timing worked out and their water pathways remembered. Beavers are a real treat to see at first light.
Look above how natural he is. He belongs in that setting. It is his river. Where do humans fit into the picture. Better question is why do humans have to fit in?
He’s a pretty boy for sure. Or, is it a girl?
I only shot a couple pictures and left him alone just like he wants to be.
Then I saw a lighter shad of brown behind the grass. I readied the camera as I thought I may be sneaking up on a deer that was still bedded down. With a feeling of sorrow I saw that it was a deer – a dead one.
She had a bullet hole in her shoulder. Further proof that humans can’t be trusted in the wild places. Absolutely senseless! What else can be expected from humans?
I took only two photos of the deer. The moment isn’t one I care to remember. At least she is relieved from the tortures of trying to survive in an unfriendly world where she is not only tormented by natural enemies, but also by the human element that takes joy in chasing her kind.
The fog has lifted and the sun has revealed many gorgeous scenes. Speaking of gorgeous scenes – have you ever seen so many Canada Geese in one spot?
They are the accumulation of many families of geese out for a stroll with their teenage kids. If you look you can determine the difference between young and adult. It’s in the colors. Look at their heads and “see” color differences.
There are teenage geese as well as younger geese in the group. Some of the chicks were definitely late births.
I thought the above three shots particularly pretty, as well as the first two that follow:
I enjoyed this day, to say the least. I wanted to escape even further by going to the "Man of Steel" movie this afternoon late. I like to escape allot anymore. Terrific movie, by the way.
Sometime between next week and the first of July I have to get up to Pennsylvania. I'll be taking the motorcycle up the Blue Ridge Parkway. I mentioned this in an earlier entry. I changed the air filter on the bike to a foam filter and the engine's running too lean now because it's getting more air through the foam material. Had to order up a carburetor part which hasn't arrived yet. It's been a long time since I've gone over that piece of road - a road I consider the finest in this country. That's about it for today. I'll be on Cherokee Lake tomorrow and we'll see what happens there. Not much I'm guessing. See ya then.
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