Luna Noctiluca

The moon illusion doesn't work very well here.
We're in a valley, and Selene is already well on her journey before she rises over the mountain.
The clouds played hide-and-seek, and it was all quite lovely anyway.
The moment the first shiny diamond chip of a moon slipped over the top of the trees, it was as if a cue had been given, and coyotes began howling in the distance. Chillbumps and laughter!
I suspect the show continued all night, but we slept through it.

We woke just in time to see her making way for Eos and Helios, early this morning.

Foam Pool at Manido Falls

Here is another shot from Manido Falls on the Presque Isle River that I've been anxious to share. This is a 6 second exposure that shows the movement of foam below the falls. I loved this little pool on the side of the river because the foam was moving in slow circles which made for an intriguing long-exposure image. I sure wish I lived closer to this river, as it is an amazing one to photograph!

Redwood National and State Parks

Redwoods are cool. They make you realize that Mother Nature is AWESOME! It is humbling, to say the least, to stand in the shadow of a giant Redwood tree and realize that it has been living for more than 1,000 years. In fact, Redwoods can live to be as much as 2,200 years old and grow to be almost 400 feet tall and 26 feet in diameter. The bark of a Redwood tree can grow to be 12" thick. Yet for all their size and grandeur, Redwoods originate from one of the smallest cones to be found in the world. The cones produced by a Redwood tree are typically only about one inch long.


I spent the last two days exploring different areas of Redwood National and State Parks. This area is in northern California, between San Francisco and the Oregon border. This was my second time visiting the Redwoods and I enjoyed this visit as much as the first. The Redwood forests are, in a way, like the Grand Canyon. Their immense size is a wonder to behold, yet the feeling of that immensity is very difficult to portray in a photograph. More than anything, it is simply a wonder to take a walk beneath the canopy of a Redwood forest.

Above: I saw this plaque on a bench in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. It's a quote from Shakespeare which reads: "One Touch of Nature Makes The Whole World Kin". I thought it was a sentiment worth sharing, and I did my part by giving one of my giant Redwood relatives a hug :-)

Moose on the Pigeon River

These images were taken yesterday during my paddling outing on the Pigeon River. I saw these two Moose just minutes after putting in to the river. When I first came upon them there was one on each side of the river. After watching them for about 15 minutes, one swam across to join the other and they walked into the woods together. It was a beautiful day to be on the water and seeing these Moose made the day extra special!

Carry-out pizza and biking don't mix

There are certain things in life that, for obvious reasons, you should not combine to do at the same time.
You shouldn't drive and text message at the same time, though I'll confess to being guilty of that a time or two in my life. You also shouldn't walk and read at the same time, even though any rushed college student cramming for an exam will admit to doing so at one point.
Sunday night, I discovered two more activities you should not be engaged in at the same time: picking up a carry-out pizza while biking.
Now, I know a lot of are probably saying "Duh, that's kind of obvious." Maybe it should have been obvious to me. But at the time, with the perfect weather outside and my legs anxious to get more exercise (strange, since I already ran 11 miles that day), it became a good idea.
Besides, as anyone who owns a bike can probably tell you, there's a fulfillment that comes from reaching a destination on two wheels that simply can't be matched by driving there. Rather than relying on your car's engine, you're relying on your legs to take you where you need to go. A mere trip across town requires more ambition on a bike than it does in a car, which make the goal of the trip (in this case, a large meat lovers pizza from Pizza Hut) taste even better upon reaching it.
So with my ambitious/adventurous side trumping common sense, I grabbed my backpack, hopped on my bike and took off for Pizza Hut. I even stopped to pick up a movie up at Blockbuster along the way just to add to the indulgence.
As the photo would indicate, I was at least partially successful in my quest for meat lovers goodness. The pizza box did in fact fit snugly in my backpack and allowed enough clearance for the pack to close. However, the laws of gravity, combined with the curved back posture that comes from riding a road bike, caused the pizza to shift to one side of the box for the duration of the trip home. By the time I got back to my apartment, the pizza was scrunched up like an accordion and most-decidedly less appealing for consumption.
Not that it's disheveled appearance stopped me from eating it. I was starving at that point and needed something to consume while watching the movie I rented ('Synecdoche, New York,' in case you're wondering).
However, the next time I feel the ambition to go biking in the hopes of retrieving ordered food, I think I'll try Subway instead.

Strawberry Pickin' Time!

Laurel and I showing our hands stained with strawberry juice after picking at our local farm.



I froze all I picked (subtracting the ones that got eaten first).  I have jam left from last year, so I don't need to make any. We'll probably go one more time before the season is over just to get fresh ones to eat.  Yum!  Nothing better!  I've eaten so much strawberry shortcake I'm sick of it.  We even had it for breakfast.  Such decadence!

Indulge Me With Another Rant

I just don’t get it.  Honestly, I’ve racked my brain trying to understand why people feel the need to leave their mark by defacing things, but I still don’t get it.

From the “call me for a good time” phone numbers on the doors and walls of public toilets … to the “Jack ♥ Jill” professions of love carved into trees … to the “John Was Here” on whatever date scribblings on whatever surface is available … I just don’t get any of them.

We’ve been traveling for over 30 years now, and we’ve seen graffiti everywhere we’ve gone; in every city and country and continent we’ve visited.  Well, OK; we didn’t see any in Antarctica, but that’s a rare exception.

Not once have we been tempted to leave our mark in such an ugly way.  In fact, we try to make sure that we leave no more than our footprints behind … ever.  Is there some joy in defacing things that we’re missing out on?  Are we going to be scarred for life because we’ve neglected to write our names on a wall somewhere?  If so; then so be it.  We can live without that kind of “ugly” joy.

We came across this Bob Was Here sign the first day that we ventured into the park.  It was on the trail behind the John Oliver Place.  There were several others scattered around the park as well.  You can read the words for yourself (click for a bigger version if necessary).

How sad it is that we even need such signs.  Not that they seem to be doing much good; we saw graffiti on the walls of every heritage building we went into — some as new as .  There were probably newer ones, but I was so disgusted that I turned away, helpless to do anything about it.

Just some of the graffiti we saw at the Gregg-Cable House and the Lawson Place.

And then there was the cross vine hanging down over the Abrams Falls Trail on the way to the falls; gone by the time we trekked back two hours later.  Needless destruction of another sort.  But I’ll limit my rant to one topic and save that one for a later time.  Unfortunately, we’re bound to encounter more of both as we continue to travel.

Peppermint Stick Zinnia

We were late in planting the garden, so even the quick-starters are just starting to be productive. Last year, I wasted a lot of money on exotic seeds that never germinated. Since I couldn't be sure if it was the seeds or it was me at fault, I decided to keep the flower experiments simple until I had a clue about what I was doing.
Zinnias are easy. Zinnias truly are "Flowers for Dummies". So I bought almost every Zinnia mix that Johnny's offers.

The Peppermint Stick is supposed to be a "fully double bloom".

They're not exactly turning out like that, though. (Compare with the image in that last link.)

Maybe they need more water. I kind of like them this way, though.

One of the "small percentage of solid colors" they warn you about.

This one's trying to go for "double" I guess. Sometimes one of the petals is a solid color like this. I found that if I cut them at this point, those inner petals never unfurl. They seem to stay frozen in time at the moment of cutting.
Like all the other Zinnias, they have excellent staying power as a cut flower.

Search on hold

The prognosis on my shoulder is a grade 2 muscle-tear (whatever that is). The good news is that I can ride my bike, the bad news is that there won't be any dirt roads or gradients over 20% for a good couple of weeks. Fortunately, this morning's 50km in the rain had none of those things. Some of you may be aware of my obsession -- my need to find Horseshoe Falls, on the western side of Springbrook. There are two possible access routes, and some time ago, I decided to explore one of them. Since I won't be able to complete this search for a little while, now seems an opportune time to discuss my most recent progress.

This particular trip involved heading through the hills of Advancetown (an ironic name if ever I've heard one), alongside Advancetown lake. This is actually quite a pleasant ride, but one that I don't get to do very often these days. In the past it was my chosen route to get to Numinbah Valley, but today I was using it only as an access route for Chesters Road, which is one of the two possible access points I mentioned above. Chesters Road itself is an extremely scenic dirt road which isn't actually as steep as Google maps suggest it should be. Today there was a bonus, an unseasonal display of Banksias.


The road "ends" after a few kilometres, replaced by a dirt track that continues up the mountain. Here, I could see the falls in the distance, but I still needed to find a way to get to them. I continued up the mountain, the number of spider webs I rode through suggested not many venture in this direction. A few tracks branched off mine, and I did take the time to explore a couple of them, but none of them led the way to where I wanted to go. The views did open up at times on the higher areas. Eventually, the "main track" that I was following became impassable on the bike, so I continued on foot for a while. Time constraints, along with the time I had wasted on the side tracks meant that this wasn't a viable option today, but a pink ribbon tied around a tree suggests that this route has potential on another day.



All that was left now was the ride home, after descending the "track" and Chesters Road, I now had two options -- the return via the way I came, or the climb up the western side of Springbrook on the infamous Pine Creek Road, complete with 24% gradients. I opted for Pine Creek Road for the variety, and this ride, too, didn't seem as difficult as I thought it might with one climb in my legs already. At one stage on the climb I could see the falls (now that I knew where to look). Of course, riding home this way provided it's own scenic rewards.

I am close to fulfilling this particular obsession. I have now pinpointed the exact location of the falls, and may have unearthed a potential access route when time and my shoulder get around to co-operating. This is going to happen, one way or another.

The North Carolina Arboretum

Finally, I am all caught up on my blogging (with this post). Today is a relaxing day. In the morning, headed to The North Caroline Arboretum. Spent a couple hours walking around and shooting flowers.
Admission to the Arboretum is free. There is a parking fee (currently $8). The first Tuesday of the month parking is free. Check their web site to verify since motel rack cards are out of date.
While the Arboretum opens at 8am, the Baker Exhibit Center, Education Center, and Bonsai Exhibition Garden open at 9am. I was starting early to beat the heat (though that is not so bad as it has been).
I was thinking of walking some of the trails of the Arboretum, but my legs still need the rest. I could have brought a bike to ride on the grounds. Actually, I am feeling its time to load up the bikes for the trip home, too.
Later in the day, it was a nap and packing for the return trip. Glad i spent another day here before heading the road again.

Do Never Test

Do never test my sunsets. Actually, it's been a while since we had a really stunning one, so perhaps this shot is overdue:



That was on Friday evening, shortly after we'd had 70mm of rain dumped in less than one hour.

Salt Cures Everything

"THE CURE FOR ANYTHING IS SALT WATER~ TEARS, SWEAT, OR THE SEA."

Isak Dinesen
Lucky for you I don't have a photo of sweat!

BLACK GOLD

The dogs thought it was their lucky day - two huge sacks of dog food at the side of a quiet country road. We popped the bags into the boot of the car and brought them home.





As soon as Pip and Toby got another whiff they got really excited - horse poo - their favourite!





Finally we have managed to get some horse manure for the garden - normally when we pass anywhere offering it for free, there is none left. Our luck was in today. It is safely tucked away out of the dogs reach, waiting for time to work its magic and turn this muck into black gold for the garden.





As for the dogs - well they'll just have to make do with their usual.





The Aged Aunt is fine - but refuses to wash or change just in case she knocks her head... We'll try again tomorrow.





Your Pa has just finished working on the wall, the rain has closed in for the day and the light is going anyway. The wall headers are almost down to the herb garden now. He is making a great job of it but doesn't want me to do any photos until it is complete.





It was great having a chat with you today - you are looking very well indeed. Must be down to all those chicken feet and grisly things you are eating! Talking of which, it is time I fed the dogs and cats. Then I shall have to think of what to cook for this evening.









Lots of love,





Mum

xxx

Mini Tour de Bluffs

Weather forecast yesterday was for hot and humid. If I wanted to ride, it would need to be in the early morning. There was a ham radio flea market in Red Oak (not planning to attend), so not sure who might show for breakfast.
Anyway, I drove to N. 16th HyVee for my bike ride, breakfast, and groceries. Headed on the Iowa Riverfront Trail before sunrise.
The morning was foggy. Made of some interesting photo opportunities. As the sun came up. I saw what I was looking for in my mirror. Stopped on the trail and took some photos.
Continuing on the trail past the casinos (looks like basically dry under Harrah's) and under I-80. Took a turn to the closed section of the trail - underwater. There is some brush clean-up needed from the other side of the flooded part of the trail. Took it easy on the gravel detour (not excited about riding the road bike on gravel).

The Trails Center was not open so rode past there, to Indian Creek Trail. Up to S 16th Ave and onto the 8th St connector. There was still some fog in the air. great for photos. (Watch for photos on the web site and future calendars).
I arrived back at my car about 8am - just time for breakfast. No one was in the restaurant so grabbed a card and picked up my PowerAde (a special price - 10 quart bottles for $10 plus 5 free with coupon). Before check-out, another ham showed up for coffee. I stopped to have breakfast and conversation.
For the afternoon, I spent lots of time on the computer. Selected photos for the calendar. Then resizing and lettering the calendar pages. Still have to work on the back cover.

Yard Birds

There has been a flurry of activity at my bird feeders the past two days. The pine grosbeaks showed up yesterday and today they were joined by some blue jays. The blue jays always make such a racket when they are around. There were 6 of them in the big pine tree out in front of my house, but you would have sworn there were 3 times that many by how much noise they were making. The birds hung around for most of the afternoon, and I spent about an hour shooting images of them with my telephoto lens. I have also had flying squirrels at my feeders just about every night, but strangely there have not been very many "regular" ground squirrels at my feeders this winter.