Image #236 – Wild Horses

Near Green River, Wyoming there is a road called Wild Horse Scenic Loop. The Wyoming Travel and Tourism website describes it this way:

Here, on the mesa-like summit of White Mountain, the Pilot Butte Wild Horse Scenic Loop Tour skitters roughly 23 miles along good, gravel-base roads. Travel this route and along the way you gain not only many chances to spy roans, blacks, paints, appaloosas and sorrels, but panoramic views of the Wyoming Range to the west, the Wind River Range to the northeast and the Uinta Range to the south.

The website also notes that there are 800-1000 wild horses on the 392,000 acre White Mountain Management Area. I only traveled about half of the loop but I did see some horses, about 6 or 8. It is comforting to know that horses run free in parts of this country. Quite naturally they are a little skittish of humans but I was able to get close enough to snap a picture of this young one. ❧

May 5, 2014 0

Image #235 – Wyoming Hills

My westward journey continues. After a wonderful week in Denver, Colorado, Tango and I are once again in route to Portland, Oregon. I chose to go around the Rockies rather than over them. There is still quite a bit of snow at the higher elevations. One route that I hoped to take in Wyoming — the Snowy Range Rd. — was closed because there is still 6 feet of snow at the peak. Flurries are forecast for Wednesday in Green River, where we stopped for the night.

But today was a good travel day. Things were very mild for the first part of the trip. As we headed further north into Colorado the terrain became more rugged and we stopped for a brief excursion. Tango had great fun on the rocks.

Once we got past the northern most point of the Snowy Mountain range the winds began to pick up and soon the warning signs were advising drivers with light trailers to seek alternative routes. I’m not sure there are alternative routes. The signs warned of 35mph+ winds but, honestly, after my experience in Kansas last Monday it all seemed rather tame. What doesn’t kill us does make us stronger. ❧

May 4, 2014 0

Image #234 – Blown Away

The entire country has suffered from this latest bout of “weather”. It should actually be WEATHER!!!! So many died in Arkansas from the tornados and who can say how many others died in isolated, small incidents. There were times on Monday when I thought my van was going to be pushed right off the road. I have no doubt that some were.

I had hoped to leisurely tour Kansas and take pictures of the new season. Fields were plowed everywhere which made the dust all the more prevalent in 40-50mph winds. Pictures were often out of the question. At one point I stopped but could not open the door!! It was a sustained gust and eventually subsided but it removed any interest I had in venturing outside.

I managed a few shots. This one show the grasses bowing before the wind and the light gave the scene an odd, Andrew Wyeth look. Clever stuff, grasses. They can bend right down to the ground, as these did, and be back proud and tall the next day. There’s a lot to learn from grasses. One thing is for sure, both the grasses and the humans are ready for the winds to stop. ❧

April 30, 2014 1

Thunderstorms in Kansas

Tango and I are in Salina, Kansas tonight. It has been a long short day. I had hoped to visit the Eisenhower Museum in Abilene but the weather had other ideas. About two hours into our drive we encountered this: That’s my iPad propped up on the car dashboard showing the thunder cell that descended on us as we entered Kansas City, Missouri. We were under the red section at the time. Being from Florida I thought I knew about thunderstorms but this Missouri thunderstorm was incredible. Hard, blinding rain that did not move on nearly fast enough. I pulled off the road and parked in a hotel parking lot where I sat for almost an hour, eventually stretching out for a nap.

After the rain the winds began and have continued all day. The van, with its cargo carrier on top, was a prime target for wind gusts. It made for an interesting day. I was glad that I had planned a short day of driving but disappointed that I did not get to see Ike’s museum. By the time we reached Abilene it was after 4 and the museum closed at 4:45.

Still, the day was not a loss. The heartland is so beautiful right now. The vast fields are lush and green. Coming out of Topeka the road descends into the plains and for as far as you can see the countryside is a patchwork of green and brown. The winds kicked up quite a bit of dust, giving the view a hazy look that made it all the lovelier.

Tango was quite distressed and disoriented with the wind. He was not a happy camper. The sun finally emerged and I pulled into a rest stop that was nestled into some hills. Here we were protected from the wind for a while and we sat in the sun under the redbud tree watching the traffic go by.

…traffic that included two very large trains. It had been a long while since I had see a train but to see two in a short period time only accentuated the fact that I was in a different place.

Tomorrow we will press on to Denver. The winds are forecast to continue and a planned photo shoot on backroads in Kansas seems less appealing. I’m certain I could not live on the plains. Much too gritty for me. ❧

April 27, 2014 0

Image #232 – Kentucky Splendor

I’ve completed the first leg of my cross-country trip and I am safely arrived in Columbia, Missouri. This morning I awoke in Oak Grove, KY, just outside of Ft. Campbell. During the night a storm had passed through and everything was wet and gray. Fortunately the storm was moving east and I was headed west. The gray skies disappeared after about an hour of driving and the rest of the day was splendid. The spring colors are everywhere, an endless paraded of pinks, mauves, and whites with backgrounds of soft green or coral colored buds.

Yellow mustard plants are everywhere but nowhere as exquisite as this field that I passed not long after entering Interstate 24West. Farmers plant mustard for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it is harvested, other times it is plowed back into the earth, a sort of green manure. I do not know the intent of this farmer but I am grateful to have seen his crop in full bloom. It reminded me of another spring, 24 years ago, when Robert and I were in Italy. We traveled from Rome to Florence by train and along the way there was acre after acre of mustard plant in full bloom, painting the hills in broad swarths of happy yellow. All the world celebrates spring. ❧

April 25, 2014 4

Image #231 – The Small Stuff

Spring is about cherry trees, glowing tulips, and forsythia … big, bright things. But spring is also about very small things. Like this little yellow flower that has popped up all over my driveway. The Roosevelt dime gives you a good idea of just how small it is. We pass these small things by without a thought. “Don’t sweat the small stuff,” we say. But in the time that I was sitting, observing this flower it was visited by multiple flying insects, enjoying its sweet nectar. Those insects moved on to pollinate other, larger flowers and also become a morsel for the many birds that are back and very busy. The small things feed the big things and make it all happen. So, it’s okay to sweat the small stuff sometimes. . . .we couldn’t get along without it. ❧

April 14, 2014 0

Image #229 – Fawn Hill spring

I’m back at Fawn Hill in western North Carolina where spring has arrived. You can almost feel the land exhale in a collective sigh of relief. Today it is cool and rainy but on Saturday we had a very nice day with sun and mild temperatures. Tango and I decided to take a walk in the neighborhood.

Green grass is popping up and Potts Branch, the stream in the center of this picture, is swelling with plenty of spring rain. The old shed up the street from our house seems warmer in the spring air but is still very foreboding to me. I half expect Jud Fry to walk out. If you’ve never seen the 1955 movie Oklahoma you won’t know what I’m talking about but I can tell you that Rod Steiger made a lasting impression on an eight-year-old girl and smokehouses still give me the willies.

But I digress. This is about spring! Nature celebrates spring in many ways and humans follow suit. There are some who make bold proclamations, like these magnificent blooming trees. They are, I think, bradford pear trees. I suspect their owners hold their breath every winter, praying that an ice storm won’t take them out. They seem vulnerable on the hill crest but they are beautiful.

Lots of people enjoy the forsyth bush. And why not? Anything that screams “Yellow” with such exuberance is okay in my book.

And daffodils are always in abundance. The previous owner of our land planted quite a few around the property but they are the miniature variety and most had faded by the time I got back. Down the road a bit, however, I found this great stand. So many eager faces, they make me think of children vying to be on camera.

So many beautiful flowers at this time of year.

And a final blossom, just peaking out, was found on one of our apple trees. It holds such promise. Yum, I can already taste their fruit. ❧

April 7, 2014 1

Image #223 – Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)

A Cattle Egret. One of my favorite birds. This one has his mating feathers and is very handsome indeed. The younger ones look very punish when their beautiful crown feathers start to fill in. They are aptly named and can often be found in pastures among the cattle. ❧

March 26, 2014 1

Image #222 – Ancient Oak/Ancient People

Tango and I came across this incredible, ancient oak tree while exploring at Myakka River State Park last week. The base of the trunk was enormous and I would estimate that it would take three people holding hands to encircle it. Its gnarly, pock-marked bark put me in mind of my cousin Bunny and a song that John Prine wrote and was covered by numerous people, including Kris Kristoferson and Bette Midler. Called “Hello in There” the lyrics go:

You know, Old trees just get stronger/Old rivers grow wider every day

But old people just get lonesome/Waiting for someone to say

Hello in there/Hello.

That describes my cousin Bunny perfectly. She will be 94 years-old tomorrow (March 26) and she has a form of dementia that is so hard, for her and us. She cannot retain any recent memory. She awakens and her mind is blank. She wonders where she is but when you tell her she cannot retain it. Things loop around continuously. I am very patient with her and have discovered that if you are patient enough (and she must be patient too) you can get some things to “stick.” Once that process happens you can dig deeper and things begin to emerge. She seems to have memories of 2005-2007 but not much beyond that. The fall that injured her pelvis and led her to the ALF occurred in 2010. So for 4 to 7 years she has been floating in the dream-like world wherein she frequently is driving and she awakens thinking she has just driven in from New England or “the boonies.” I asked her what the “boonies” are and she said “the Florida forest.” I wonder what images she is tapping into because she has been coming to Florida since the 1940s.

It is wondrous on many levels but on a basic human level it is very sad. Two days ago she got into a loop of asking if she had asked these questions before.

“Yes,” I reply.

“Today?” she asks.

“Yes,” I reply.

“Several times?” she asks.

“Yes,” I reply.

“Well,” she drolly replies, “that must be tiresome.”

I could only laugh … and hope the tears in my eyes don’t fall down my cheeks. ❧

March 25, 2014 0

Image #221 – Captive Bluebird

There was an unexpected visitor this morning. A bluebird got stuck in the pool cage! I can’t recall ever seeing bluebirds in Sarasota. The first one I saw was a couple of years ago in Laurel. But since staying at Mary’s I’ve seen several, at least three at a time. Hard to say if it’s a family settling in or just “snowbirds.”

We aren’t sure how this fellow got into the pool cage His mate was outside calling to him and he would answer–frantic, reassuring? Oh, to understand what birds say.

This shot displays his beautiful tail feathers.

And here is a good shot of his chest.