Insomnia, Fog, & Fun

First there was the fun. While driving back from town after CrossFit I took a county road that had been closed for almost 5 years while FEMA told our township that they would only pay for them to put the little bridge back to the way it was. Um. Yeah, the bridge that failed in the 2016 flash flooding that didn't make the news.

See the structure in the middle? Twisted and torn with the road washed out on each side. This was not the historic flood of 2018 which traveled down a different watershed path.

Annnnnywaaaaay. The Road was now open after 5 years of being closed. I thought I'd enjoy a drive up from the valley to the ridge.

The bridge was rebuilt without the support structure in the middle of the stream. Eventually all of the little bridges over Black Bottom should be done this way as all 4 of them have structural damage. But our township is poor and they just patch things up for now.

As I drove Up from the valley, I recalled why I didn't take this road up. The road is very nice, very curvy and very pretty. But the left turn at the top of the ridge is a blind ... very blind turn. 

I did stop and park to take these shots back down the road as they reminded me of that famous highway in Door County that everyone wants to travel to and take photos of.

Which begs the question. Why do so many people want to take the same shots of the same scenery? Why not find something new?

Since I almost never ever take a road shot, I thought this turned out pretty cool. Not Door County, just a back road in the steep hills of our county.

I woke up to Dense Fog the next morning. Fog so bad you cannot see the pasture in front of the house. There was a Dense Fog Warning on my phone/weather app.

Imagine my delight to wake up to a near white out and know that I did not have to travel to work 30 miles away this time in it.

I considered driving up the river road to explore but decided that since I could not see the 'Ru, it probably wasn't a good idea. So Charlie and I decided to take a walk.

I put the IRChrome filter on the modified camera. 

The intent was to get some coolo fog IR shots and some spider web photos.

So I put the macro lens on the other camera and explored.

There is something unique and wonderful about seeing those gossamer threads that insects create. I try each year to also 'shoot' my neighbor's oat field when it is wet with dew. I have to get up there with that zoom lens and see how creative I can get.

So.

Now it was time for bed. I'd worked out at CF, mowed yard, hacked and wacked weeds, and it was time for rest.

So of course I began thinking about the stars and the next new moon and the next full moon. So in my mind I began to plot how, when, where, I would try shooting it.

My mind would not SHUT up, so eventually I got dressed and hiked out to the ridge.

This is where I sometimes come for sunrises. I lit up the foreground with my cell phone as an experiment.

Nothing exciting here. Too much light and the moon would rise in a bit.

Could I try the classic self portrait of me staring up into the Milky Way with my headlamp? Um.

Imagine me sitting on a gravel road in the middle of nowhere just thinking and staring into the sky. The first few tries were epic fails. My light was not bright enough, too bright, or whatever. So I kept at it.

I looked like I was doing some sort of Pagan Ritual in one of the shots. I have to keep this in mind for Halloween.

Eventually I got something I could live with.

Did I get the light right? Did the increase in humidity help?

I don't know, but I loved it. [Yes...here I am trying the shot that so many others have created...the fun in it was figuring it out and the challenge will be to make it interesting and different than all the other photos like this.]

Then the orange/red partial moon started to rise and I wished for my zoom. Instead I just decided to be happy and listen to the coyotes and the night creatures while I shared my insomnia with them.

All by myself

The world is about to go crazy.
I don't mean the 'world' news, I mean my private little corner of the world that involves my mother in law, sister in law, and husband.
MIL is going to come home from the Nursing Home Rehab today.
I anticipate some major changes of the daily routine yet again.

So on Sunday I decided to grab a some time by myself. I needed to stay pretty local even though I wanted to go back to Duck Egg. So I chose to go to the Double J Bridge. In September of 2016 we had a major storm with flash flooding. The Black Bottom Creek [that is the name all the old timers still call it] gathered the run off from the ridges and dry runs and it rushed down the long valley towards the Kickapoo River.
The JJ Bridge was over run with trees, trunks, parts of buildings, and the overwhelming power of rushing raging waters. The support beams are missing and exposed, there is a huge hole between the road and the bridge itself.
One more flash flood like that and I imagine the other bridges will be condemned.

Bridge JJ this fall:

And then on Sunday from the other side:

With such a dry winter and spring [so far] the water level has really decreased along this Trout Stream. There is no money in the budget as of yet for the township and the county to fix this bridge properly.

All of the bridges along 'Black Bottom' have been compromised, but JJ has been closed now since September 23, 2016. 

However, one can park nearby this bridge and fish for trout in the deep pools. I park and walk along the creek to look for pretty photos.

It was very cold Sunday morning so I was able to find some ice 'fingers' that develop from the stream water splashing upwards on to sticks and branches that are along the stream.

I really find them quite fascinating.

To get the two shots above, I did stand in the water. I wore knee high boots and the swift water came to just about my calves.

There is something very soothing about listening to the rushing water. 

I found a rock to sit on and just decided to enjoy the solitude for a bit.

Sticks, rocks, water. They make a tremendous soothing sound.

This was a long exposure of sorts.
I like long exposures. I like very long ones and shorter ones, depending on how I want to present something.
The shot above is 1.3 seconds. Just enough to give a feeling of the rushing water, yet not make it too smooth.

Then there is the 40 second exposure which makes takes on a different sort of character.
The water is smoothed out with patterns of white where the water splashes over rocks.
I look at the two and think I like the shorter exposure in this instance.

I did these two shots for fun. This one above is taken at 1/30th of a second. The rocks are nice and sharp. There is a sense of water flow.

Same shot, 1/3rd of a second. It changes the whole feel of the shot.
I feel this one shows a better sense of movement.

And...I leave you with a shot from the top of the bridge in 2010.

The stream has changed a lot since then.

I don't know how things are going to go from here on out but I will do as I always try to do.
Enjoy a bit of time by myself doing what I love.
Walking stream beds,
Walking the dogs,
Hiking,
or riding mules.

Even a small amount of time doing those things can make me feel recharged and ready to take on the world.
Well.
Sort of.