Teddy Bear ~ Percy

"It's hot and muggy," my husband said. "It's awful out there."
I nodded and shrugged on my backpack.

Indeed it was. Hot and terribly muggy. Too hot to take a dog with me, so I stuffed a second water bottle into the side of the pack.

I really didn't need to go out hiking. I was sure the fences were okay. I'd done quick check during morning chores while it was raining and everything was working as it should have been.

We'd had about 3 1/2 inches of more rain overnight and somewhere around 3AM, I'd awakened to lightening, thunder, and the sound of heavy rain pouring down outside.

My only thought was that of Percy, the Teddy Bear, the Creek Bear. Was he high enough? I left him out of flood range, but...the sounds of the pounding rain on the steel roof left me full of doubt. Stupid me and my fun ideas of having toys sit and watch over the creek.

But really, I just couldn't help myself. I like the forest, I like the woods. I like wandering with a sense of freedom. If I don't get to wander for a few days, I begin to feel like a trapped animal and get snippy and snarky. The walls of the house are nice to keep out the weather, but dang, don't let it keep me in!

Besides, I wanted to try something I'd read about. Instead of using an ND filter to 'shoot' scenes of water, I'd try a different method. No filters. So I took my Olympus camera with the broken lens thread. I couldn't add a filter if I wanted to.

And off I went into the heat "to check on fences" of course. And...to check on Percy of course. If you haven't guessed it by now, I have an affection for toys and photographing them in nature.

I found Percy safe and sound sitting high up on the bank. I plucked him off the blue plastic chair by his ear and took him along. He was wet, soggy, and still rather muddy. I was beginning to like this Teddy Bear. He had character.

I stopped in the shade to set up a shot of the 'beach'. The new flash floods had changed the creek flow and washed away a lot of sand and silt. I noted the new face lift and liked it. Mother Nature had re-arranged the bulldozing work to her satisfaction and mine.

 3 bracketed shots merged

I took the shots and then moved on. Water dripped down my face and into my glasses. I stopped to put on a sweatband. I picked my way upstream to the middle dry run and stopped.

Water was still flowing from the ridge top above and emptying into the creek.
I set Percy down in the water flow and watched curiously as the mud from his backside rinsed off and clouded the creek.

f22 @ 1 second

The sun had disappeared under a cloud bank and I shot this without bracketing.

No matter, Percy was now wetter and heavier, but I picked him up and continued upstream. I considered setting him down and just grabbing him on the way back.
I even tried it but picked him up again.
I don't know why.

By the time I picked my way over the slippery rocks and got to the where the fence-line is supposed to be. The sun was out strong and hot. I had finished one water bottle.
I sat down on a mossy rock and decided to just sit for a bit. Water dripped off my chin and dropped onto my lap.

Oh wait. Wasn't I supposed to be checking fencing?

I pulled off my boots and socks and put my feet in the creek. I tried to sit Percy up next to me, he kept slipping sideways. Maybe he just didn't want to sit there.

I thought about checking the time on my cell phone in the backpack, but I let it be.

I decided to try the merge method of shooting the little pond and the tiny waterfalls over the rocks.

I packed up and headed back. I started in on the other water bottle and carefully picked my way back to the trail with Percy in tow.

I kept trying different spots to photograph the Teddy Bear, but none seemed to fit.
Until I got back to the rock where I'd set him a few days ago.

More rain was predicted for the overnight hours and I wasn't going to loose any sleep over a Teddy Bear, so I took Percy with me.

"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."
John Muir