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Time and A Foggy Day VII:5, January 16, 2003 Copyright 2003, Newton Caldwell For the past couple of weeks I have been ill. I was in the grip of one of those nasty bugs that takes so much joy in ruining the quality of life. If it is mentioned to a doctor, the inevitable response is, "It's one of those things that is going around." My little malady struck me shortly before the end of my long holiday break. I felt rotten for three days - assumed I had a chest cold and waited for nature to take its healing course. At the end of three days, I felt much better and resumed my walks in the park. My first day on the trail was delightful. I had a nice time although I saw little about which I could tell others. The following day, we had rainy weather. I believe I sat out most of that day with possibly a quick shopping trip to relieve the boredom. A day later we were favored by another mild and sunny day. I took off for the park once again. I stopped for a sandwich along the way. Soon I was seated at a picnic table looking at the pond while enjoying my meal. In a short while I was joined by a hungry squirrel - then another and another. At last I was entertaining four of the little bushy-tails while I too was attempting to eat. The good weekend weather drew a number of other people to the park. There was a steady stream of walkers on the trail. The presence of others didn't seem to matter much to my hungry beggars. The only time I saw them all scurry up a tree was when a couple passed with an excited dog tugging on its leash. Two people had entered the park from the picnic area via the little connecting trail. They were half-hiding near a tree trunk and a sign watching my little guests and their peanut party. Once the dog arrived on the scene, I called over to the folks and told them that the show was probably over for the day. I had a few moments of peace when I could eat my sandwich. I ventured a glance overhead and saw a squirrel in the fork of some high branches watching my every move. It wasn't long until all my furry friends had returned for more handouts. Two women came along and stopped on the trail adjacent to the feeding table. They seemed to be enjoying the squirrel feeding almost as much as the squirrels. We had a conversation. While I was thus distracted, they told me that one of my small diners was lurking beside my bench and looking up in a pleading manner. It got a treat and scampered away. When the pair resumed their walk, I discovered that my squirrels had finally filled up, so it was time for my stroll. As I was going back to my car, I spied friend coming up the hill on Til's Trail. After a short chat, I invited her join me on the trail. She accepted. We had a pleasant conversation as well as a delightful jaunt. The next day I returned to work and discovered that my illness had reappeared to make my day at the office a miserable one. I decided to take a few days sick leave to try to recover from whatever it was that had me down before I passed my germs along to others. I finally saw my doctor on a regularly scheduled visit. He gave me medications that should have the condition cleared up in no time. >><><< Because I have had so few experiences to draw upon, I will include a day at another place in this report. I awoke on a weekday during the holiday break. When I looked outside, I saw that my part of town was shrouded in a nice, thick fog. I have been wanting to capture pictures of Black Bayou NWR in a fog. The usual outcome is that I have to occupy an office while the fog is at its most picturesque. I quickly packed myself into my car and drove the short distance to Black Bayou Lake. I was worried that the entire weather phenomenon could be cleared before I got to my destination. My good fortune held out, and I arrived at the parking lot while there was still a lot of low mist hanging over everything. I grabbed my camera and headed out to the long wooden pier built over the water. There is a beautiful grove of cypress trees at the end of that structure that I have been photographing in all sorts of climatic conditions. I have wanted to get it standing in a fog for years. I passed a group of other visitors as I neared the wooden structure. They appeared to go on to the nature trail that has been constructed through the forest. I hurried to the end of the pier to get my photos. Just as I arrived, I caught sight of the sun trying to break through the fog. I took a number of shots of the various scenes that were so wonderfully altered by the weather conditions. Off to one side of the pier, I could see a great white egret perched upon a limb, and a little closer I saw a mallard or two swimming in the shallow water. When I exhausted the possibilities I found, I returned to my car. There are two large oaks with dome-shaped canopies that flank the trail on either side. I got shots of both of them as well as other pictures of water and trees obscured by the ghostly white I drove to the new observation deck and looked around there for a while. I found a few examples of fungus that were growing on some wood at the water's edge. I then drove down the approach to the Education Center to take a few shots of that structure. As I was leaving the area, I stopped my car atop the railroad tracks for a shot of the rails disappearing in the distance and pulled over for one more set of pictures at the bridge over Bayou DeSiard. On one side I had noticed as I arrived that duck weed had been blown into a thick mat atop the water. Nothing was visible except the green and a few fallen leaves atop it. I am pleased to finally get my shots of that little cypress grove in the fog. Next I may try rain, and when it happens again, I may even attempt shots after an ice storm. A new set of photos awaits you at: http://home.earthlink.net/~memudge/. |