Morning, Hereabouts. October 25, 2011
Posted by littlebangtheory in Art and Nature.Tags: deerfield river, Florida MA, river fog, sunrise
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On the way to work today, I snagged a quick shot of the sun threatening to rise over the Deerfield river valley:
If you’ve been watching this site for a while, this shot will bore you – I’ve taken dozens of such photos from near here, but somehow the sight just keeps me snapping away, past shots be damned.
Later this week we’re anticipating our first snow, which will again transform our landscape into something magical.
I can’t wait!
Morning In The ‘Berks September 6, 2010
Posted by littlebangtheory in Art and Nature.Tags: Berkshires, Father Sky, Mother Earth, river fog, sunrise, the Sun
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A night of off-and-on rain slides slowly toward the twilight of morning. As the darkness gives way to light, heavy river fogs rise wraith-like from the valleys, wreathing the hills in gray mists.
You force yourself to roll out of bed, dress, swill a cup of yesterday’s coffee and stumble out to the car, intent on getting above the morning miasma, hoping to find a sunrise.
The road climbs and winds through narrow valleys, their walls obscured by drifting mists, ’till at last the mists thin and you break free into the space between the fogs of Mother Earth and the clouds of Father Sky, just in time to see them bow down to The Source, The Reason, The Sun:
So begins another day in the Berkshire Hills of Western Massachusetts.
Thank you, Mother Earth. Thank you, Father Sky. Thank you, Sun.
Rising Waters. August 3, 2010
Posted by littlebangtheory in Art and Nature.Tags: August, cool mornings, hot nights, river fog
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It’s August in New England.
Lying awake long into the hot, sticky nights, turning and turning again, searching for a cooler patch of cotton as the sheets stick to you, bind you to the ticking of the clock which presages the too-soon-to-come light.
It might seem like a lot of effort for very little return.
And just when the window fan begins to blow in blessedly cooler air, it blows in with it the cursed half-light of an approaching dawn.
You startle awake (were you sleeping?? ) to the electronic shrill of an alarm clock, the only one you’ve found which you can’t sleep through, and, muttering things I won’t repeat, you get up to pee, pausing in despair as the bathroom mirror attempts to scare you with the worst vision of Bed Hair you’ve ever seen.
Well, it’s August, dammit, and at least you won’t be the only one at work who looks like a cat’s matted present on the back door stoop.
But if you have a camera, or even a few extra minutes to stop and look, and if you happen to cross a river or three on the way to work, you might be blessed with the consolation prize of unsettled waters escaping their burbling beds, rising wraith-like through the finally cooler air, condensing and dripping back down through the trees along the banks:
…dampening and darkening the labors of sprites and fairies and the women who live in the woods:
Some will escape the forest’s clutches and continue onward, flowing down the serpentine vales of the Berkshires:
…converging over the Deerfield, then dissipating at the untenable thought of rolling past cities to the sea:
It’s no substitute for a good night’s sleep, but it is a nice way to start another August day.
A Day In The Life. July 24, 2010
Posted by littlebangtheory in Art and Nature.Tags: chickory, cornflower, cows and corn, frogs, hayfield, river fog, summer heat, sunset, water lily
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It’s been hot and steamy here of late, both day and night. I’ve been getting home from work drenched and filthy with concrete dust. It’s about all I can manage through my torpor to take a shower, have some dinner and lie naked in front of a fan ’till sleep comes.
So it’s been a while since I’ve felt much like photo-hunting, much less blogging; my apologies to those of you who come here regularly.
Nonetheless I have gotten a few shots, here cobbled together to represent the best of this stretch of summer.
Hope you like them.
Morning fog on the Deerfield river:
Cattle grazing under an interesting sky:
A cornflower (chickory) blossom echoes the clean colors of a July sky:
Two little frogs waiting for their lunches to be attracted by a pond lily:
A gibbous moon rises over a cornfield in mid-afternoon:
Cumulus clouds over a hayfield at dusk:
A fiery sunset:
And finally, last light reflected in a Windsor bog:
I’m looking forward to autumn and a full resumption of shooting and blogging.
A Visit To Mount Greylock. May 15, 2010
Posted by littlebangtheory in Art and Nature, macro photos.Tags: Mount Greylock, rainbow, river fog, trillium, trout lilies, white trillium
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Friday’s work had me enduring the worst of what construction survey has to offer, jackhammers and concrete dust in downtown North Adams.
So after work I was ready for something different, and headed up to the access road to Mount Greylock State Reservation, hoping to find some roadside wildflowers.
I did a bit better than that; the gate was open, the first time I found it so this year, and I went the distance.
The Take was pretty good, with Trout Lilies being abundant:
…and the much less common White (Painted) Trillium in bloom:
These shots were taken along the road up to Massachusett’s loftiest peak. At a humble 3,491 feet it’s not a jaw-dropper, but with 3,000 feet of elevation gain above the surrounding valleys, it still cuts an impressive profile. This shot is from high up on the northern shoulder:
Clouds approaching from the west portended rain with a display of Jesus Rays:
…then soaked me and my equipment in a brief shower, leaving us as quickly as it had arrived, and with a gift for our troubles:
The evening ended with a return to the lowlands, where a fog was rising from the just-wetted fields:
Thanks to all of you who find the time to share my journeys. You’re the reason I take my camera with me, and the reason I release the shutter along the way.
G’Morning! July 27, 2008
Posted by littlebangtheory in Art and Nature.Tags: corn, garden, river fog
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After a night of rain, the sun rises, and with it, the river:
We’ve been needing the rain; crops and gardens are behind schedule:
Now the race is on, with the weeds taking an early lead and my garden plants struggling to stay competitive.
At least the woodchucks haven’t returned!
Little Bang Theory 