Gulf Coast Beach in September

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We were here first. There’s plenty of room; do you have to sit so close? Or maybe the story is: Come! Join us we’ll all have a good time. But more likely it’s, “How’s the water, Mabel? What does George have in his hands?

I’ve often read that “great photos always tell a story.” But I don’t think a single photo can ever tell a complete story. Stories have a beginning, middle and end. A single photo can only capture a small fraction of the story. Without context, this is simply a photo of a group of people at a beach with a vast ocean of water in the background. Are they family? Friends? Recent acquaintances? Are they stranded on a desert island? What is the story?

 

Summer Fades

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The quality of light is changing, the air smells a little bit like autumn. Hardwoods are still in full-leaf, but they’re getting ready for the changing season. It’s difficult to put a finger on precise changes, but they are coming. Nature’s aromas are different, the air feels different, the light isn’t quite so crisp.

 

Uncertainty

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…Then what should we work for?

Only this: proper understanding, unselfish action; truthful speech. A resolve to accept whatever happens as necessary and familiar, flowing like water from that same source and spring.

Marcus Aurelius, “Meditations” translated by Gregory Hays

Surf Symmetry

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Surreal Surf

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Surf and clouds manipulated a little bit in Photoshop. This was created at Fort Morgan, Alabama a day after Hurricane Barry tore through New Orleans. Weather in southern Alabama wasn’t so horrible: a light breeze and some rain with a little flooding in places. The photo has been dramatized, sensationalized and colorized, but other than that – it’s exactly as I envisioned it.

Green Water, White Sand

Clear green water and briliant white sand line the beach of Santa Rosa Island, Florida.

Fish River

A foggy afternoon with the camera pointed downstream on the Fish River from the pier at the National Estuarine Research Reserve Pitcher Plant Bog. Just beyond the bridge, fresh water from the river flows into the brackish Mobile Bay before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico.

Winter on the Gulf of Mexico

Fort Morgan, Alabama – Mid-day, the end of January. It’s cold, but calm. People come down to the beach for their morning walks, to collect seashells or driftwood, perhaps. Two men at the far right, near the horizon, were fishing from beach chairs while a Great Blue Heron closely monitored their activity.

Abandoned

Abandoned cabin cruiser sits in front of a derelict shrimp boat. Both have been abandoned for several years.

Along the Bon Secour River, which flows into Mobile Bay in southern Alabama, there is a large fleet of deserted shrimp boats. Some are huge, some rather small, but they all have been abandoned. Hurricanes or tropical storms have severly damaged most of them. Speculation is that they are too damaged to repair (repairs will cost more than the boat is worth). Other possible reasons are that the shrimp fishery is too depleted and competition too intense, the boats have paid for themselves and owners are no longer interested in the grueling work of shrimping, but then who knows.

Regardless, The Alabama Abandoned and Derelict Vessel Fund, established June 2018 and managed by the Secretary of the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency, is for payment of the seizure, removal, transportation, preservation, storage, advertisement, appraisal, and disposal of a derelict vessel. Effective June 1, 2018 Act 2018-179 relating to derelict and abandoned vessels, authorizes the removal of a vessel from the waters of Alabama under certain conditions by a law enforcement officer or a private property owner.  Previously, a property owner was responsible for legal fees, and litigation required to remove a derelict vessel from his dock. The costs were prohibitive.

Cracked and peeling paint, mold, and slime shows the typical condition of the abandoned fleet.

A smaller derelict craft lists to one side, tied to a crumbling dock.

Gulf of Mexico from the 27th floor of the Phoenix

…and a River Flows Around It

A clump of cattails and grass broke away from the bank of the White River, floated downstream and lodged against the Fishing Bridge in Montague, Michigan.

The Montague Flood – 2018

Standing water in Montague, Michigan after several days of heavy August rain.

After several days of heavy rain, Twisters Ice Cream shop in Montague is bounded by standing water to the south across the bicycle trail.

Butternut Creek rises with the rain, but quickly drains into the White River, which empties into White Lake. The water level in the Lake is 3 to 4 feet higher than it was two years ago. The beach on Lake Michigan, about 7 miles to the west, is almost non-existent.

Buttermilk Creek in Montague, Michigan. Although the water has receded significantly, it is still much above its normal level.

Her Bike

Story

It began to rain.

She parked her bike…

…and knocked on the door.

Mobile Bay, Sept. 19, 2017

Storm clouds build in the west as the sun crests the horizon in the east.

Winds of August on Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan waves crashing into the north pier of the White Lake Channel near Montague, Michigan is my Ooh, Shiny! entry for the WordPress weekly photo challenge.

Sunrise This Morning

I had the awesome experience of watching the sunrise over two different lakes this morning, June 7, 2017. We put the boat in at the western end of White Lake where I took the first photo, and then motored out to Lake Michigan where I caught a different view about 20 minutes later. I’m liking this smart-phone camera more every time I use it.

To make the day even better, we caught two King Salmon, which equaled our catch for the entire season last year.

 

Sunrise over White Lake, June 7, 2017.

Sunrise over Lake Michigan, June 7, 2017.

Order

Rainbow Over the Columbia River Gorge

Photo taken from the wedding venue at Cave B Winery in Washington State

Evanescent

September Rain

Fallen leaves
Late September rain
The last swim has been swum

A wet cherub attends the pool
supervised by
an empty chair

H2O

Urban Wilderness

A small, wild spot with a warm, gentle personality in the town of Montague. Nonetheless, it’s only rubble in a stream seldom seen or even noticed.

Quest

Another White River Sunrise

Curve