Enough About the Creek, Already!

So says my disgruntled Editing Cat, Bud. But Budster, I’ve gone back and worked out a geography of highlights in the 2015 autumn pictures. Phsssst! (That’s what he’s thinking.)

Watery theater of wonders

Starring details of prior posts are seen within, or close by, this creekside view. Just right of center you see a branch midstream, holding trapped leaves, water sloshing over them; Detail #1. I snapped away at these mad colors and currents. I thought the branch had drifted there during prior high water events, but when this closer scrutiny revealed so many downed branches in the vicinity, I felt that maybe a small tree fell near the creek. You see a long pole up on the shore, resting beside the base of the tree that splits into two trunks and always casts the large, provocative shadows on the water. The oblique shadow of the fallen trunk or branch, which wasn’t there in 2014, extends to the left of the picture. Those shadows and surrounding water wrinkles are Detail #2, which I snapped and cropped extensively. Detail # 3 is along a slightly curving line from Detail #1 towards the right, somewhere within the leaf thatch over the stony proximal bank. There was a spot where the sun glared ferociously off ripples and nearby trapped leaves. The water was low this year, so I was able to walk out on the semi-moist rocks amidst the leaves, and reel in the glitter. To the left, outside the frame of this picture, not far away there was a leaf clump including bright reds against the bank, Detail # 4; which includes riffles set beautifully aglow in the slanting afternoon sun.

This small area provided four locations of high interest, along with other scenes I chose for 2015’s first fall creek post, here:

https://catwoodsporchparty.wordpress.com/2015/11/08/the-heartbreak-light-of-autumn-part-1-the-creek-with-cat/

Nice leaf catch!

Detail # 1, a mid-range view of the very fine underwater leaf patch, appeared in the “Heartbreak 1” link.

Afternoon glimmer

Closer view of Detail #1 and Detail #2 above shows how close they really are.

Zooming in on the unknown

Detail # 2, Just what’s in this creek, anyway? Characters seem to be immersed in the shallows, maybe creeping from under the far bank? Formerly landscapes, now ripe for pictorial invention … the stuff of animated legends about the woods … a mental leap almost like my old mixed media process, in which I used to put down color and then find the figures there, coax them out. Shown in this link:

https://catwoodsporchparty.wordpress.com/2013/09/23/cat-inspected-art/

Except here I have less control … Whoa:

Weird emergence

Come closer

A few steps back …

Whew! It’s only the combination of rocky creekbed with shadows, changing as light slants through water …

Detail # 3, not shown in this post, is in both the “Heartbreak 1” link above, and in “Creek Walks” at this link:

https://catwoodsporchparty.wordpress.com/2016/01/19/creek-walks-years-end-surprise-frog-helpful-cat/

Detail #4, also not shown in this post, is heavily featured in “Creek Walks”.

So we’ve mapped our loci of distinction for Fall 2015. I couldn’t have identified these with precision before I went back and studied the long shots. When shooting pictures, I work fast. I’ve got a limited amount of stamina, a short time I can stand up, and walk. I pay no attention to where I am, except to sort what’s beneath my feet, either land (we’re cool) or water (oops we’ve splashed in). I have a tremor and if I’m lucky, I’ll be able to keep still enough for the second it takes the camera to grab a shot.

But wait, here comes …  Here’s the creek after only one of the big rains we’ve had since October, taken December 28, 2015. Wash, rinse, repeat, reset. Enough of my fall highlight chart, already! So much for my handy guide:

High water December 28, 2015

On February 6, 2016:

Calmer waters but more flow than October

All leaves are gone, along with the downed limb that held the bright bouquet. The water is down from gully-washing level, but up higher than it was in October. The big pole by the tree, with the slanting shadow, is still there. The mischievous shadow cast by the tree is still dancin’ …

In a small area of creek and banks, every cubic foot was packed with tantalizing visual treats. What else could I have snapped if I’d walked further downstream? What if I could scramble down embankments like I used to? Further on, the bank rises above the creek and you can’t get really close for a time unless you can slide and step down the steep slope. I’ve never even been across the the creek in the location I’m photographing, to check out the view from the other side. What further adventures are out there!? Imagine the treasures on any of Earth’s zillion creeks!

Natural free-flowing creeks keep us in photo ops and mood boosts. Humans will also like the clean water we’ll be able to keep on using if we turn our attention towards preservation. Here’s my environmental essay about that:

https://catwoodsporchparty.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/tributary-becoming-green-warriors-of-the-red-earth-country/

Phsssst. I’m waiting, I’m watching:

Bud, large and opinionated Editing Cat

I thank the editor for his forbearance while I’ve gone on about the creek! He’ll be purring when we get back to feline topics. Just don’t tell him he won’t be the only cat in the posts!