Category: Indiana

Just Trees 2

The tree pictures from Tuesday’s post were taken within a few minutes, exploring more space than time. Their complexity was due to structure and color. 

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This corresponds to one particular way how one can organize one’s life, through moments of significance, lived to the fullest. 

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Today’s tree images were taken over the course of an entire morning. Individually, they are much more simple — there are few colors, and the structure doesn’t overwhelm.

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This sequence suggests another way to consider one’s life, as a process, in acknowledgement of time passing.

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The fog in Tuesdays images was secretive, increasing the mystery of the single moment. Here, the fog is for protection from the penetrating light of the rising sun.

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Just Trees

After many cool and sunny days, we had a bit of rain yesterday, and the morning today brought out the glorious early fall colors of southern Indiana.

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What better could I do on today’s evening than to sort through the pictures I took before sunrise at Spring Mill’s State Park?

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There was dense fog over the lake, making things a bit spooky, but I decided to just show the trees.

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If trees get along for half a century and longer growing together, why do we humans have such difficulties with it?

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Have we stopped growing long ago, and become dry and gnarly?

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Let’s enjoy each other and not spawn hatred.

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Winter will be here soon enough.

Twin Swamps Nature Preserve II

There is, of course, the other, darker view of things.

In a swamp, things like to be messy, and so do we.

Mess, we think, can be cleaned up, but there are other things, like a constant harsh contrast between light and dark,

or, worse still, an unsharp uncertainty.

There are times when neither horizontal nor vertical means support,

or when it overwhelms.

This is a wondrous place. I will return soon. And leave again.

Twin Swamps Nature Preserve I

There are many ways to experience a place, or a person.

The Twin Swamps Nature Preserve in the south-western corner of Indiana features two swamps, and today we will look at the less challenging aspects of the Cypress Grove there.

The water level was low, exposing the adorable cypress knees to the fullest.

This is a completely alien biotope, and still our own concept of beauty applies.

I keep wondering: Is this because our concept of beauty is so naive, or so universal?

Infidelity (Mushroom 3)

After harvesting, cleaning, processing, eating, freezing, photographing my beloved chanterelles for over a month, it is maybe time to elope a little and have at least a careful look at what else is out there in the local woods.

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Let’s keep it anonymous. I don’t know enough about mushrooms to tell you their names.

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Nor do I know how safe they are. After all, I am just looking…

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Their beauty is admittedly tempting, though.

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Well, some of them look tastier than others.

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And this one’s best days are over. To be continued…

Two (Prairies II)

Today’s pictures are from an early morning visit to the prairies of the Columbia Mine Preserve in the middle of summer. 

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The light is extraordinary, as is the variety of life around you.

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In a few weeks, all the insects will become quiet, and the migratory birds will get ready to leave.

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The grass will become brown,

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and the trees will explode in color.

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This has been a strange year, and rarely have I longed more for it to be over.

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But there are still choices to be made.

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Chanterelle (Mushroom 2)

There are, more or less, two kinds of mushrooms: Those you can eat safely, and the other ones. Among the edible, I can identify morels and chanterelles. The latter ones have become abundant lately:

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Over the last few weeks, I probably have collected about 10 pounds. 

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They are not only beautyful, they also taste extremely well. So here are two micro-recipes:

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Step 1: Clean. A toothbrush will do. Don’t be squeamish, a bit dirt won’t harm you. This will also help to sort out the fake chanterelles, in case you accidentally got some. The fake chanterelles have true grilles, while the true chanterelles have fake grilles. Easy.

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Fry at medium heat. For immediate consumption, I use a bit of olive oil, garlic, pepper, sprinkle with cilantro. In that form, they freeze well, or better are eaten right away. I like them with tagliatelle noodles.

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A second option is to use lots of butter. When almost done, add a bit tomato paste and vinegar, and blend it carefully with more butter until smooth. Spice it up, if you like, but make sure not to overpower the delicate taste of your chanterelle butter.

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This will go well with the right kind of bread, for instance a decent loaf of baguette (one doesn’t always need to have a thick crust…)

The butter will also freeze well. If there is anything left.

Archilochus colubris

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It’s almost time to say good-bye to the mimosas this year, but at the moment, they are still attracting visitors.

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This is the ruby-throated hummingbird. Annoyingly, I haven’t seen any adult males this year, who are responsible for the name. The adult females have, if my information is correct, a clear white throat, while the young males have a speckled throat, as the ones here. 

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They are hyperactive all day round, chasing each other as well as the larger birds, and chattering intensely. They must have a lot to talk about, unlike me. The one above is poking his tongue out a little. I think it can extend it quite a bit further. Amazing possibilities… 

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I never expected to take wildlife photos, I am not that patient. But sitting in the garden with a good cup of tea and just waiting for the birds to get into position is a surprisingly pleasant way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

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The 2-dimensional Nature of Time

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I must have said this before, the DePauw Nature Park challenges me to new views. Today I am trying to combine a wide format (3:1) with a shallow depth of field.

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These are per se contradictory, and to be effective, the shallowness has to be extreme.

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This sliver of sharpness acquires a strong horizontal nature, like a line of text in a book that we read, oblivious of the past and future lines. Time becomes horizontal. There is only one way to move, everything seems to be determined.

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Sometimes, it also becomes discrete, when there doesn’t seem to be a before or an after. There just is the singular moment, evidently still full of potential.

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This becomes less effective for things far away (or in the distant future) when it still seems possible to move forward and not just sideways, giving us the hope that there is free will.

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Is this all just perception? Can we think the barriers out of the way, by looking at them properly?

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