The river has pretty much crested and now it’s a matter of waiting for the water to recede. Of course, all bets are off if we receive any more sustained downpours. I know this is only anecdotal, but it seems everything is a weather event these days. What ever happened to the gentle, soaking rains free of high winds and hail? 
The river may be muddy, but I do love the clarity of the air after a big storm moves through the valley. It’s air as it should be, which is more than we can say about the water. All manner of artificial debris is floating around with the bark rolled off the logs. I bet I’ve seen ten plastic barrels go by the last three days. Lots of people have been curious about the river and for the most part the fishing has been good too. I’m getting that feeling that the spring migration is coming to a close and I can concentrate on making art again.
The above image is the largest of three caches of polystyrene foam I have hidden in the woods prior to this flood. It doesn’t matter now because I’m sure that most of this is gone. This site was swamped by water and I might come across some of this stuff later. I was hoping to make a few more larger figures, but I will have to wait. I will wager that since I started this project I have lost over a dozen such collections to the river. As much of this stuff as I have removed from the park…there will always be more after the next inundation.
For now, I will explore what else the park has to offer and see if a few stray migratory birds have lingered in the interior. I’m still hoping to see that pelican again. The water will recede and the land will dry out. The landscape will be rearranged and the drama of change is part of the fun…that and checking out the latest oddities to be washed up in the park. As for the Styrofoam, what was lost is too easily replaced.
From a previous post…you know I’m into birds and since this is migration season, I’m at the Falls of the Ohio as often as I can get a few hours to get away. I do keep a list of what I see in this park based on their official checklist that includes 268 recorded species. I’m almost half way there! I suppose I would have to live at the park year round to not miss any opportunities as long as the birds were willing to cooperate. The birds, however, have their own time-honored agendas and I try to be present in their moments. This season is shaping up to be a late one and I haven’t seen nearly the number of species I saw last year, but there is still time. The last two days have brought some surprises which I was able to get a few snapshots to share with you. Here are two new species for me at the Falls of the Ohio State Park.
I come across and photograph enough of these gasoline containers that they form a subcategory of objects that I pay attention to. Gasoline is such a sign of the times that it seems particularly relevant. Where do these containers come from? I have never found one that still had gas in it. Because plastic is made from petroleum, as is gasoline, does putting gas into these containers become a redundant act?
Working at the Falls of the Ohio is a reflective experience and thinking about the construct of “time” pops into my head a lot. To reinforce matters even more, less than a mile from my “studio” is this giant clock ticking away in a grand, but conventional manner. I once read that the largest clock face in the world was at another Colgate Palmolive plant in Jersey City, New Jersey, but it was demolished in 1988. Our clock, the one in Jeffersonville, IN, I believe is now the biggest. At night it glows red. The building was once a prison before the toothpaste factory relocated here. Recently, it was sold to another interest and we aren’t quite sure what’s going to happen with certainty, but it is everybody’s wish that the clock remain. From downtown Louisville, you can tell time by looking across the Ohio River. 
Artist at Exit 0 Riverblog 