Posted in Absurd, animal art works, Art, art and environment, birding, collections, creativity, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Louisville, Kentucky, Ohio River, unusual collection, tagged Art, artistatexit0, bath tub duck, collecting, Falls of the Ohio, flots, found objects, lost and found, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, plastic toy, rubber duck, rubber ducky collection on December 30, 2011| 10 Comments »
One last post before all of 2011’s sand runs through the hour-glass! Here are a few of the many rubber duckies that I have come across at the Falls of the Ohio over the years. I thought it would be a fun way to end the year. If you would like to see more ducky images…I’ve posted a new collection, “Kentucky Lucky Ducky Collection” which can be found in my Pages section. Have a Happy New Year and may 2012 be kind to all!
Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, collections, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, nature, Ohio River, public art, recycled art, sculpture, watershed, tagged Art, art in context, artistatexit0, coal, Falls of the Ohio, found materials, Kentucky, Louisville, Ohio River, public art, recycled art, recycled bottles, sculpture on November 19, 2011| 4 Comments »
As promised, here are a few images from my completed bottle project. For the last several months I have been finding empty liquor bottles and filling them with the coal that washed into the park after last spring’s flood. A recent invitation to participate in a coal-themed art exhibition gave me a new reason to work with familiar materials.
It’s my assumption that the coal is in the Ohio River because it washed or fell off barges destined for power plants in the valley? In places under the railroad bridge there were deposits several inches thick on the beach. Not all of it was coal gravel, but included pebbles and larger pieces as well. My “favorite” rocks were the ones that the river tumbled smooth into egg-shapes. The white flecks in the black gravel are fragments of mussel shells.
In my mind I made a link between the empty booze bottles and the coal. Both are products that require extraction to bring into being before being consumed in ever addictive quantities. Putting the coal back into the bottles was a way to put random carbon back into storage and also feel some sense of doing something positive and purposeful by at least removing these materials from the Falls of the Ohio. In Kentucky, we are consuming our mountains for their coal a sip here and shot there and the social and environmental challenges are adding up to a bigger headache in the wider world.
Since I started this piece here I also wanted a photo of it in the environment in which it was created one found and filled bottle at a time. Between trips to the Falls I would store the bottles in my basement until I got enough of them to make something with. When I finally decided I had more than enough I dragged it all back down to the river and set it up on a pretty autumn day. I also recalled the badly twisted ankle I had over the summer that took weeks to heal. I was doing this very activity when I rolled my ankle over in the sand. I think the finished piece has about sixty bottles on it. Most of them are made of glass, but the smallest ones are plastic. All the wood table/altar pieces were also originally found at the Falls of the Ohio. I used a small folding hand saw and cut the wood to length before bringing it home. Here’s a few views of the completed sculpture set up by the river.
I had trouble coming up with a title for this work, but finally thought “Mountaintop Minibar” was working for me as much as anything else. Who knows…I may think of something else in time.
I prefer seeing my work out here by the river. All the other information in the pictures just adds to the moment. I did take a few images of my minibar against a black cloth at the church studio. Here’s what it looks like by itself and with a detail of the bottles. So far, it looks like this work will be exhibited in an exhibition in October 2012 and perhaps other opportunities will come up before then. And now, for the last two images. Thanks for checking in!
Posted in Art, art and environment, creativity, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Ohio River, recycled art, tagged Art, artistatexit0, Bellarmine Universtiy, bottle, coal, driftwood, Falls of the Ohio, fire hose, Ohio River, recycled art on September 18, 2011| 3 Comments »
I was looking for materials for a new project I’m working on and came upon this event on the driftwood pile at the Falls of the Ohio. There is so much wood massed and interlocked with itself that I wondered if fire could be a possibility here? The answer to that question is obviously yes.
I don’t know what started the fire…it could have been set by man or it could have been a lightning strike. The latter part of our summer has been dry. The fire was quick and essentially burned the surface of most of the larger logs out here as black as coal. I noticed that part of this raft of wood snagged next to this brick foundation of a building that has been a wreck as long as I have been coming out here which is over twenty years now. I don’t know what this building was originally used for and I wonder if this could have been some person’s house once upon a time? That might not be right since this area is prone to flooding nearly every year.
One thing I know was that someone tried to put this fire out. I came across quite a length of fire hose that had been cut. The canvas and rubber hose bore a stamp that said it was made in Canada. Perhaps the hose was severed because the fire swirled quickly becoming unpredictable and all this wood presented many opportunities for hang ups and snags. It would be hard to maneuver over it. Seems there was a cut and run moment and the hose was left behind. A sculptor friend of mine, Don Lawler, said that cut lengths of fire hose are perfect for protecting the edges of his limestone sculptures when he hoists them into to position with his ropes and crane. I think I will salvage some of this hose for my sculptor friends.
One reason I was on the driftwood pile was to look for empty booze bottles. I collected a variety of them in different sizes and made from both glass and plastic. They had to have their caps still on them and I preferred that their labels were soaked off by the river. A found quite a few today to go with the ones I have been collecting over the summer. I’m participating in a group exhibit where the artists address in some way the issues of mountain top removal and our need for coal. I have been filling up both bottles and discarded tires with the coal chunks and gravel that washed into here during the last flooding which also brought in all the driftwood that recently carbonized. Searching under the vines I did find pockets of coal gravel that were several inches deep in places. When I open up each empty bottle there is this heavy malted alcohol aroma that get neutralized by the coal. I’m still working on my coal piece and in the meantime…my exhibit at Bellarmine University with Scott Scarboro opened a couple of nights a go. I’ll post a few shots of the installation in my next post, but in closing here is one view of materials in my church studio room on Barrett Avenue. See you soon.
Posted in Absurd, animal art works, Art, art and environment, birds and birding, creativity, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, tagged adventure, Art, artistatexit0, birds, Falls of the Ohio, found materials, garbage art, heron, nature photography, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam on September 7, 2011| 12 Comments »
It’s the Falls of the Ohio State Park in late summer. We haven’t had any significant rain in a few weeks and the fossil beds are exposed as the river has retreated away. This isn’t a permanent condition…just the way it is during this season. Visitors are walking over the rocks and admiring the many ancient fossil corals that during the rest of the year are under water.
The best time to get a sense of the extent of the fossil beds is during summer. From the top of the riverbank you can get a good overview of the area. You can see across the fossil beds to the high wall that keeps the Ohio River at bay. Bird watchers are scoping the rocks and the top of that wall on the look out for seasonal birds or that once in a lifetime rarity. Well today was their and my lucky day! I was sitting by the picnic table when in the far distance I noticed something large and white winging its way across the ancient limestone terrain. At first I thought it was a pelican, but it clearly wasn’t big enough. That’s when I heard one of the bird watching flock who also spotted it say that he thought it was a heron or egret of some kind. I grabbed my camera and hustled down to the river.
I watched the white bird circle the area by the lower tainter gates and I anticipated its possible landing spot. As I approached the area my mental field guide was going through all the possible species. Great Egrets are seasonally common here and while they are white…they do not possess a black bill. One white wader that does have a black bill is the Snowy Egret, however, it is smaller and has black legs with yellow feet. Snowy Egrets come to the Falls but they are less common. It couldn’t be a Whooping Crane because I couldn’t see any black tips on the wings. For a moment, I even thought this bird might even be an albino. Nevertheless, it was shaping up to be a mystery which are among the most fun birds of all.
I saw the bird alight in the sedges and grasses near the river which is where I took these photographs. This beautiful bird was distinctive with its black bill and white head crest. It’s tail feathers were also tipped in black. I watched it catch and eat grasshoppers that were numerous in the weeds. For the moment, I would concentrate on taking pictures and being discreet. I could always identify it later in the comfort of my home, but already I knew it wasn’t a bird normally found here or in our country. This bird’s beauty was enough and knowing its name wouldn’t make it more beautiful. Time stood still until the bird spooked or just decided to fly off. Later that day I saw the heron return to the river and I hung around hoping for just this opportunity.
I was struck by the great contrast between the snow whiteness of the bird and the dingy black of the tire resting in the water. I thought the heron was exhibiting signs of distress or anxiety, but I was surely projecting my own feelings onto this animal…or maybe not!
In one of the most curious bird behavior moments I have ever observed, the heron walked over to a group of discarded plastic bottles and started hitting them with its bill. I guess it was just checking them out? A passing fisherman came too close and the bird was gone for good. I took a deep breath and hoped that I had a few good images and turned for home. The bird turned out to be the Black-billed Heron which is more accustomed to being found around the heat of the equator. Few confirmed records exist of this species being seen this far north. But since it’s been hot just about everywhere this year, the right conditions were present for it to make this appearance. This same individual would create quite a bird watching stir wherever it was sighted in the United States and even made the cover of several bird watching magazines. The Falls of the Ohio was as far north as this bird was seen and for me it was a happy privilege to see a bird that even John James Audubon never saw.
Postscript: Readers familiar with the riverblog know that the Black-billed Heron was made with materials deposited at the Falls of the Ohio. These found materials include: River polished Styrofoam, plastic, sticks, river tumbled coal, the black tail feathers were cut from the soles of cast off shoes. Thanks for tagging along on this avian adventure!
Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, public art, recycled art, sculpture, tagged Art, artistatexit0, bones, Falls of the Ohio, found art, found materials, loosestrife, nature, recycled art, Styrofoam sculpture, tree house on August 31, 2011| 9 Comments »
August has been the toughest month and I have two measly posts to show for it. The ankle is better and thanks for all the well wishes I received. I guess my other newsworthy item is that my trusty camera broke while on expedition to the Falls of the Ohio. I received the dreaded “lens error restart the camera” message and of course everything I tried after reading whatever I could about fixing it…didn’t work. Now, I will need to have the pros look at it. Although I have never dropped my camera, I am, however, guilty of working in a dusty and sandy environment. I’ll bet a well placed grain of sand is all it takes to render the most precise instrument useless. If my camera proves to be a lost cause…then this was its last adventure.
A couple of weeks a go I was approached by a person who was looking for a friend that was last seen at the Falls of the Ohio. The missing individual had made a phone call to his friend stating where he was and that he would remain at the Falls for a while, but had not been heard from since then. I was being asked to guide the concerned friend to the places mentioned in their phone conversation. Perhaps the missing individual would still be there or some clues as to what happened to him? Our journey took us to the western section of the park over the sweltering fossil beds. Like I mentioned earlier, August has been a bear.
We walked by large areas of purple loosestrife flowers that were growing in the moist soil and sands near the edge of the river. For a few moments, we lingered over the flowers and watched all the insects drawn to them. There was a profusion of butterflies and more than a few exotic wasps and bees. Each year it seems the loosestrife flowers are spreading and their nectar should make the insects very happy. The place we were walking to was just a head of us. I featured it in a recent post called the “Mahalo Tree House”. It’s a wonderful old cottonwood tree that recently was turned into a “club house” by kids I think? Here are two recent views as we approached the tree.
My guest became excited to see this unique tree house and mentioned to me that it was exactly as described in his friend’s conversation. We walked over a couple old fire pits that proved this site had been occupied recently. I made a few mental notes of other changes I observed since my last visit, but kept those to myself.
My companion grew excited when he spotted the plastic rabbit in his clay niche. This was one of the details mentioned by the missing friend. There was another clue as well.
The garbage bag that had been left behind during my last visit was now full. Who was going to carry it up the bank to dispose of in a responsible manner? There were other signs that started to make me feel uneasy. What do you make of this?
Do you think it is respectful to the tree to spray paint it? I think not. There were other ill omens all around us. Someone or some group had been decorating the place with found bones. Several clusters of bones were hanging on the end of strings attached to the tree. Here’s an example of this.
The oddest bone creation, however, was the weird face we found. It was made from a pelvis and vertebrae that I think originally belonged to a small deer. Some man-made elements in the form of fishing float eyes and a fake flower were also added. It took me a moment to register where the eyes might have originally came from. Black magic marker was used to draw additional designs on the bone. The head’s eyes had a way of following you around the interior of the tree house. The bone additions definitely made the place seem primitive.
My guest and I were feeling uneasy when we made the discovery. We found the missing friend or what was left of him behind the main trunk of the cottonwood tree.
It was too difficult to tell if the friend had succumbed to natural causes or had help of some kind? All that was left were the bones and fortunately none of them was used to decorate the tree. One part of the mystery had been solved…the friend had been found. It was decided to leave the remains were they lay so that law enforcement could conduct their investigation.
All that was left now was to say good-bye and retrace our steps along the river. My companion was quiet for the most part. The one time he broke his silence was when we passed two barefoot boys playing next to the water. The surviving friend said it reminded him of his own childhood when he and his late sidekick would skip rocks off the surface of the Ohio River. Here’s hoping September will be a kinder month.
Posted in Absurd, Art, birds and birding, collections, creativity, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Ohio River, public art, recycled art, unusual collection, watershed, tagged Art, artistatexit0, coal, Falls of the Ohio, fossil fuel, found materials, Kentucky, mountain top removal, photography, pint bottles, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam on July 30, 2011| 6 Comments »
It’s been a hot, hot summer at the Falls of the Ohio. For me, the best time to be out here is as early in the morning as possible. One advantage in doing this is you are more likely to see birds and other wildlife. I found this Indigo Bunting singing away from the topmost branch of this tree. For as open and publicly trampled as this park is…witnessing such small and intimate moments where man and nature freely mix keeps me coming back for more.
This adventure occurred during my last visit to the park and early in the month. As it turned out, it was a memorable visit. I’ll go ahead and tell you that I twisted my right ankle which isn’t big news or a particularly rare occurrence. But this time, I was sure it was broken and I limped out of the park with the aid of my trusty walking stick. I was walking along in the sand and my ankle just collapsed. That’s all it took. All my early sports injuries have left me with a weak ankle. The x-rays didn’t reveal a fracture, but I was surprised by the bone spurs and bone deterioration. As I write this three weeks later, I’m still limping along but without the aid of crutches so I guess I’m on the mend. Returning to that day and before the sprain, I revisited the sand sunken tire from previous posts and replaced the coal that was removed from it and then moved on.
I created a little friend to keep me company and to help me with the day’s projects. He’s made with Styrofoam, sticks, plastic, and a little bit of coal for his eyes. I have used the coal that washes up here for as long as I have been doing this particular body of work which is approaching eight years now. As a material, its relevance has always been appreciated by me. Like the corals and brachiopods that have left their traces in the limestone at the Falls…these black rocks also speak of ancient life, but coal has a different and contemporary purpose that is won at great cost. Walking along the eastern section of the park, I explored and gathered the coal I found interspersed among the sand and driftwood. My little helper tagged along and soon we filled the hole in a second found tire.
I noticed after I selected this tire that it had once been painted white. I have seen this before where people of thrift have used cast off tires for garden planters. On this one, most of the paint has worn off and the river has given this tire a unique patina. For the Little Man and myself, this would just be the beginning of our play with the found coal out here.
Among the other found objects I scavenge along the beach are empty pint bottles made from glass and plastic. I like them when I find them with their labels soaked off by the river and their bottle caps in place. A little more than a year a go I shared a river adventure with video artist Julia Oldham and we marked the day by putting notes and colorful fishing floats in other empty bottles. I sometimes think of those bottles and wonder if anyone has ever found one of our notes? In all my years here, I have never found a note in a bottle and by now I have looked at thousands of bottles. Some of my friends at Living Lands and Waters report finding notes in bottles all the time and I’m guessing that this happens more along the Mississippi River than it does the Ohio River? For me, finding a note in a bottle will happen when it’s supposed to…I just hope that it’s written content will be interesting!
You have just seen a few of the bottles I have filled with coal. The white flecks you see mixed into the coal are bits and pieces of mostly zebra mussel shells which is another unwanted element in this river. Filling these bottles with coal is meditative for me. Usually, there is still a little bit of whiskey or alcohol in the bottom of these bottles that scents the coal inside its container. Coal is such a complex subject in our region that it is enough to drive one to drink. On one side it is a common and available form of energy, but the costs to the land, people, and larger environment are extreme. Having visited the coal fields in eastern Kentucky, it is certainly plain that the people whose land and mountains have been mined out from under them haven’t benefited to the extent that you would think since poverty and despair are far too common.
I’m going to continue to explore coal as a material and social issue with the help of some new friends. I have been invited by a group of mostly younger Kentucky artists to participate in an exhibition to be held sometime in the near future. A blog has been set up called Project Reclamation and if you would like to follow along…just click on the link on my Blog Roll on the right column. I will keep you posted. To close, here is one other bottle or carbon storage image I photographed with a found rubber duck behind the transparent bottle. I look forward to going back out to the Falls of the Ohio as soon as my ankle fully heals.
Posted in Absurd, animals, Art, art and environment, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged Art, artistatexit0, butterflies, Falls of the Ohio, found materials, Louisville, nature, nature photography, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam on June 11, 2011| 7 Comments »
Just left or east of the railroad bridge at the Falls of the Ohio is where this adventure occurred. The river was still high but dropping. I was enjoying working in a section of the park that I don’t normally hang out at, but have discovered is both full of wildlife and potential art materials. Evidence of our recent flooding was everywhere and I was exploring what there was to see and find.
While I was exploring this area I could hear Beatles’ music quite clearly drifting over the water. It was the annual Abbey Road on the River Festival at the Waterfront Park in Louisville. I guess the goal of each tribute band is to sound as closely to the original Fab Four as possible because I couldn’t detect much variation from one group’s rendition of a familiar song to another’s. I did, however, notice that the Belle of Louisville’s steamboat calliope was in direct competition with the bands. Like last year’s festival…snatches of 19th century tunes intermingled with pop hits from the 1960’s. Baby, baby…Do dah day.
I was in this section of the park because I was searching for larger sections of Styrofoam. This last bout of flooding pretty well wiped the slate clean as far as the materials that I had collected last year. There is no shortage of smaller chunks throughout the park, but the larger pieces that are remnants of floating docks were in shorter supply. I did find this piece that still had wood attached to both sides and set it upright, stelae-style. Here’s what it looked like right after I assembled it.
I had the turtle piece going too while this six-foot figure was under construction. I also happily observed Northern Orioles chasing one another through the Cottonwood Trees. I taught myself how to imitate the oriole’s song and on occasion can lure a curious bird closer by whistling to it. I’m still trying to get a primo photograph of one of these birds, but they do tend to stay in the tops of the trees. Out on the river, I observed a boat going back and forth along my side of the river and I’m speculating that they are looking for some poor lost soul that the river may have claimed?
I left my Styro-sentinal in place, but returned a couple of days later to discover it had fallen over. This time I moved him to a different place facing the river and changed its arm positions a bit. Originally, he held one of those soft nerf-type footballs. I haven’t been back since and he may or may not be still guarding this section of the river bank.
Among the items I “found” out here include this ruined Jet-ski. Which…
…bookends nicely with the miniature version of it I found in the western section of the park also courtesy of the Ohio River and its recent flooding.
Butterflies and other insects are becoming more prevalent as the season progresses. I saw what I thought was a familiar butterfly, but wasn’t totally convinced it was the species I thought I knew…so I photographed it and researched it a bit in the comfort of my home. Here is my first image which shows two of these “different” butterflies.
Here’s a single, resting individual with its wings spread open. This butterfly shows more black than the Pearly Crecents that are common out here.
I cross referenced my butterfly guides at home and was glad that I was able to take a picture of this butterfly’s ventral surface because it helps to identify it. I was leaning towards the Eastern or Harris Checkerspot but decided that this is the Streamside or Silvery Checkerspot (Chlosyne nycteis ). Here is the view that was most helpful.
I’m looking forward to seeing many other butterfly species out here this year. I will try to keep a checklist of what I see just as I do for the many bird species that visit or call the Falls of the Ohio State Park home. On my way out of the woods, I “felt” something looking at me and after checking around…discoverd these eyes following me which is as good a way to end this post as any!
Posted in Absurd, animals, Art, art and environment, birding, birds and birding, collections, creativity, ecosytem, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, unusual collection, watershed, tagged Art, artistatexit0, birds, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, flotsam and jetsam, found objects, Louisville, nature, photography, Pileated Woodpecker, recycled art, Red-shouldered hawk, site specific art, Styrofoam sculpture on May 22, 2011| 4 Comments »
The Ohio River has receded by the Falls of the Ohio. For many weeks the river was loath to relinquish the territory it had recently flooded. I ventured down the river bank and explored the more eastern section of the park. The following post is some thoughts and images made during this expedition into a very moist and muddy area filled with debris and wildlife.
While exploring the park it is not unusual to run into others who are curious to see what the river has left behind. Sometimes just a nod of recognition and some small gesture to reassure that one poses no threat is made and each party then attends to their own business. And then sometimes a more sustained conversation occurs where information of mutual interest is exchanged. Such was the case on this trip where I ran into this fellow of short stature with a bulbous blue nose who had been investigating the same stretch of river as me. We tagged along with one another for a short time before family duties called me home. I believe our initial conversation had something to do with the muddiness of the area. In places, things looked safe and dry enough to stand on…and then the mud below would reach up and grab you by the ankles. Sometimes small, blue crabs would pop out of their holes to check out whether the trapped parties would be good to eat.
In my case, I am simply too big for them and once the crabs realized this they scuttled away. Getting back to “Mr. Blue Nose”, (funny how we didn’t think to ask each other’s name?), we were both astonished by the debris left behind by the retreating river. After witnessing several other high water incidents over time…this is fairly representative of the stuff we found.
As you can see it’s mostly plastic containers, polystyrene (aka Styrofoam), and lots of shredded bark and wood chips. Every once in a while, something more interesting would turn up. While exploring, Mr. Blue Nose and I found two sign fragments and I kept these for my Found Painting and Sign Collection. Here are the two precious finds. The first one is kind of self-explanatory. I like to muse that this is one way the universe communicates to me by leaving these things in my path for me to ponder.
I’m not sure what it is asking…Please don’t litter or Please, only you can prevent forest fires, whatever its actual message, this is at least a polite sign. The other one is more reclusive, in fact it is “shy”. Here’s a picture of this enigmatic sign.
I like the hand-routed and painted “sign” for a person. I think this fragment may originally have asked dog owners to leash their pets…but its shy and won’t tell me for certain. Other found treasures included my second banana of the season…naturally it went into the old collecting bag to later join the other artificial produce I have found out here over time.
I also find other kinds of foam out here. Here’s an interesting found sculpture made from polyurethane. I have come across busted aerosol cans of this stuff where the foam has expanded out resembling entrails.
Mr. Blue Nose called my attention to a log that something had torn into and he wondered what could do this kind of damage. Chunks of bark and soft decayed wood were scattered all around.
I was happy to inform my new friend that this looked like the work made by a Pileated Woodpecker and I showed him images of this great bird I had taken just a few hours earlier.
Since no one can verify that the Ivory-billed Woodpecker is still alive along some wild river in Arkansas…the Pileated Woodpecker has the distinction of being our biggest living woodpecker. For years, I have observed a pair of these crow-sized birds in the park. This one is the male and can be identified by his red mustache. The female lacks this and has more black on its head.
The Pileated Woodpecker has a large bill that goes through wood in a hurry. Carpenter ants and beetle larvae can be found in these decaying logs and make up the main diet of this magnificent bird. If you look closely at the photo above you can see a nice grub about to be swallowed. This bird was so intent on looking for food that I was able to get closer than usual to it. A couple of weeks a go, I found a Bessbug beetle which is a nice sized insect that uses decaying wood in its life-cycle. This beetle is also known as the Patent-leather Beetle. Here’s an adult I found sunning itself on a piece of Styrofoam. These beetles can get nearly two inches long or about five centimeters. I wonder if our country will ever adopt the metric system? Anyway, these beetle grubs make nice woodpecker snacks.
Thanks to my new companion we were able to make one other nice bird sighting on this day. Mr. Blue Nose alerted me to some commotion happening in a nearby stand of trees.
My friend said that he saw several blackbirds (grackles) chasing a larger bird from tree to tree. I have observed this behavior before when birds of prey are present. I gathered my camera up and went to see if I could find out what was the object of all this attention. It turned out to be this beautiful Red-shouldered Hawk. Here are a couple of pictures of it before the smaller birds drove it out of the area.
I always feel lucky when I see such beautiful birds in the park. Before flying away, I saw this bird’s mate arriving and the two flew away together. Soon it was time for me to fly away too and I left my companion on the river bank.
We parted near the railroad bridge and perhaps we will see one another again? My last image is from an overlook area popular with visitors who want a better view of the tainter gates. I have taken many pictures here over the years, but this one is different. To give you an idea of how high the river was…this log was deposited on the fence by the retreating river! Or, I hope so…I would hate to think it jumped up here! So long for now!!
Posted in Absurd, animals, Art, art and environment, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, Originality, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged Art, artistatexit0, Falls of the Ohio, found materials, Honey locust, nature, Ohio River flooding, photography, plastic, public art, rabbit, recycled materials, river debris, sculpture, Styrofoam, tent caterpillars on May 12, 2011| 6 Comments »
As usual I’m a bit behind in my river reports. I calculate I could write at least several more posts about the flooding we have experienced with the Ohio River at the Falls of the Ohio. As I write, the river is still high, but all the attention has shifted to the Mississippi River which is experiencing an epic flood. I’m sure some of the same water molecules that flowed past our location are contributing to the woes down along the Mississippi. For those unfamiliar with our geography, the Ohio River flows directly into the Mississippi River in far western Kentucky. The confluence of these two great rivers is an awesome sight.
Here at Louisville, the water has been receding and the amount of water-borne junk this flood has brought hasn’t fully hit home yet. There are signs, however, everywhere I look that this will be a great challenge for any river loving clean-up crew. I will try to do my part, but even if I were to try to be out here every waking hour…I wouldn’t begin to scratch the surface.
Gas is over $4.15 cents a gallon for regular unleaded here. I listened to the great oil company executives trying to explain to Congress today why they need a sweetheart deal from the American taxpayers when they already receive every tax break in the books and are suffering with their record, obscene profits. When discussion turns to what can be done to reduce the amount of crude oil used the usual answer has something to do with increased engine efficiency resulting in more miles to the gallon. Looking at the high water line I see another solution that doesn’t get as much play. Why don’t we try to cut as much plastic out of our way of life as possible? There would be more oil available for fuel and you wouldn’t have all these various compounds despoiling our water ways from the smallest streams to the largest ocean. You can throw Styrofoam in this mix too since it is has petroleum pedigree as well. We could just change the packaging we use and I bet that would make a huge difference.
You can look at the whole Riverblog as one long rant against pollution, but there is also more out here that is sweet and worth noting and enjoying. I decided to walk along the Woodland Loop Trail and the air was fragrant with the perfume from what we call Honey Locust trees. Some of these trees also sport large spines growing on the bark. Their pea-like white flowers have the most wonderful scent. Here is what a flower cluster looks like.
Along the trail, you can hear a variety of bird species singing. Vireos, woodland warblers, orioles, chickadees, indigo buntings, various thrushes fill the air with their acoustic signatures. The birds are here to feast on the many cutworms that plague the forest canopy. There are also other larvae present…here is a small nest of tent caterpillars that will soon become moths. Very few birds like these hairy caterpillars, but two that do ( the Yellow-billed cuckoo and the Blue and gray gnatcatcher) can be found in the forest now.
Ah, I also spot my namesake hopping along the trail! This is a young Cottontail and he better be careful out here because there are so many predators both native and domesticated that would love to catch him!
Walking westward along the trail, you can’t help but notice the large grassy berm that flanks your right side. It is additional flood control put in place after the disastrous 1937 flood which was our high water event on the Ohio River. Up a head, I can see a network of large hoses with water gushing out and I decided to investigate.
I can see these large hoses coming down the berm and I wanted to see what’s on the other side of this earthen flood wall. Here are a series of pictures of what I saw. First looking up hill…
…now the view looking down towards the river. What are these hoses for?
I came across a sign at the crest of this large hill that explains it.
On the other side of the berm is the small town of Clarksville, Indiana. Rain water has pooled up in the lower lying sections of the city and are being pumped out and over the top where the water then flows into the park eventually finding release into the river.
It’s strange how I rarely think about the town that occupies the other side of this large grass and earthen mound. The Ohio River is really at its front door all the time. The little bit of woods I like spending time in is just a narrow sliver of ecosystem that exists between Clarksville and the river.
Well, that’s the story for now. I have much more to present about the dominant environmental event of our Spring. Already the temperatures are rising and I can feel the transition to Summer won’t be long in coming. Thanks for hanging with me…until next time…the Rabbit Man.
Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, collections, creativity, ecosytem, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Louisville, Kentucky, Ohio River, recycled art, Styrofoam, tagged Art, artistatexit0, Beach combing, Beachcombing, collecting, Collections, Combs, Falls of the Ohio, found materials and objects, hair barrettes, Louisville, Ohio River, photography on April 16, 2011| 2 Comments »
I’ve added another collection to my Pages section. Inspired by the theme of “Beach Combing”, here are images of objects found at the Falls of the Ohio State Park. My Pages section can be found on the column on the right.
Artist at Exit 0 Riverblog 