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Posts Tagged ‘cottonwood’

Ohio River Neptune and Groundhog Head

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, birding, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Green, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged , , , , , , , on June 12, 2009| Leave a Comment »

River Neptune, 6/08

Recently, I started a new job and so my trips to the river are extra special.  I do, however, have  years of digital images to draw from and so these works can live again.  Many of these were originally seen by few if any people.  This is the Ohio River Neptune from this time last year.  He’s holding what’s left of a toy trident…probably from a Halloween devil costume.  The head is Styrofoam with some waxy residue coating it.

Canada Geese with young

While making the Neptune figure I recall seeing Canada Geese parading their goslings around the creek mouth that feeds into the Ohio River.

Ohio River Neptune

Here’s where I left Neptune standing on an old railroad tie.  His body was a nice portly chunk of Styrofoam.  This was sited in the park’s western side near a favorite stand of cottonwood trees.  This little grove has amazing exposed roots that support these trees and form overhanging canopies that you can sit under.  Fewer people venture out this far from the parking lot.

Groundhog Head

This post promised a groundhog’s head…and here it is.  I snapped this image of a young whistle pig poking its anterior out of its burrow.  Around here, you do need to pay attention to where you walk because it’s very easy to twist an ankle or break a foot stepping into one of their holes.

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Rising River and Roots

Posted in art and environment, creativity, ecosytem, Falls of the Ohio, fresh water, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, watershed, tagged , , , , , on May 8, 2009| 2 Comments »

rising river, 5/09

rising river 5/09

It’s been raining upriver from us and so what happens in the northeast eventually flows down.  More rain is expected and so it wouldn’t surprise me to see the water completely cover the fixed wier dam that forms the park’s eastern boundry.  Massive piles of driftwood and debris are getting ready to flood the area under the Conrail Railroad Bridge.  Every time the river rises the landscape of the park gets rearranged and creates new novelties.  I was looking over recent images and found I had taken several shots of tree roots that speak not only of the power of water, but the tenacity of trees as well. 

black willow roots, 4/09

These are the roots from a black willow tree.  This is an amazingly tough tree that grows in the poorest soil (essentially clay mud and sand) and frequently gets completely submerged during a flood.

cottenwood roots, 5/09

The writhing roots from a cottonwood tree.  At the moment, fluff from these trees is drifting like dry snow through the air.

tree roots, 4/09

I believe this is a cottonwood tree as well.  I marvel at how the river will undermine a tree along the bank.  In places, canopies are created and you can sit underneath the roots of a tree which comes in handy when it rains or on very hot days. 

roots and frayed barge rope, 5/09

All these exposed roots are good catch-alls for whatever the river sends their way.  This tree has snagged a bit of frayed barge rope or cable.  Originally, these ropes are about as thick around as a man’s forearm.  The river has no problem dealing with them.  We will see how high the river gets.  I’m looking forward to making new works in this rearranged environment.

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