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Whiskey Bottles, Tires, and Coal

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.

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Cycles in the Sand

Posted in Absurd, Art, art and environment, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, tagged Art, artistatexit0, circles, coal, cycles, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, fishing, found art, found materials, fungi, nature, photography, public art, recycled art, recycled materials, sculpture, Styrofoam art, tires on July 19, 2011| 5 Comments »

The fishing had been good and attracted both experienced and novice fisherman. People were catching some of the smaller striped bass and the occasional catfish. Summer has descended full-bore with its twins…heat and humidity and so a visit to the river is a welcome diversion for many. The parking lots around the park are full. To me, this is a mixed blessing. You want those who can appreciate nature and the surrounding area to enjoy themselves, however, there is always that element present that can’t resist despoiling for their own selfish reasons. Sometimes it seems that visitors leave as much trash here as the river does in its wildest moods. Please pack your garbage out. After checking out the fishermen, I head up the bank to locate my last project with its polystyrene figure.

I’m not shocked at all to come across Joe Coalman’s eyeless skull resting in the hot sand. To be honest, I would be more amazed to find him still intact. My postmortem revealed that he had the stuffing knocked out of him. I found his body about thirty yards from his head. I take some photographs and gather the remains. I’ll probably recycle him into another project in the future. As for the tire with the coal in it…

…well, it too has been altered. I can see how a standing Styrofoam figure would make a tempting target, but what about a tire filled with coal? It must have provoked someone because the coal had been knocked out. The black rocks were scattered all around. I regathered them, but I could not find all the coal that was originally in the tire. Curiously, if you look at the rim of the tire you will see something I had not originally placed there. It’s a tiny white clam shell left perhaps by another visitor? I appreciated this simple gesture and moved on. Soon I reached my outdoor atelier with its latest cache of Styrofoam. I laid Joe Coalman, skull and all back into the pile and wondered what to do next?

While sitting on the enormous wooden beam that defines one side of my outdoor studio, I spied something interesting on an equally impressive log. Growing along the margins of an old bird dropping was this wonderful fungus. At the Falls of the Ohio, there are many different types of fungi that help break down the organic bonanza that washes into here. I wish I knew more about them, but realize that this is another entire field of study. Nevertheless, fungi are of immense importance and help recycle nutrients among the many other useful services they perform. With this particular fungus, it looked like it was on the downward cycle having already released its spores from the fruiting bodies that were now arranged like some organic version of Stonehenge. After studying this curiosity for a few minutes, I settled into the familiar activity of creating a figure that would be the benchmark for the day. Before revealing it to you…here are a couple of other things that I want to show you that I happened across during my walk.

I’m always looking at the evidence and trying to figure out what occurred at a particular place? Here a fisherman on his way back to the rest of his life has dumped out his bait bucket and left the four tiny bluegills in the sand. Perhaps they were dead already since fish in a bucket die of oxygen loss without an aerator to cycle air back into the water? I wondered if the use of these bluegills broke any laws since using other sport fish for bait is generally frowned upon? I could imagine the size of the bucket from the wet area in the sand. The silver circular object is the bottom of an aluminum can. Near this scene, I also came across this discovery.

Less than a stone’s throw from the dead fish I found this arrangement in the sand. I love it when people opt to leave their mark on the land in this fashion. Present were two complete circles in the sand defined by upright sticks with mounded sand in their centers. In my mind, I imagined two gears or cogs moving in response to each other. The movement of the sun provided some of the energy needed to activate this metaphorical machine. I decided that this place was a good site to unveil my latest figure which implies movement too. I let it dance throughout this arrangement in the sand.

Maybe this was originally made by a child while his family fished? It doesn’t matter because it gave me something positive to react with and made my day. Feeling satisfied, I started back to my own vehicle, but there would be one more surprise on this day. Perhaps this was also made by the same folks who did the circles in the sand? Again, sticks were employed albeit much longer in length. See for yourselves.

Logs and long branches were leaned against a willow tree and the effect implied shelter to me. Other long sticks were placed upright into the sand and helped define the area. A wooden palette was dragged to this location and left to provide seating. Because the materials used are all local, it would be very easy to walk by this if you weren’t paying attention. That’s one of the things my Styrofoam figures have working against them…their stark whiteness usually gives them away even at some distance. But then again, for me that’s part of what I do which is to call attention to the stuff that doesn’t belong out here and through a little creativity, show what can be done. I appreciate the stick pieces because they only use the natural materials that are out here. I wish I could do this more often myself, but this isn’t the reality I usually discover out here. Leaving the area, I came by this wonderful flower and in its center…was this tiny bee carrying on as her kind has for as long as there have been flowers in need of pollination. Until next time.

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…the Heat Rises

Posted in Absurd, animals, Art, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, nature, nature photography, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, tagged Art, artistatexit0, click beetle, coal, discarded automobile tires, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, found materials, Kentucky, material culture, nature, photography, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam on July 7, 2011| 7 Comments »

I threw my arms up into the air and said “WHAAAAA”! I had been resting in the shade after a couple of hours of junk scavenging when I heard this low vibrating sound and the bump of something landing on my head. Reflexively, I knocked off whatever was on my noggin and it fell to the ground…and this is what I saw.

This is the Eastern Eyed Click Beetle or Big Eyed Click Beetle, (Alaus oculatus). It’s one of my favorite indigenous beetles and one I’ve seen at the Falls of the Ohio on numerous occasions. As beetles go, this one is on the large side approaching two inches or about five centimeters in length. Getting smacked in the head by one certainly surprised me, but it turned out to be a good one. I love the cryptic bird dropping coloring and those two large eye spots get your attention! After the beetle recovered its senses, it flew and landed on a dead tree trunk right behind where I was sitting. It turned and started walking down the tree towards the ground.

I watched as the beetle lowered the tip of its abdomen at the base of this dead tree. I’m hoping it might be laying an egg or two. When it was done, it walked back up the tree trunk before flying off for the next tree or head that catches its fancy.

I was rummaging around one of the driftwood mounds for whatever secrets it was carrying and to separate out materials for the river sweep clean up. Nearby, was the beginnings of another garbage pile that someone else had started. I decided to throw my junk into this lot to consolidate it and make the removal just a bit easier.

It was the usual lot. A few plastic 55 gallon drums, a bit of hurricane fencing, tires, and a palette or two were among the larger items that were deposited here by the last flood.

Of course how these things came to be in the river is another story. It’s amazing what our kind can tolerate and consider acceptable. I suppose this represents the collateral damage we are willing to endure to support our ultra consumptive way of life. It makes me want to retch! I think this partly explains why so much of this trash is colorful. If we have to look at it…it might as well be pretty. When I finished up in this area I moved on like the click beetle did to new surroundings. There is no shortage of trash out here. After this Spring’s floods there is also an abundance of coal gravel and coal chunks in the eastern section of the park. Here’s an example.

The Falls of the Ohio is famous for its fossils, but this black rock wasn’t originally a part of the geologic scene here. More than likely, this piece of coal was removed from the top of a mountain in Eastern Kentucky and shipped by barge to this area to be burned in a plant to produce electricity. For some reason, this and many other pieces of coal got into the river where they were tumbled and ground to bits. In case you were wondering…coal does not float.

In places the coal gravel was several inches thick and reminded me of the black beaches made of volcanic sand. Also interspersed on this river bank were many automotive tires. I couldn’t help but associate the coal with the tires and I began to combine both of these elements in this landscape. Here’s a picture of me in action.

Walking around in this area, I found enough large coal pieces to fill a tire. Doing this was highly addictive for me. Here I was picking up real chunks of fossil fuel to place inside a circle that itself is made from fossil fuels in an area that’s well-known for its Devonian Age fossils. How all these things affect or reference life made my head swim more than the actual heat and humidity. When I finished filling one tire…this is how it looked.

And now, for an aerial view.

To me, this looks like some kind of unusual and bizarre fire pit ready to go. Scientists have already established that “burning rubber” and coal are contributing to the excess amounts of heat, energy, and toxins now found throughout many of the Earth’s systems. In Kentucky, the coal debate is a complex one. We have an abundance of coal, but it comes at a dear price to the land and the people who call the coal fields home. The sun is getting hot and I have already had a busy day watching fishermen and making sand drawings! For now, I will have to leave the coal debate where it is, but I’m sure to return to it since there is so much coal here at the Falls. It will remain here until the forces that shape this planet decide otherwise.

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As Summer Begins…

Posted in animal art works, Art, art and environment, birds and birding, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, nature, Ohio River, public art, watershed, tagged Art, artistatexit0, drawing, driftwood, Falls of the Ohio, fishing, material culture, nature, Ohio River, photography, site specific art, willow tree on July 3, 2011| 9 Comments »

The huge mound of recently deposited driftwood under the railroad bridge is both an obstacle and a magnet. It’s not easy to walk over and it helps to have a good walking stick to help maintain your balance. The rewards for persevering are a nice elevated view of the Louisville skyline and the potential for finding interesting junk intermingled with the wood.

Once you move over or around this mound you enter the margins of the willow forest and you can see what the full force of the river can do to a landscape. These black willows are tenacious and their roots hold on. Here’s another image of a remarkable willow tree and its root mass. This one wears a trophy from the flood like a victory pennant.

From all the cars in the parking lot, I’m guessing the fishing must be pretty good today. I stepped by some earlier evidence in the form of this longnose gar skull. I think this one was caught by rod and reel. But, I have seen the remains of hundreds of these fish before stranded and killed by a retreating river. Longnose gars are routinely in the 3 to 4 feet range in length. The jaws are lined with small needle-like teeth for catching and holding on to smaller fish. The gar is a surface fish and floats in on its quarry like a piece of driftwood very stealthily before surprising it with a quick flash of the jaws.

Moving to the river, I decided to watch what the fishermen were doing and catching. In about twenty minutes, I watched two large catfish being landed. Here are two guys that have this down. Using multiple poles, they cast both worms and cut shad into the swiftly moving waters. Snags and lost tackle are common since this part of the river is also full of rocks and boulders.

I was inspired by the scene and left them this contour drawing in the sand before moving on.

Earlier I had seen a flock of grackles by the water flowing under the bridge. They were catching some food item here that I wasn’t able to figure out what it was…perhaps dead minnows?

The grackles were working the river just like the fishermen were. I left them a drawing in the sand as well made with the tip of my walking stick. The sand today is moist and firm which holds a fine line better than usual.

Of course, while I’m walking along I’m filling my collecting bag with the odds and ends that make up the rest of this riverblog. Some of it is just stuff that I will attempt to make art with and the rest are souvenirs of our material culture. Once the bag was full, I turned and headed up the bank to get under some trees and out of the sun. I then made this sand butterfly to mark the spot where I turned for the willows.

I have set up a new outdoor studio near the margins of the driftwood mound. Instead of a plank to sit on, I’m using this large wooden bridge or railroad tie. I haven’t found the large sections of Styrofoam that mark last season, but what I can find I’ve gathered at this spot. I did make a figure on this day which extended this adventure, but I will wait until next time before unveiling it to you. Thanks for tagging along…you have been good company!

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River Horse

Posted in Absurd, animals, Art, art and environment, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, Louisville, Kentucky, nature, nature photography, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, watershed, tagged Art, artistatexit0, coal, driftwood, Falls of the Ohio, flotsam and jetsam, found objects, material culture, nature, Ohio River, photography, recycled art, Styrofoam, willow tree on June 30, 2011| 5 Comments »

June began all bare bones in the aftermath of our minor flooding and now at month’s end it passes overgrown with vines. Near the tainter gates, a massive raft of driftwood lies intertwined with the landscape. We haven’t seen such a wooden mound in many years. June had some odd and compelling images and here are a few more before we turn the page.

The willow trees are the heroes here tenaciously clinging to the sand and clay. This taunts the Ohio River which sends high water and a battering ram of floating logs their way every once in a while.

Willow wood is flexible and the sustained high water’s flow is echoed in the shape of these trees. I imagine the river as an artist shaping its garden at the Falls of the Ohio. There’s a bit of that bonsai- look if you can get past the larger scale.

The willows’ branches do their part in snagging some of the flotsam and jetsam floating loosely in the retreating waters. Branches become decorated with plastic bags, fraying barge cables, driftwood, the occasional dead deer, refrigerators, fishing line, and whatever is present in the Ohio River.

Here plastic sheeting has been caught and stretched some length across these trees. It looked like something some installation artist might attempt. I also came across a “nylon crinoid”…in actuality, an unraveling barge cable that made me think of the extinct sea lilies of ancient oceans and in fossils which are pages in the book of life.

Walking across the sand I came across this unusual view which gave me the idea for the title of this post. Very nonchalantly, this mostly destroyed hippopotamus was standing its ground. I’ve read somewhere in a book that the name “hippopotamus” means “river horse” in some African language?

Another view, but this one from the top.

I made another Styrofoam figure on this day. I imagine this as being a figure of some exotic Spanish dancer with fancy combs in her hair. I won’t say this is the best figure I’ve ever made, but it’s also not the worst. It just happens to be how things turned out when I picked this group of materials and objects to make something with at that particular moment.

Now for a full length view. That pink radiating thing is made of plastic and helps to add other visual interest.

Before leaving for home on this day. I watched a couple of guys using a throw net to catch shad to use for fishing bait. I couldn’t help but see them in the context of the Ohio River which was so many more feet above their heads. Here we are at the bottom of the valley.

Since I’ve used the book metaphor a few times in this post…it’s fitting that I end with this picture taken on this day. It’s really a small plastic photo album whose transparent sleeves were full of coal gravel and water. Until next time…

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Squirt Gun Collection

Posted in Absurd, collections, creativity, Falls of the Ohio, Ohio River, unusual collection, watershed, tagged Art, artistatexit0, collecting, Falls of the Ohio, found objects, material culture, Ohio River, photography, popular culture, squirt gun, water pistol on June 26, 2011| 3 Comments »

Squirt guns and water pistols are among the many toys that the Ohio River washes ashore at the Falls of the Ohio State Park. To see more of this collection…click on the Squirt Gun Collection in my Pages section to the right. Thanks artistatexit0.

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The Cottonwood Turtle

Posted in Absurd, animal art works, Art, art and environment, birding, creativity, ecosytem, environmental art, Falls of the Ohio, Louisville, Kentucky, nature photography, public art, recycled art, sculpture, Styrofoam, tagged Art, artistatexit0, birds, cottonwood tree, creativity, Falls of the Ohio, found materials, found objects, Louisville, nature, nature story, photography, Styrofoam, turtles on June 4, 2011| 6 Comments »

First, I would like to thank all the people who checked out my last post on the box turtles. The response has been pretty overwhelming and I’ve enjoyed everybody’s comments. The Eastern Box Turtle isn’t the only turtle to be found at the Falls of the Ohio State Park and this post is about that other mysterious and rare reptile. It’s called the Cottonwood Turtle (Terrapene populus) and its habitat overlaps that of the box turtle. On a warm and humid morning I was exploring the eastern section of the park around the debris line formed by a retreating Ohio River. Plastic bottles and containers and the ever-present polystyrene chunks helped define the high-water mark. We have had so much rain here and it’s officially Kentuckiana’s wettest spring on record! I was mesmerized watching and listening to the Cedar Waxwings pursuing each other from mulberry tree to mulberry tree and whose fruits are just now beginning to ripen to a glossy black. The air was filled with the fine downy fluff produced by the catkins of our giant cottonwood trees and seemed like so much snow falling in ultra slow motion. The chances of inhaling this fluff are real and white airy drifts were forming on the ground where the air currents pushed this gossamer material with its tiny secret of seeds within. With so much going on, I was surprised to catch a slight bit of movement inside a nearby hollow log. I remained still and this is what I saw.

Emerging into the light of a new day was this very ancient looking turtle. Of course I recognized what it is and determined to follow it and make a record of my observations. I kept a discreet distance away and tried not to make any sudden movements or loud noises so the turtle would act as naturally as possible. I kept up with it for a several hours and then I had to pull myself away for home.

The Cottonwood Turtle is characterized by a high-domed carapace that the original inhabitants of the Ohio Valley used for war and ceremonial helmets. Unlike the box turtles which it shares some affinities with…the Cottonwood Turtle cannot retract its head and limbs fully into its shell. This makes it vulnerable to predators. I watched my turtle crawling over the plastic and Styrofoam debris left by the last flood. It seemed to be going somewhere with a purpose and I followed discreetly behind it.

The previous night we had another tremendous rain storm with high winds. Mud, broken branches and leaf litter evidence can be found everywhere. I followed my turtle to a large cottonwood branch and saw it engaging in the activity that gives this remarkable reptile its name.

Over the course of about an hour, I watched the turtle carrying mouthfuls of the Cottonwood fluff to a hole that it had previously prepared. It made about a half a dozen trips back and forth from the downed branch to what looked to my eye to be an abandoned groundhog hole that the turtle retrofitted for its own purpose. The fluff was carried into the hole where a special chamber was being prepared for this turtle’s eggs!

Here is the Cottonwood Turtle about to finish laying her eggs. I observed about five ping pong ball-sized eggs being deposited upon their bed of cottonwood fiber. I suppose the fluff cushions the eggs and perhaps as this material decays provides some modicum of warmth to assist in the incubation? From what I have read, new turtles should be emerging from their subterranean nursery after sixty days. After the turtle covered her nest with her back legs she moved on. From this moment, the eggs and baby turtles to be are on their own. I gently uncovered some of the soil and photographed this single egg. Afterwards, I placed the egg back into the nest, re-covered it and went on my way happy to have witnessed this ancient rite of life.

It occurred to me on my walk back through the tangle of bottomland, that this turtle might be benefitting the tree as well? I haven’t heard or read anything concerning a link, but what if? The fluff contains minute seeds and the act of burying them might aid in propagating this tree. The turtle places these seeds a little deeper than usual which might encourage stronger and deeper root growth. Since this area is frequently altered by the river, it would make sense for the tree to have a deeper hold on the soil? I came across another downed cottonwood branch and admired all the fluff it was producing. It all looked so beautiful and magical in broad daylight.

Overhead the orioles were collecting their own materials to build their amazing hanging basket nests. And the Cedar Waxwings were fueling up on the mulberries in preparation for their long migration up into the north country. One last image of one of these waxwings. Such an interesting and beautiful bird so uniquely marked.

Although I may have fooled some people out there (wink, wink)…the Cottonwood Turtle doesn’t actually exist! I made it from junk I found here in this very real environment at the Falls of the Ohio. The shell or carapace is the cushioning from inside an old bicycle or motorcycle helmet and I have found several of these helmets after the last flood.

I used three pieces of Styrofoam…the shell, head, and one piece under a chunk of fiberglass-like material to fill the space inside the helmet. Limbs are pieces of found wood attached to the lightweight fiberglass. Everything is joined and pegged together with wood skewers. I did use some found plastic for the actual neck and mouth of the turtle. The eyes are round lead fishing weights and the nostrils are pieces of coal. Thanks for tagging along!

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Year of the Box Turtles

Posted in animals, Art, ecosytem, Falls of the Ohio, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, unusual collection, tagged artistatexit0, Eastern box turtle, Falls of the Ohio, nature, photo series, photography, turtles on June 1, 2011| 66 Comments »

With the record rains and high water at the Falls of the Ohio State Park, 2011 has already become a memorable year. Of all the wildlife I have observed this Spring, the sightings of so many Eastern Box Turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) has added to the mystique of this year. My history with this engaging turtle in this park is slim. During the eight previous years I’ve come across live specimens only twice. On two other occasions I’ve found the intact carapaces of deceased turtles, one of which had a pellet-sized hole in its shell. Their relative scarcity reinforced the idea that although this is a widespread turtle in our country, it was becoming less common for many reasons including habitat loss, road kills, and wild animals collected for the pet trade. What I’m about to present is a portfolio of eight individual box turtles that I have seen and photographed over the last two months. No doubt the flooding helped concentrate them in ever shrinking territories and this is why I came to find them. I tried to be careful in handling and left them where they were found. The first turtle I came across was in the western section of the park and here are two images of it.

This one was found after the first flood. It has really interesting and colorful beading on its neck.

The Box Turtle #2 was found swimming to higher ground during the height of the second flood in May and in the eastern section of the park.

Box Turtle #3, I found twice in the same day in the eastern section of the park. Here is what it looked like. Note that the second scute bears what looks like a lower case letter “a” on its shell.

And now for the opposite side of turtle #3…

Here’s the same turtle the second time around and this time he has found a friend!

At first I thought this was a male and female turtle, but I didn’t check anything but eye color which in this case was on the red side indicating the chance they were both male. When I came across them, they were certainly aware of each other. The larger of the two box turtles may have been the older specimen based on how worn its shell was. I’ve heard that counting the growth rings on these turtles is not a reliable way to determine their ages. My field guides indicated that this is a long-lived turtle with individuals easily living to 40 to 50 years and in rare cases possibly a 100 years old. Here are three images with Box Turtle #4.

Box Turtle #5 …I only have one image of it mostly retracted in its shell. This one is also from the eastern section of the park.

Box Turtle #6 is very colorful and was found near the Interpretive Center during the height of the flood. Although it’s hard to tell…it’s standing on the remains of a refrigerator that floated in with the Ohio River.

The next two turtles are the smallest ones I’ve found thus far and each was found in the eastern section of the Falls of the Ohio State Park. This is Box Turtle #7.

Here’s the underside of the same turtle showing the plastron and the hinge that allows the box turtle to completely hide inside its shell.

To close, I have three images of Box Turtle #8 and its the smallest yet. One other thing I noticed about this little guy was that it was missing part of its left front foot which had healed from whatever injured it.

Another image to help provide scale using a quarter for a guide.

Of all the info I learned about box turtles, the fact that most surprised me is that if left alone they can live their entire lives in a relatively restricted area the size of a football field. They become so habituated to this territory that if they are moved from their familiar surroundings they can become dislocated and fail to thrive. This is a good reason not to take these turtles out of the wild. I placed #8 on the ground wishing it well. It pleased me knowing that there were at least this many box turtles in this small park. I wonder how many others I will come across before year’s end?

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Cats and Coon

Posted in Absurd, animals, Art, ecosytem, Falls of the Ohio, nature, nature photography, Ohio River, tagged Art, artistatexit0, Cats, Falls of the Ohio, feral animals, found objects, nature, Ohio River, photography, raccoons on May 28, 2011| 12 Comments »

Regular visitors to the riverblog know that I comment on everything that doesn’t belong in this environment which takes in more than man-made debris. Invasive species, non-native species, and domesticated animals turned loose are changing the ecosystem too. Recently, I posted about the growing feral cat problem I’ve been observing in the park. Kind hearted people have been trying to take care of them by dumping dry cat food around the picnic tables near the Interpretive Center. As a reminder, here is another photograph illustrating this.

Sometimes I see what seems to me to be a ridiculous amounts of food spread out in this area. Returning from a hike in the park’s western section, I stopped to watch three cats that were eating dry cat food that had been spread along the curb of the parking lot.

From the corner of my eye I saw something moving in the brush and thought it might be a fourth cat joining in the feast…but it wasn’t.

It was a raccoon and only the second one I’ve seen in broad daylight out here. Usually, these animals are more reclusive than this and prefer to operate under the cover of darkness, but here was this adult raccoon making a bee-line for the cat food.

I don’t view this as a good thing for all species concerned here. Granted, the high river was probably cutting off some of the territory that the raccoon would forage over and this animal was hungry. Wild animals that become habituated to man usually don’t fare well. And in this case, there is a real danger that if this raccoon had rabies…it could transmit it to the cats who regularly come in contact with people. By being out in broad daylight near an area populated by people, this raccoon was already displaying atypical behavior.

To my eye, the cats seemed less wary than the raccoon who is supposed to be a wild animal. This scene was broken up when visitors with a dog on a leash came too close and the cats and coon ran into the woods. I’m confidant that whomever is dumping cat food out here is not thinking about unintended consequences…but they should. I’m not against cats, but I don’t think we should encourage them to live near wild life. Recently, I found two objects left behind by the flooding that illustrate our affection for felines and I’ll end this post with them. Until next time.

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Triple Mickey, Triple Piggies, and Other Fun Finds

Posted in Absurd, art and environment, collections, Falls of the Ohio, Ohio River, unusual collection, watershed, tagged Art, artificial food, artistatexit0, Beach combing, Falls of the Ohio, flood finds, flotsam and jetsam, found objects, lost toys, Mickey Mouse, photography, plastic toys, river collection, Santa novelties on May 26, 2011| 6 Comments »

Okay, by now you know that we have had our share of floods, etc…at the Falls of the Ohio. The Ohio River has gone up and down a couple of times over the past two months. This post is devoted to toy finds that I have made during the moments I could access the riverbank and surrounding environs. I think one of the biggest reasons I love visiting this place is that I always find something interesting left behind by the river. This activity keeps me from spending money at the flea markets and antique malls and yet satisfies my need for visual stimulation. I came up with my post’s title by looking at what I found recently. Weirdly, this time I found three Mickey Mouse related objects and searching my brain…I don’t think I have even found one previous one before? It all started with the first image in this post and …

…then I found these broken glasses. A week or so after that find came this.

I think this was some kind of self-inking stamp. And now for the piggies and they come in graduating sizes. Let’s start with the smallest.

This pig is next in line.

Now this was a bit of a disturbing find bobbing in the waves and it’s considerably larger in size than the previous pigs. I’m not sure what kind of toy this used to be…but here it is.