Posts from the ‘Photography’ Category
Peony encore
Our post of a pink peony was warmly received so I thought an encore would be appropriate. Among the many peonies which populate the gardens about the house we have but one white individual – and it’s a beauty. Although the petals are pure white, the diffuse light of the heavily overcast morning conjured a golden glow from the deep recesses of the corolla.
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Pennsylvania sunset
It’s been raining, again … and that’s a good thing. Our water table had just begun to drop, the hay had begun to flag, and fire warnings had been raised in some of our surrounding forests. Although it’s been wet, we haven’t been idle; we managed to get seeds and transplants into the garden, and the trimming of hedgerows proceeds apace in anticipation of our first cut of hay. Just after dinner yesterday evening we were treated, to our delight, to a view of the setting sun through (ever so briefly) clearing skies.
By the way, this image was taken using the sweep panorama function of the Sony DSC-HX9V.
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Peony
Named for Paeon, student of Asclepius, Greek god of medicine, the Peony is known to produce a number of compounds with medicinal properties. Beyond that, Peonies are beautiful – that’s plain and simple.
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Bridging the gap
This gallery documents restoration of a lenticular Silver Bridge discussed earlier. Clicking any of the images will take you to a carousel view with captions; ESC will bring you back to this post. Hovering an image will reveal the date on which it was taken and thereby provide a timeline upon which the work was completed.
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- Bridgeless span.
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- Western span.
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- Eastern span.
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- Delicate morning maneuvers.
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- East meets west.
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- Conjoined spans.
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- Decking.
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- Road work on the approaches.
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- Completed restoration.
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Very silver bridge
The image is of the historic Silver Bridge which spans Pine Creek just before it enters the Susquehanna a few miles from our home. The bridge comprises a lenticular truss (a term which refers to its lens-shape) and is one of only five such bridges remaining in the state of Pennsylvania. The Silver Bridge was damaged in 2007 and because it is historic, and architecturally unusual, it was disassembled and removed for reconditioning, rather than being razed and replaced. Restoration included repairs to structural members or fabrication of replacement sections for members beyond repair. The decorative castings and latticework that had been removed or damaged over the years were replaced. We got into the habit of driving by now and then to see if there had been any progress, and one day, last summer, discovered that what looked like a giant Erector Set had been deposited at the site. After that we made weekly trips to photograph the rebuilding. Half the span was put together in a scaffolding on each bank, then mammoth cranes were used to pivot the halves out across the water to join them. Our beloved Silver Bridge finally received its restorative coat of … silver … paint this week. You might be interested to know that the bridge was originally made from wrought iron and built in 1890 at a cost of fourteen thousand dollars; this now completed restoration cost more than five million.
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Warholesque
I have commented before about the sorts of post processing employed in the preparation of images for this blog. In particular I said that adjustments are limited to those which could be made easily in the darkroom and include changes to brightness and contrast. While doing evening chores yesterday we noticed that the needles of a large White Pine stood in dramatic contrast against the quickly darkening sky. I couldn’t resist creating a tetraptych in the fashion of Andy Warhol.
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p³ = pretty poppy picture
The farm has kept us busy for most of the last several days … and we’ve been making good progress on many fronts. Although I’ve had my camera with me, and have been capturing images when I can, there has been little time to write about them. The forecast for the coming week promises a bit of rain however … keep in touch.
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The eyes have it (3)
This is the third in a series of posts concerning the dispositions and characters of various breeds of livestock. It goes without saying that individuals within breeds may differ from one another in this way but what we’re getting at here are differences in disposition between and among the various animal breeds themselves; the hardwired, rather than differential, expression of personality. We believe that these differences are most freely revealed through the eyes, the gaze, and countenance.
Of all of the animals we have raised over the years, we have had the most experience with sheep. They are quintessential flock animals. It is difficult to approach an individual sheep; when you do, the behavior of that animal will influence that of the individual near it, which will influence the behavior of the animal near it, and so on … until the entire flock becomes stirred into a chain of reaction. A positive feedback loop ensues which manifests as an explosion of hooves dashing from whatever it was that started the reaction, or alternately, toward whatever stimulus started things off (if the stimulus happens to be food, for example). Those of us who raise sheep have often heard the joke … What is it that you see when you look into the eyes of a sheep? And, the wry reply … The back of its skull. Sheep are complex animals and the preceding is, I believe, unfair. On one level, sheep seem unthinking and unreasonable. Why won’t they let us pet them, and why don’t they seek us out as companions as do cats and dogs? It is interesting to ponder the differences between animal breeds, their behaviors, and the basis for them. Because sheep are small, it is reasonable to assume that behaviors such as the sort described above are defensive. It’s not that sheep are unfriendly … flocks simply respond as do schooling fish and act collectively to perceived threats and dangers. Individuals do not or can not size up situations. Having described sheep in this way paints them, perhaps, as dim witted or one dimensional … this is not true. Although the flocking instinct is strong, individuals do have personality … some are bold, dominant, and pushy, while others are quiet and happy to follow the lead of others. Getting to know, understand, and to appreciate sheep takes time.
The other defining character of sheep you should know is that they are stoic … in the extreme … in contrast, for example, to goats which are anything but. I have heard it said that Sheep spend their entire lives looking for a dramatic way to die. And, to an extent, this is true. Unless a sheep has a significant, and outwardly manifesting, health issue it won’t let on that anything is wrong. It is these outward manifestations of ill-health however that shepherds depend upon. Even in its debilitated state a sheep will run from you, if it has the strength. Who was it that said, If you can’t catch your patient then it isn’t all that ill? It’s the individual you can catch that is in real trouble.
If a sheep were transmogrified into human form the result would be someone at ease with the routine; the out of ordinary would be met with suspicion. Negative reactions to novel situations would be swift and without consideration. The individual would be free with those within its circle and unaffected by those without. I don’t believe the transmogrified sheep would enjoy books or chess, but might be enthusiastic about a good puzzle or paint-by-number.
Next time you get the chance to watch a flock of sheep consider these characterizations.
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Mimetics
It was sunny yesterday and I took time to photograph the Hollyhocks which grow just outside the barn. As I reviewed these images, the parallel between the reticulated pattern of venation of the plant and that created by urban sprawl and the development of housing subdivisions struck me. This convergence, between nature and a human construct, is nothing new … the parallels are much studied and comprise the field of Biomimetics. The terms mimetics and mimesis describe art, or other human constructions, as they reflect what is good, useful, efficient, and beautiful in the physical world. [Examples of biomimicry include Velcro and burs, and Kevlar and spider silk.]
It is not my habit to quote from Wikipedia (I prefer original sources and sometimes view the internet as the academic analogue of fast food) but will make an exception in the best interest of efficiency. The following is taken, with some modification, from Wikipedia: Through the course of 3.8 billion years, nature has gone through a process of trial and error to refine living organisms, processes, and materials. [The author means to point out that nature is subject to the laws and outcomes of the process of Natural Selection.] The emerging field of biomimetics has given rise to new technologies created from biologically inspired engineering on a number of scales. Biomimetics is not a new idea. Humans have always looked to nature for answers to both complex and simple problems. Nature has solved many of today’s engineering problems such as hydrophobicity, wind resistance, self-assembly, and solar energy.
Nature has had it right from the beginning … if we would simply stop to listen, we’d be a whole lot better off.
[The street view on the right, of south-west Florida, was captured from Google Maps. Views of this sort were the subject of a Boston Globe piece at Boston.com.]
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Farm equipment
Farm equipment … especially old farm equipment … speaks volumes when you take time to listen. Clicking any of the images in this gallery will take you to a carousel view, ESC will bring you back to this post.
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Starling
A Starling has been working to establish a nest in the barn. Several times this week, upon entering the milkroom, I have been greeted with an explosion which was her confused and disoriented attempt to leave the room, post-haste. Although the bird must have gained entry through the open door, she apparently forgot this in her effort to exit quickly. She flew about in confusion, bouncing off the walls and windows. On Thursday I was greeted by a pile of glass – that Starling had opened one of the windows the only way she knew how. I picked the shards from the floor and set them aside. Today I noticed, in the darkened room, that they reflected images of the nearby trees and afternoon sky.
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The eyes have it (2)
This is the second in a series of posts concerning the different dispositions and characters of various breeds of livestock. It goes without saying that individuals within breeds may differ from one another in this way but what we’re getting at here are differences in disposition between and among the various animal breeds themselves; the hardwired, rather than differential expression of personality. We believe that these differences are most freely revealed through the eyes, the gaze, and countenance.
We raise turkeys seasonally and have come to know them well. Like chickens, turkeys have some capacity for flight but spend the majority of their time ground foraging. Flocks are close-knit. Chickens range as a loose association with group members moving about, foraging, on their own. Turkeys, in contrast, range as a tight group. Their behavior as individuals is not nearly as frenetic as that of ranged chickens. Turkeys tend to pause often … I was just about to say that they tend to pause often, as if to cogitate … but that would have been a non-truth because I don’t believe that turkeys think much at all. They often gaze blankly as if to suggest that what they are trying to think about is percolating, ever so slowly, into the deep recesses of their consciousness. Once they have processed information they act, slowly. If you watch a group of turkeys for a time you might be lead to think that groups make collective decisions – flocks function as a committee. I’m not quite sure how, but individuals do communicate with one another in the decision-making process. In our experience males (Toms) can be belligerent with lots of bluster to accompany the attitude. Hens are quiet, quicker than the males (physically and mentally) and purposeful about their movements. My daughter has commented that turkeys tend to looking disapprovingly at just about everything. There’s something about their long beaks and the relation of the beak to the eyes which gives the impression that they are looking down their nose at you. Toms make a drumming or thumping sound which can be mistaken for sounds of disapproval, as if they’re commenting, Harumph.
If a turkey were to be transmogrified into human form the result would be a very large, bombastic, pompous, sort. This person would be generally quiet and when he did speak it would be to condescend. He would be more interested in talking to and interacting with close friends rather than in entering into open discourse with you or with anyone else outside his circle. Now that I think of it it’s clear that I’ve described Mr. Darcy from (the beginning of) Jane Austin’s, Pride and Prejudice. I would be quick to point out however that no turkey could hold a candle to Fitzwilliam’s sharp intellect. Finally, Tom turkeys will speak when spoken to … if you gobble at them, they are quick to gobble back; they don’t take insult lightly.
Next time you get the chance to watch a flock of Turkeys consider these characterizations.
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Flower power
The weekend weather was gloomy with overcast skies and river mist until early afternoon. To my surprise however, these conditions proved optimal for capturing the botanical riot which are the gardens surrounding our home. Old fashioned varieties of Poppy, Iris, and Columbine were at their showy-best. Clicking an individual image among those in the gallery will take you to a carousel view, ESC will bring you back to this post.
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The eyes have it
This is the first in what I hope will be a series of posts concerning the different dispositions and characters of various breeds of livestock. It goes without saying that individuals within breeds may differ from one another in this way but what we’re getting at here are differences in disposition between and among the various animal breeds themselves; the hardwired, rather than differential expression of personality. We believe that these differences are most freely revealed through the eyes, the gaze, and countenance.
Although egg layers and meat birds alike have some (limited) capacity for flight, these animals spend most of their time foraging on the ground. As such, they are exposed to predation by fox, racoon, and other denizens. Free-range birds are very wary. Notice the location of the eyes, widely set on either side of the head. These birds enjoy 300° of panoramic (monocular) vision and 26° of binocular vision; the former allows them to watch for predators (it is very difficult to sneak up on a chicken) while the latter allows them to act as one. In their ever elevated state of nervousness they rarely blink, and when they do, it is only for the briefest of periods. Chickens are always on the move. Ever watchful, they scan about, nervously, as they make their way through lawn, pasture, and meadow. They rarely rest during the day, and when they do they do so with their eyes opened and from a point which provides good vantage (such as high points of ground or low tree branches).
Hens watch for predators, other hens, and for the rooster. Roosters watch for predators and are constantly looking out for their harem. Hens seem to enjoy themselves in their incessant search for good things to eat; they rarely quarrel. A rooster, on the other hand, must keep track of and breed his hens, all the while working to protect them … a most difficult job, but a good rooster is good at it. Roosters, as perhaps you know, will quarrel with each other, sometimes to mortal ends.
If a chicken were to be transmogrified into human form the result would be a nervous sort, not easy to get to know. I don’t believe the transmogrified bird would be well read or a good conversationalist. The hens would be shallow, gossips, and prone to forming and belonging to cliques. They would be self-absorbed and very much concerned with status. Roosters would be rakish and might appear as Tom Jones did his heyday (or as the comic book character Moose from the Archie series). They would be well muscled, not at all cerebral, and quick to judge.
Next time you get the chance to watch a free-range flock, consider these characterizations.
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Lock the gate
The gate to which this latch is attached provides direct access to the undercroft of the barn. Although there is another gate between this area and the open pasture, this has always been the gate which had to be shut. I’m sure our kids have recurring nightmares of me asking … Are you absolutely sure you locked the gate? Although there are many gates around the farm, this particular question concerned only one gate – this one – and they knew it. I obsess about this gate, even though I know that no animal has ever left the barn through it (unauthorized, that is).
The reason I posted this photo is because the impression made by the pendulum-like motion of the dangling latch has always fascinated me. How many gate openings were required to produce the groove? Let’s see if we can’t estimate … we’ve been on the farm for 17 years (we installed the latch, new, when we arrived) … we’ll call that 6000 days. I would guess that this latch is opened, on average, 20 times per day (10 trips into the barn and 10 trips back out) … that’s 120,000 openings. The latch swings back and forth across the groove perhaps three times each time it is dropped – that’s 360,000 passes. The groove is about an inch deep. Let’s go metric … 2.5 cm (that’s 25,000 microns). So, each pass has removed a layer of wood just about 7/100 of a micron thick. Why do I enjoy doing calculations such as this?
To end on a more contemplative note … what stories might the latch tell if it could talk? It could recount anecdotes about shearing sheep, milking cows and goats, treating all kinds of animals, and sending some off to other farms – our local livestock markets – or to slaughter. It could tell of disappointments, outright disasters, and losses, as well as successes, joys, accomplishments, and lessons learned.
