Thursday, May 13, 2010

(Day 133) A kayaker's dream

At this time of year you wouldn't think that this placid little stream would even get a second look from a kayaker. But you should see it in March and April when the spring runoff is at its height and it becomes a raging torrent. No, there are no class 6 rapids, but the water overflows the rocky ledge on the right in the photos below, and rushes through some of the pasture land on either side of the stream bed. The water gets churned up pretty good, and we have actually seen kayakers here. The rocks in the ledge at the right of the stream are typical of the ground structure in this area - shallow, rock-filled 'soil' sitting atop layers of sedimentary rock, wherein I've found many fossils.

(50mm  f8  1/250 sec  ISO200)
















(50mm  f8  1/250 sec  ISO200)
















(50mm  f8  1/125 sec  ISO200)

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wish I lived near a river, would go fishing every day, used to do it every Sunday, when I was back in Sierra Leone.

Love the photos!

imac said...

Hi Rick, cant beat a water shot my friend, love to walk along that stream.

Rick said...

@M. Hassan - I thought there would be a river near you too - Holland has so many! Thanks for your comment.

Rick said...

@imac - it is a very pretty stream, just minutes from my place - you'd love it!

Anonymous said...

I call them trenches and I'm never seen a running river. One other thing is that, I never know if I could eat the fishes I catch, I think you can't do that, but I'll have to do a research on that one.

Katherine said...

How beautiful Rick! This yells out to me...peace & serenity...I just love to sit & watch the water run free...thanks again for sharing this beautiful imagery with us! Have a great Friday Rick!

cindyzlogic said...

Cool! Fossil hunting!

Rick said...

@M. Hassan - by 'trenches' do you mean a 'sloot' ? As for eating the fish, are you saying it's illegal or unhealthy ?

Rick said...

@Katherine - it is a very peaceful place and fits in so nicely with what we like about living here - tranquil, unspoiled, unhurried...

Hope your Friday is going/went well!

Rick said...

@cindyzlogic - yes! and in my own backyard (just click on the link in the post to see).

darlin said...

Another piece of paradise. I could sit for hours on end and enjoy this type of scenery. I think that I'll pass on the kayaking though, I've never done that and it looks like something which I would deem to be dangerous. Now a canoe makes sense to me, well much more sense than a kayak.

Beautiful shots Rick, and here you were worried about not having enough things to shoot for an entire year! From what I've seen this year I don't think that you'll ever run out of subjects... isn't that awesome! If you do just buy something new! lol

Anonymous said...

Yes, I mean a sloot and I think its illegal to eat the fish, but I'm not sure.

Scott Law said...

That is a beautiful little stream, and beautifully captured by you. It would be an excellent place for a picnic and some "riparian entertainment". (The words in quotation are from a hilarious Britcom that we used to watch a lot on television. Just typing that out made me laugh out loud thinking about it.)

Rick said...

@darlin - I've never gone kayaking either; the idea of being trapped underwater inside something that won't turn over isn't high on my things-to-do list :) I'm finding that with some practice I'm 'seeing' beauty a little better. Thanks.

Rick said...

@M. Hassan - you might need a licence (doesn't everything require a licence or permit these days ?)

Rick said...

@Scott - thank you Scott. I just had to look up 'riparian entertainment' - I'd heard of riparian rights before; sounds like it was a hilarious show ! I can see why the scene above would have reminded you of that :)

Anonymous said...

Yes, unfortunately, everything belongs to the government these days and so we need a license to fishing too. Eating it? I'm not sure..

Edward said...

Great photos Rick. I just love water shots. Its great to capture the beauty of moving water.

Jeanne Frances Klaver said...

I would LOVE to be there! (swoon)

Unknown said...

What a fantastic shot and a great location. I can just about hear the soft hum of the calm water moving gently through the creekbed. Excellent!

Rick said...

@Edward, Jeanne, Krista - thank you for coming by. This is a lovely quiet spot, which I pass almost every day. And I finally made a point of driving to it simply to SEE it and make some photos. Glad you enjoyed it too!