A Stream Emerges from a Shadowed Gorge as it Enters the River.
I made an all-to-brief visit to David Fortier River Park, Olmsted Falls, this morning and discovered the scene had transformed with the season. Thick layers of water plants coated the rocks beneath flowing water with purple slime lining the rock stream bed. I was alone in the park at that early hour but for a fly fisherman casting his line into the rushing river; a quiet respite in my morning’s travel.
Flow
Olmsted Falls Respite
I made an all-too-brief stop at David Fortier River Park in Olmsted Falls this morning. It has, for a very long time, been one of my favorite places. I had my little Canon PowerShot G11 camera with me and managed to capture a number of “keeper” images. The filtered morning light in the ravine was lovely in the dim light where water flows over smooth rocks, trees and moss add a green softness to the scene.
Cold water moves as though thick around rocks in this stream.
After painting the kitchen moulding I took off on a round of errands: Post Office, Cardboard Recycling, Office (to water plant). Then respite: a nice, unhurried visit to David Fortier River Park in Olmsted Falls followed by a quick stop at the Strongsville Wildlife Area. It was a cold, gray afternoon, well-suited to the time of year. Still, there was plenty to photograph especially in Olmsted Falls where I spotted many pictures. Even armed only with my little PowerShot G11 I was able to bring home a nice set of images; it was hard to choose which of them to show here. Suddenly things are happening with the kitchen as tomorrow marks arrival and installation of the sink. On Monday and Tuesday of next week, the plumbing gets connected (wish it was earlier!) and the moulding goes up. That should be the completion of our “kitchen project.” Yes, today’s respite was much-needed.
Thin ice is forming on the pond in the Strongsville Wildlife Area.
Low-running water spills over the rocks of the West Branch of the Columbia River.
I do love the quiet beauty of the morning and I have been long remiss in visiting David Fortier River Park in Olmsted Falls, Ohio. There I have seen the West Branch of the Columbia River in full fury — roaring waters that threatened to end anyone or anything that ventures too near or happens to make a misstep. Recent drought conditions have tamed the rivers here. On this morning’s journey I promised myself to make a quick stop for a taste of tranquility; I am so glad I did. The morning light was subdued by clouds. To spite the drought the stony valley was lush, damp, and green. The river itself was running low, there was no flowing water at all in a tributary joining it, and the peace of the place was thick as the morning’s air. I was reminded of the first time I set eyes upon the park –one of my favorite places– and wondered how I could have stayed away so long. Time passed quickly and I was expected elsewhere. Too soon departed from this lovely place.
A moss-covered rocky river bed runs beneath an old stone bridge.
Sometimes good things happen when you least expect them.
I hadn’t paid a visit to one of my favorite places in a long time so this morning, on the way to work, I stopped by David Fortier River Park in Olmsted Falls. It was quiet and dark under the clear, early-morning sky. I carried my little Canon G11 camera towards the rock-lined stream and river that converge in the valley park and gingerly stepped out upon the rocks. I photographed ancient, water-sculpted rock walls and flowing streams. I took images of the rich green colors and leafy trees, light and dark reflected in the water that led to the park’s stone bridge. It was beautiful and relaxing just being there for 10 minutes. Realizing it was time to resume my trip, I carefully stepped across the damp, slippery rocks, looking down to avoid water and a sure tumble into the shallow stream. Then, either at a glance or in the still-live LCD panel of the camera, a sight caught my eye: all of the elements I sought combined, in painterly fashion, in one image. I took one shot, made my way (still dry) to my car and headed off. Only tonight looking at the photographs did I see that, for all of those carefully-composed photographs, my favorite and the best of the morning was that “accidental” vision. Beautiful serendipity.
Thursday was a really, really lousy day at work! Started out in the wee hours with a power failure in the server rack, then a yahoo co-worker moved a couple of networked printers before their time putting them out of use, then the HR manager's PC died, and on and on and on. By the end of the day I was stressed out, my body hurt from head to toe, I was angry, frustrated, and I was physically exhausted having stayed up late with observatory programming the night before and scrambling to work an hour early when I discovered there was a crisis in progress. This morning was a time to unwind a bit on my way to the place of Thursday's torments.
One of my favorite local places is a city park in Olmsted Falls. There, amongst hand-carved rocky walls, grow mosses, flowers, and trees. Nearby a river slowly wears down its rocky bed creating the falls for which the town is named. The light and the atmosphere are peaceful there. It's on my way to work.
An unkempt and smelly lily pond is adjacent to the park's tiny parking lot. I was looking for frogs or turtles, and even heard but did not see a bullfrog. Then I noticed the tiny black dots floating amidst the tangles of pond weed… tadpoles! Hundreds, maybe thousands of tadpoles were swimming everywhere. Most were of a very small, deep brown or black variety dotted with yellow. What I thought were bubbles of gas burbling occasionally to the surface turned out to be much larger bullfrog tadpoles! They darted to the surface, gulped air, then dove back to the relative safety of the pond floor!
Before leaving, I strolled to the bridge carrying a street over the river valley and crossed to the north side. There, perched just on the river bank, is a house of enviable location. Still, I got my respite and a bit of stress relief through a much less permanent visit to a tiny city park. One of my favorite places for, now, several decades, David Fortier River Park.
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