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olmsted falls
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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
Great Blue Heron Walking Away
This morning I was driving in the Olmsted Township (Ohio) area and felt like I could use some quiet time. A favorite place is David Fortier River Park in Olmsted Falls. As soon as I got out of my car I knew the park was the right place for me. I began my stroll along a path that leads to the falls, photographing interesting and beautiful rocks and plants along the way. As I drew closer to the falls I noticed something gray standing up from the shadowed rocks and water … a Great Blue Heron was looking for breakfast! Dressed in light-colored clothing, I felt the bird would quickly spot me and flee the scene. No, it held its position, standing in the water flowing over exposed rock. I shot many images, expecting each to be my last before the great bird’s departure. The heron stayed still, until I got a little too close for comfort. The Great Blue Heron — actually a bit small – probably a youngster — warily began to stroll away from me. It walked across dry rocks, then out to the main falls, and along the edge of the cascade. Finally it reached the end of the falls across the river from me and too far for good picture-taking. The bird felt safe and I was out of time. I headed back to the car. We had made our decisions to just walk away.
I paid a visit to David Fortier River Park in Olmsted Falls this morning hoping to use my Canon DSLR to capture some morning scenes. I forgot, however, how cold the camera was from in-house storage and how well-insulated the camera bag was. I uncapped the lens at the park in the humid morning air and voila! Dew instantly covered the lens! It was unusable for the entire time I was at the park. So, I used my iPod Touch to capture this and a couple of other scenes. Lesson: Have the camera out the whole trip and the lens will be free of fog (besides being available for instant use)! Also, the iPod is a pretty darned good “go everywhere” camera.
In Olmsted Falls – iPod Touch Photograph
Morning Lights
While I love to photograph scenes of nature, I also like capturing moments from the world made by humans. Buildings and their interaction with their surrounding earth, sky, and light are favorites as are details from those buildings. Structures and surfaces of all ages can be wonderful. What struck my fancy last Friday were some beautifully-restored old buildings in the Grand Pacific Junction retail area of Olmsted Falls, Ohio. Clear morning light swept across surfaces of newer paint covering chipped surfaces of ancient siding. Decorated rooflines penetrated the deep, blue, cloudless sky overhead. A person could get lost in it.
Top of the Morning
No Trains Today: East or West
A quick stop in Olmsted Falls this dark and misty morning to take a look at the old Olmsted Falls railway station. The structure was built in 1877 by the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad as both a freight and passenger station. It now houses a model railroad club but still stands adjacent to main line rails that carry frequent trains even if they no longer stop there.
Waiting for Baggage
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.
Coasting on New Year’s Day.
Looking to get out of the house for a while we took a little drive around the area. A quick shop at Target for a couple of items and off we went to Olmsted Falls and their lovely East River Park. I hadn’t even considered that others might be in the park this overcast, cold, and snowy New Year’s Day but, as we entered the driveway, we were surprised to see the parking lot well-used. There’s a lovely hill at the southern boundary of the park with a nice, gentle slope down to an open field … perfect, today, for coasting (aka “sledding”). While especially popular with families and their little children (that gentle hill doesn’t give much speed to the sled) folks of all ages were having a great time, and you could tell that by the delighted screams and the smiling faces of sledders who were leaving for the day. There was, however, one somewhat sad sign of the times: in a space between the field and the parking lot stood a concrete trash barrel. Next to the trash barrel were piled the colorful remains of broken plastic sleds. When I was young, a sled was something you kept and used for years, perhaps even handing it down to one’s own children. It didn’t matter whether the sled was a wooden toboggan, a sled with steel runners, or a saucer-shaped metal disk, it was a durable item. Most of today’s sleds appear to be made of fairly thin molded plastic in a range of colors and shapes. The modern sleds (actually a type of toboggan) are fast and cheap, and so, fun and affordable. It’s just sad to see them broken and discarded at the end of the day. Coasting into 2013 we wish you a happy new year!
Broken plastic sleds, discarded in the park. Kind of sad.
Out for a Walk
For hours and hours the TV weather guys droned on about “Blizzard 2012” and how awful the storm was; that was despite the fact that it wasn’t a blizzard. Nor was it a “snowpocalypse” as some liked to call it. We had a heavy snowstorm and we in Northeastern Ohio are used to dealing with those. It wasn’t a picnic, either as the weather slowed us down and stopped some, but most of us got through it just fine. My drive home Wednesday evening was tricky but beautiful and today dawned cloudy over clear streets and revealed vistas of fresh snow. Though it made me a few minutes late, I simply had to stop and look around a bit in East River Park, Olmsted Falls.
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.
PhotonStopper 