Aerosmith

I went down to the Bertom Lake (now is time for my usual reminder that Bertom “Lake” is really Mississippi River backwaters and not a lake at all) and did some paddling around in my canoe. I beached my boat on a little sand/mudbar just off the main channel, ate some sandwiches and carrots and then laid down for a rest and then got up and wandered around on the island I was on and took some pictures. This is some of what I got.

It's kind of fun to realize that the island I was on this weekend probably would have been split up into several islands if the water had been high – like it was this spring. It's been said before but I'll just point it out again: rivers (or at least the land around them) changes from year to year and season to season. Spring (my girlfriend, not the season) and I went for a little paddle down a small river near here (the Grant River) this weekend. Both she and I have seperately paddled that stretch of river before. This spring the river flooded and some pretty drastic changes from pre to post flood. I have paddled the river several times since the flood and the evidence of the power of moving water always leaves me a bit agape.

This is just a climbing plant twisting its way up a dead stick on the island I was on at Bertom Lake.

I was walking along on the island when I looked down and saw what looked like the cucumber plant that is growing in my garden (“was growing” would be more accurate since it died towards the end of the growing season and I hacked it up and buried it). As you may or may not know a cucumber is viney and climbs a bit. This curly-cue is what it would use to climb – if there had been anything to climb. But it's not a cucumber plant. There weren't any cucumbers and besides, what the hell would a cucumber plant be doing growing in an island on the Mississippi backwaters? But since there weren't any flowers it would be hard for me to ID. But it looked pretty similar to a cucumber.

Last Sunday afternoon I took a small hike, my destination being a small patch of woods near town here. It's not public land and I was trespassing the whole time...but really now, who's going to object very strongly to a guy out wandering around with a camera? It's not like I was carrying a chainsaw around with me or taking pictures of areas sensitive to national security. And plus the woods are fairly secluded so I don't think anyone saw me anyway. It's kind of funny, I didn't get a single picture that was very good while I was in the woods – but I got three that were decent on the way to the woods. (this brings to mind those cheesy – but true – Aerosmith song lyrics [as well as a fairly common cliche]: Life's a journey, not a destination).

On the way to these woods you walk down a street that's lined with crab apple trees. This tree had quite a few apples...more than the other trees.

Walking to the woods I noticed this tree that had leaves on just one branch that had changed color and were drastically different than the rest of the leaves. This is a picture of that branch.

You have to walk through a field of grass to get to this patch of woods I was heading for. Parts of the grass field were plowed and planted this spring. I think this is a wildlife food plot. Since the point of a food plot is to not harvest it - and let the wildlife do the harvesting this winter - the plants were still there. This is the seedhead of a sorghum plant silhouetted against the setting sun in that food plot .