I was the only walker on the bike path the other night but a few people were out on the water.
This gentleman was out cruising in his classic.
Isn’t this a beautiful view? Enjoy this weekend, my friends. Go find something beautiful today.
Yesterday morning was warm but beautiful so I took advantage of the conditions to walk at the lake. I snapped this phone picture just before crossing the bridge that connects the island to the rest of the park.
To my horror, I spotted a turtle crossing the road as an SUV sped his way. The speed limit is 35 miles per hour but that vehicle was driving much faster and I knew I couldn’t safely save the little guy.
As the SUV barreled down on him, I watched with both horror and intrigue as he pivoted so the long part of his shell would be parallel with the yellow line and he took up as little space as possible between the car’s tires.
It was incredible.
The car passed, he survived and I scurried out into the road to help him to the gravel causeway. I carefully set him down and stepped away about ten feet to see what would happen next. He seemed to be headed my way on the road which tells me he was traveling from the stream across the road to the much larger lake where I was walking. If he turned to go back onto the road like he was going to that stream, I would have helped with that too.
Luckily, there was no need to worry. He stuck his head out and appeared to sniff the air before scurrying down the bank and into the water. He moved shockingly fast as he scampered down the shore and swam away.
I live in hill country. It isn’t uncommon to see a turtle in the road but it can be challenging to find a safe place to pull over and help them cross.
Cars and poachers are probably the greatest threats to turtles in Ohio. Being smashed by a car is a painful, slow death so please do everything in your power to avoid hitting one.
If you see a turtle in the road, feel free to help if you can. First, make sure you can safely pull over. Also remember that Snapping turtles will bite and hold on but most other turtles are safe to help – just hold onto both sides between their front and back legs. Never handle a turtle by the tail.
Finally, be sure to move them in the direction they are traveling. Turtles are purposeful and are on the move because they need to be. If you move them to a place they do not wish to be, you can be making their lives drastically more difficult.
This story from the Sierra Club is a few years old but contains great information to help you. There’s also a video that demonstrates multiple ways to help a snapping turtle.
Help a turtle, save a life. Be a turtle hero!
What a difference a day makes! The top picture was made at Lake Alma Saturday. It was 26 degrees and windy but the sunshine and blue skies made an outstanding backdrop for pictures and for a brisk walk.
The next photo was made at about the same time on Sunday. It was 35 degrees and calm. Snow was moving in to the area and the sky was positively white. Luckily, the extra nine degrees made it seem almost pleasant.
I couldn’t help but think how nice all my pictures would look in black and white. They’re not nice so much as a bit haunting.
Here’s one more for good measure.
This is your friendly reminder that life is a series of trade offs. Some days are beautiful but so cold it chills you to the bone. Some days are much kinder despite the gloom and grey.
Whether the skies are brilliant blue or washed out white, find a way to enjoy it all.
Last weekend’s walk at the lake was chilly and a little dreary. The sky was white and it felt like the calm before the storm. In fact, it was the calm before the storm as six inches of snow blanketed the earth by the next morning.
I made a number of pictures with my iPhone anyway, appreciating the starkness of the landscape and thinking the images might be interesting when transformed into black and white.
Turns out, I was wrong. They weren’t at all pleasant that way.
However, I did fiddle with them and warmed them up to give some new life – or any life at all, really. I’m not especially fond of heavily edited photos and usually favor the documentary approach but this saved the entire collection from deletion.
The above image of the bridge turned out especially nice.
I also liked this one of the icy water.
And this one of another bridge.
This image of the geese reminded me of a story from Fried Green Tomatoes about some ducks caught swimming in a lake when it suddenly froze over. They took off and flew away with that lake. To this day it’s somewhere in Georgia. Or so the story goes.
The sight of them all gleefully splashing, diving and taking flight made me wish for my camera with the long lens.
This exercise with the photos reminded me that circumstances are not always as we want them to be. The fact that the sky is gray doesn’t make it a bad day. It does mean we have to work a little harder to find the beauty and the good.
And it’s possible that these bland days exist to make us appreciate the sunshine and blue skies better. Here’s to the hearty souls who can at least try to find goodness in every day.
I took these pictures at Lake Alma yesterday morning. It was about sixty degrees and the park was quiet save for a few fishermen and dog walkers. The smell of campfire hung heavy on the air and the mist coming off the lake was simply breathtaking. The camera on my phone is good but it didn’t do justice to this gorgeous morning. It reminded me of Fall in the Smoky Mountains and made me hope for an early (and long) fall this year.
Make the Journey Fun 