The day started out with such promise. I went in on Bryant and over Woodmansie to catch Lauries Road south, for no other reason than that I came in from the north on 539 and wanted to get the hell off pavement. I decided to jog up to Old Halfway and take some pics with the new camera. It was the calm before the storms: 79 degrees, sunny, too breezy for the flies.
Standing on the south rim of the pits I heard the whacks of a hatchet coming from the other side, so I drove over. A couple of trucks were parked there and as soon as I approached a young guy near the tree walked quickly over to one of them and stared intently into the bed. I pulled around and came back and snapped a quick couple of pics. You can see the tree he was chopping on to the right of the dark truck's bumper. Idiot.
Headed down Lauries to Crawley/Sooy's Rd. I spotted these growths on a young tree. I've seen them many times before but I have no idea what causes them.
I made a left on Baptist, since I had never been out that way before. I stopped and tried to get some shots of this amazing sunlight dappling the moss in a cedar bog. I didn't quite capture it, but this is the best of the results.
Not far down from there, after the road becomes Long Causeway. a little road kicks back up to the northwest and runs alongside a lake on the Plains Branch. It's a pretty little lake, with a dock on the far side.
Here's a zoom of the dock.
I followed this road a little further northwest. It was tight, and with a lot of moguls and some good puddles. The sand went from cafe au lait brown to iron red as I travelled north. I took a side road around into this pit, and was really struck by the color of the sands. The whole area is littered with chunks of iron-bearing sandstone.
Back to Long Causeway and south, I turned the corner on Jenkins in front of the old Boar Stag Bogs. Not sure who runs them now. I had received a call from my buddy in Cherry Hill warning me that severe storms were on the way. Looking out across the bogs it seemed like my spell of good weather had run its course.
The qualities of the light as the storms approached and the sky darkened further were really amazing, so I stayed and snapped as long as I felt safe.
The storm was really rolling in fast, and there was a lot of lightning. Very energetic cells we had this afternoon. But the light was so intriguing I just didn't want to leave.
Finally I tossed the camera back in the truck and headed south on Jenkins. Just as I got past the bogs and into the pines all hell tore loose. I decided to head back to the bog. I didn't want to be way out in the open, but I didn't want to be in the pines if the winds kicked up as I expected they would.
I parked near a corner of the bog for a few minutes. My friend called back and said I was probably in for at least an hour of it, so I decided to head out again. Drove out on Jenkins and Lake Oswego Roads in torrential rains and really violent lightning. One strike hit the woods directly to the left of the truck, close enough that the flash and crack were totally simultaneous. Exciting stuff.
Eventually I got back to 563 and headed over to Atsion, where my friend has a cabin rented for the week. We met up there and kicked our feet up on the screen porch while the rain fell. Best ending I could have asked for
.
Standing on the south rim of the pits I heard the whacks of a hatchet coming from the other side, so I drove over. A couple of trucks were parked there and as soon as I approached a young guy near the tree walked quickly over to one of them and stared intently into the bed. I pulled around and came back and snapped a quick couple of pics. You can see the tree he was chopping on to the right of the dark truck's bumper. Idiot.
Headed down Lauries to Crawley/Sooy's Rd. I spotted these growths on a young tree. I've seen them many times before but I have no idea what causes them.
I made a left on Baptist, since I had never been out that way before. I stopped and tried to get some shots of this amazing sunlight dappling the moss in a cedar bog. I didn't quite capture it, but this is the best of the results.
Not far down from there, after the road becomes Long Causeway. a little road kicks back up to the northwest and runs alongside a lake on the Plains Branch. It's a pretty little lake, with a dock on the far side.
Here's a zoom of the dock.
I followed this road a little further northwest. It was tight, and with a lot of moguls and some good puddles. The sand went from cafe au lait brown to iron red as I travelled north. I took a side road around into this pit, and was really struck by the color of the sands. The whole area is littered with chunks of iron-bearing sandstone.
Back to Long Causeway and south, I turned the corner on Jenkins in front of the old Boar Stag Bogs. Not sure who runs them now. I had received a call from my buddy in Cherry Hill warning me that severe storms were on the way. Looking out across the bogs it seemed like my spell of good weather had run its course.
The qualities of the light as the storms approached and the sky darkened further were really amazing, so I stayed and snapped as long as I felt safe.
The storm was really rolling in fast, and there was a lot of lightning. Very energetic cells we had this afternoon. But the light was so intriguing I just didn't want to leave.
Finally I tossed the camera back in the truck and headed south on Jenkins. Just as I got past the bogs and into the pines all hell tore loose. I decided to head back to the bog. I didn't want to be way out in the open, but I didn't want to be in the pines if the winds kicked up as I expected they would.
I parked near a corner of the bog for a few minutes. My friend called back and said I was probably in for at least an hour of it, so I decided to head out again. Drove out on Jenkins and Lake Oswego Roads in torrential rains and really violent lightning. One strike hit the woods directly to the left of the truck, close enough that the flash and crack were totally simultaneous. Exciting stuff.
Eventually I got back to 563 and headed over to Atsion, where my friend has a cabin rented for the week. We met up there and kicked our feet up on the screen porch while the rain fell. Best ending I could have asked for
.
