Crosshatched

 
I'm always on the lookout for something different on my walk out back that I take almost every day. It's a challenge.

And yet... I never before noticed how the branches of this red pine bend down while those of the maple angle upward, creating a crosshatched pattern. I like it!



I like it even better in the negative. So, you could say that the negative is positive.



Quiet day. Work, then read a book. Works for me.

	See Cradle of Twilight
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Southeast Corner

 
Out and about today doing cases in the southeast corner of the county. Just a fairly nice winter day. No major issues with the driving. (Couldn't find an address, but that had nothing to do with the roads. The company thinks I can just call the agent in situ. Haha. One must have a cell signal to make such a call.)

Campbell Road leads south. Beyond this point it gets really hilly. It would be a fun place for a bike ride in summer.



But I turned east before that on Anthony Road. Pretty hilly too! All the hills here are either sand dunes or non-eroded remnants of the glacial end moraine. This far inland... end moraine.



And a crossing of the nearly ubiquitous Pere Marquette River that I show you fairly often. It's impossible to go south of my house in the county without crossing it at least once. With the main branch and the south branch and all the twists and turns, there may be several crossings! This is where Anthony Rd. crosses the South Branch of the PM.



Bell choir practice this afternoon. We are starting to work on a Gospel Rag. What fun!

	See Pere Marquette River Crossing for a similar bridge on the main branch
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Dashing Through the Snow

 
Ah! But do you know who's been doing the dashing?









Leave your guesses.

	See Tracking with Some Help from Maggie
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Fluid Geometry

 
I always love the way shadows drape themselves over curved surfaces like snow. They make you think about redefining reality. Which shape is "true?"

To start with, here is the same tree everyone liked in the Blizzard post. Its shadow at 3:18 this afternoon is tall and vase-like while the tree is short and squat.



I walked around to the south side of the tree and took another picture, just a minute later. It certainly doesn't look like the same shadow or the same tree, does it?



My favorites are always geometric shapes like this fence. The lines look parallel in one direction, but hardly in the other. And yet... they are.



But this one is really the best. Diamonds? Straight lines?



When we say we won't believe things we can't see or measure, etc, we sure forget how easily our senses can be fooled.

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Snowbird

 
Just another in my little series of flamingos to give you a chuckle. The picture is from last summer. The bird sure wouldn't show up here today.



In case you are curious, this is the 18th different silly ornamental flamingo I've featured. No duplicates yet. I guess that's what fascinates me the most about this series. I had always assumed there was one mold and the lawn ornaments were all alike. Instead, I have discovered various commercial molds, all sorts of artisan variations, and other decorative uses for the birds.

Did you know that the plastic ones have only been around since 1957? I'll bet there are as many of them as there are real ones.

Just looked that up. There are five species of flamingo worldwide, with a total population of possibly 5 million. I'd be truly surprised if there are fewer plastic ones than that.

	See Flamingo Posts
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