Flowers, Trains, Football?

Black eyed Susan

Barry looks over my shoulder at the computer yesterday.  We peer at photos.

He says, “Hey, Kathy, aren’t you going to publish these photos?”

“I don’t know,” I mumble. 

“You’d better hurry,” he replies.  “It’s going to be snowing soon and then you won’t be able to share your flower pictures.”

Wild aster

OK, Barry.  OK, readers.

Here are some late October flower photos.  Leaf photos.   Fungus photos.

Amazing that there are still sparse wildflowers in late autumn, isn’t it?

They were taken earlier this week before the Wind blew in from the South and turned our natural world upside down for a while.

For you camera buffs:  these were taken with the little Sony Cybershot.  I am re-assessing the Cybershot’s capabilities daily.  She really does an excellent job with some views.  She’s very good at close-ups.  She suffers in other regards.  But~~hey~~we can’t all be everything can we?  Let’s concentrate on our strengths instead.

Decomposing leaves

Today is Friday.  (It is Friday, isn’t it?)  Yes, it’s Friday.  I shall go to work imminently.  Within an hour after returning home, Barry and I shall hop in one of our matching cars and zoom south and west toward Crystal Falls.

What’s in Crystal Falls, you ask? 

Before I tell you, let’s drive slower.  Let’s pause at the Covington Hardwood Steakhouse for dinner.  They don’t just serve steak, mind you.  They serve very delicious sandwiches, fish, salads. 

Birch hieroglyphics

Before or after dinner we’re going to detour slightly and do something I’ve yearned to do for ages.  For years.  OK, for at least one year.  I wanted to wait until the new camera and lens arrived.  For the sun to situate at the proper angle.  For the clouds to scatter.

We won’t know until late afternoon if the suns and clouds plan to cooperate, but here’s the plan.  The railroad stations–perhaps downstate, perhaps in Wisconsin–drive some of their old cars up to the Upper Peninsula and store them on unused tracks near Covington and Watton. 

I am not certain if they are being stored on the tracks until they die or the railroad companies go broke (those suppositions anger some folks) but others think the trains shall be used again.  Some think they are still being utilized. 

We shall not speculate further.  But we shall grab the camera and photograph them!  We are excited.  We want to read the colorful graffiti.  We want to see what the camera discovers.  We beg the sun to cooperate.

There is fungus among us. Specifically shelf fungus.

On to Crystal Falls!  Such a beautifully named town.  Such a long drive for a high school football tournament…

Barry has to take pictures for the football tournament for his newspaper job.  I have offered him the use of my spectacular new lens for amazing action shots on the field!  He has offered that I stand beside him on the field and take football photographs.  I have murmured my regrets.  He gets more excited at the possibility!  We shall be co-photographers on the field attempting to locate our “sports” setting and witnessing young athletes pummel themselves in an attempt to carry a small brown ball into the end zone.  In low light we shall record amazing physical prowess!

Anyway, dear reader, stay tuned.  I may read in the car.  Don’t you take his side, now!  (Besides what would I do with all those train AND football photos?  I would never get around to publishing the blog I was writing when the power went out on…what day was that?….Tuesday?)

P.S.  that was one exciting day on the blog yesterday!  I haven’t had that much traffic on this blog for months.  Every storm chaser in the Universe must have googled the word “storm”.