Lalitree ~: July 2005 Archives

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July 31, 2005

On the water

We just got back from the first trip out with our new kayaks. After a bit of wrangling with the roof stackers (and a slightly nervous drive, which went off without any trouble), we went out to an area called Beaver Dam lake, an section of the larger Falls Lake that is closed to gas-powered boats. I'd read that it's a very tranquil spot, and that wildlife was abundant. That was very true--the lake was shallow and warm, with lots of old trees poking out in clusters, forming protected areas where great blue herons, great egrets, and snowy egrets were plentiful. The old, bare tree trunks hold nests for numerous ospreys, and I also spotted what I think was a juvenile bald eagle. Killdeers and plovers ran about on the sandbars, a kingfisher watched us from up in a tree, and I heard an owl in the distance. We noticed deer tracks on the shore, and fish jumped up out of the water (the ospreys circled overhead, watching for them). There were pockets of water lilies (budding but not quite in bloom) and tons of dragonflies of all colors.

I took some holga pictures, and hope to get this roll and the others developed sometime this week. Very eager to see how they came out!

Posted by lld at 08:03 PM | TrackBack

July 23, 2005

Vacation days

We got back from a week at the beach yesterday. Here is a photoset of some of the pictures I took. I didn't actually take too many with the digital camera, since we experienced most of the picturesque places by kayak or canoe, and I didn't want to risk soaking it. I did take the holga out on our canoe expedition, so maybe some of those shots will come out well.

Highlights include: kayaking in the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, where we spotted terns, herons, egrets, oystercatchers, ibises, and more; canoeing in the Alligator River NWR, on a gorgeous water trail where we spotted a young black bear; Jockey's Ridge State Park; and of course swimming in the ocean. On a day when the water was exceptionally warm and full of jellyfish (including one more than 10" in diameter), we saw a huge waterspout not far down the beach--it was tall and white over the water, then it hit the beach and sent a cloud of sand way up in the air. Everyone just stood on the beach (or floated in the water) and watched it, once it dissipated and the lightning started we all figured it was probably not safe to stay out there.

The outer banks are both lovely and depressing--bursting with the natural beauty of so many different ecosystems, but the horizons are lined with ugly monopoly-board houses, and the beaches littered with spent fireworks and soda cans. Being there, emotions see-saw quickly--admiring the full moon over the water, while trying to block out the very bright light needlessly shining from the top of a beachfront hotel, driving down the highway watching pelicans fly in formation, while passing store after store selling the same cheap beach junk (ugly tshirts, trinkets, towels, and rickety beach chairs, seriously, how many of these stores do we need?). I think it's possible for people to enjoy the beach without destroying it, unfortunately, there aren't very many beaches in NC today that even have natural sand and dunes (most of them bulldoze the sand in from other places, and artificially form dunes to protect beachfront houses). Thank goodness for the national parks and other refuges and sanctuaries, and for the good people who work to preserve them.

Posted by lld at 10:35 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

July 13, 2005

Dissect you

Here's another song.

›› Stage Fifteen.mp3

I came up with this idea while mounting flowers for electron microscopy--in order to see the flower structure you have to very carefully remove the sepals and other floral organs under a dissecting microscope. I thought it would be cool to make a creepy-yet-triumphant sort of story out of the concept. I had the lyrics in my head for quite a while before I recorded anything, since I was quite fond of them and wanted to make a finished song with which I was just as happy. During the laborious task of painting my bathroom (it took many many coats to cover that wallpaper), the song incubated and my mind followed the various paths of meaning the simple lyric could take, and I was pretty intrigued by the metaphors I came up with. The finished product, as I'm always saying, has its moments.