The day started out, once again, cold and with a solid overcast sky. But I hadn’t been out photographing for days, needed some exercise, and very much wanted a break from computer work. I put on some layers, grabbed my photo backpack, and headed to Mount Pisgah Arboretum. I’m lucky to live just a few minutes away from this beautiful park and the surrounding Howard Buford Recreation Area, with miles of trails and varied natural habitats.
My good buddy Tom Kirkendall says “There’s always something to photograph”, but I struggled to find anything that motivated me to get my camera out of the pack. I noticed the osoberry bushes were starting to bud out and larkspur were pushing up through the decaying leaves from autumn – the first signs of Spring here – but I couldn’t find a good composition. No matter, I thought, it’s great to just get out for a little shinrin-yoku.
And then the sky started to clear and the low afternoon light made the forest even more beautiful. I looked up to see a large raptor riding the thermals. A hawk I thought, but the color and head shape didn’t quite seem right. A few minutes later I could have sworn I heard the hoot of an owl, but I have never heard an owl hoot in the afternoon. Walking by “The Seeps”, a series of tiny ponds fed by runoff from upslope springs, I enjoyed hearing a chorus of Pacific tree frogs. These little rarely-seen amphibians begin their mating calls during the first warm days of the year, another sign that Spring is on the way.
Continuing my hike, I went up one of my favorite trails, into a woodland of native Oregon oak. These gnarly old trees, also known as Oregon white oak or Garry oak, lose their leaves in autumn, revealing trunks and branches festooned with hanging lichens. I’ve long intended to make a photograph of these trees and lichen, but have struggled to find a good setting and be there with good light and a lack of wind. On this day, I returned to a place that I knew had potential, the wind was calm, and the warm sidelight from the late afternoon sun made it happen for me.
This is a photograph that I doubt would get many Likes on social media. It doesn’t have much wow factor and the visual cacophony is probably too busy for most people. It’s a photograph I made entirely for myself, and it makes me happy. And maybe that’s what we photographers should always be striving for.
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I love this kind of photo — it would get a “like” from me!
Thanks, Alex. I’ve noticed that we like similar things.
Lovely story and my kind of image
Thank you, Suzanne!
Greg, I hear the great horned owls hooting throughout the day here. I think if they don’t catch anything to eat during the night, they hunt during the day. But, neither great horned owls, nor great gray owls, ride the thermals. They are direct fliers, going from perch to perch. So what you saw probably wasn’t an owl.
Good point about owls and thermals, Buddy. I commonly see red-tailed hawks around Pisgah, but the wing tail feathers were different.
I don’t know, Greg – my reaction was “WOW”!
Thanks, David! Glad you like the photo.