Cee's Fun Foto Challenge: Water.
I dropped out of participating in blog challenges for a while because I had some scheduling conflicts and personal concerns and had to focus on strictly practical stuff for a while. Happily, that's eased up a bit. And frabjous joy! Cee posted a photo challenge of water. I dig water.I mean, not literally. I don't dig wells, I don't have a BoreMaster, even shovels kind of give me fits. But there's something about water that always draws me in. I find it terribly romantic in an epic, sweeping, backbone-of-the-nation sort of way that I live near a river now and am affected by its relative highs and lows. Water has always figured prominently in my dreams, especially as a warning. And we couldn't live without it. So all joking aside, people... I dig water.
This was taken at Christian Science Plaza in Boston, home of the Mary Baker Eddy library and the mother church of the Christian Scientists. It is a wonderful place to spend an afternoon. The library is beautiful and nice and cool in the summer (important to know when summer hits and Boston gets gross and sticky), and it's home to the Mapparium, which is one of the grooviest places to check out in all of Bostonland. This was outside at the reflecting pool, and these signs were positioned every twenty feet or so. They really didn't want people wading in their reflecting pool. I call that a recipe for trouble, an attractive nuisance at best. If they're serious they need to stock the pool with alligators.
While George and I were visiting my parents, who live near the Jersey shore, we saw that the weather wonks were forecasting crazy-big waves. Due to winds. Or a storm off the coast. Or maybe magical wave pixies, I don't know. We decided to take advantage of a beautiful, warm, early autumn day, hopped in the car and drove to Seaside Heights--the backdrop for a reasonable portion of my misspent youth--to see what we could see. HO. Leeee! It was gorgeous, and even though it was only a week after Labor Day, the beach was deserted. The waves were vicious. It was awesome. I, of course, went right under the "Do Not Enter" signs hanging off the pier so I could watch the water bash into the pilings. I actually need to put the whole day to a blog because it was pretty visually fantastic wherever we went, but nevertheless, for now, here are waves crashing into pilings at Seaside.
Speaking of my romantic view of river living...
In September 2011, the Susquehanna jumped its banks in a big way. Further south of us the flooding was much worse and saw its share of tragedy but in the 'burg, it primarily caused mess and inconvenience. Unless you're a pair of ducks, who seem delighted to have found a whole new territory of previously unswimmable turf to swim in.
And finally...
When my boyfriend and I went to Keuka Lake for vacation a few years ago, we picked perhaps the worst week ever to go. It was grey and rainy the entire time, though trust me, we still managed to have a good time. I got plenty of moody, gloomy pictures of mists and fog. The last day, in the midst of packing up and getting ready to leave, I looked out the window and noticed the sun breaking through the clouds. I grabbed my camera and ran--RAN, I say!--down to the dock and snapped a bunch of pictures. I love this one, with the light breaking through at the top but the clouds still low and looming on the right. It was as though the weather gods bestowed upon me the gift of a bright, shiny photo op. And I? Took it. Thanks, weather gods!
If you haven't had enough water yet, you can also see my photos of sunrise at the beach at Nag's Head here. I told you. I dig the water.
For more of Cee's Fun Foto Challenge, go here. Thanks, Cee!