Perspective

Several days of rain have added to the water budget in my neighborhood (unlike the country's economic budget, Nature's is logical). The river is carrying a big load of water today which is a stark contrast to the usual lazy August scene. In low water, ducks, geese and herons and the two young mergansers rest, fish and dabble in pools and riffles. Now they've all been chased to calmer waters by the torrent. I love the rush of the water but I miss the birds.

However, there are plenty of frogs above the dam and the water is less murky. Of course, I do not actually see the frogs; I just see a swish and a swirl and a suggestion of their presence. I wonder if they appreciate the blowsy yet elegant flowering mallows and other late summer plants growing along the stone wall above the dependable duckweed that obscures their periscopic goggle-eyes…

I guess it's all a matter of one's perspective.

Mallow, Hemlock?, a unidentified grass and Cat tail (Typhus latifolia) growing in the water above the dam
© 2011 Rob Dunlavey 8/11/11, colored pencil 

High water rushes over the dam obscuring  the pools and rocks where fish and herons hunt
© 2011 Rob Dunlavey 8/11/11, crayon