Inky Waters

Wave and Boardwalk Reflections, Shem Creek, Mt. Pleasant, SC
 © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved


Like a pen and ink drawing,
the shadow of a boardwalk creates serrated reflections
 in the wave patterns of Shem Creek.

Caladiums

Caladium Detail, Nathaniel Russell House Garden, Charleston, SC
 © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved


Candidum caladiums, also known as Angel Wings, grow in Charleston's tame courtyard gardens this time of year. What I remember about caladiums before moving to Charleston is seeing large displays of them in Cincinnati's Krohn Conservatory, a steamy glass enclosed hot house that featured many tropical plants. That makes sense because caladiums are originally from the humid forests of South and Central America, which gives you an idea of our climate here along the coast of South Carolina.

Ever Swim in a Quarry?

Old Quarry and Reflection, near Micaville, North Carolina
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved


Where did you swim as a youngster?

 When I was a kid, I never had the luxury of an abandoned, water-filled quarry, out in the countryside, to jump in and swim around. Nope. I was city born and bred, in the Midwestern heartland, in what is now considered the Rust Belt. All we had were old soup cans to go swimming in. Sometimes if we were lucky, we had rusty paint cans to splash around in, or newspaper-lined shoe boxes. Yeah, those were the good ole days!

Italian Light

Lantern and Shadow, Rome, Italy  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
 (Velvia slide film. Click on image for larger view)


Near the Piazza Navona in Rome,
 a lantern provides an ornate shadow
 created by the painterly light of Italy.

Ribbon of Blue

Multnomah Falls, near Portland, Oregon  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
 (Velvia slide film)



Resembling an aqueous ribbon of blue, a cascade of mountain water freshens the day at Multnomah Falls in the Columbia River Gorge.

Strength

Beneath Folly Beach Pier, Folly Beach, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Click on image for larger view)


The ocean is a mirage,
an illusion of velvety softness.
The pier is clear and strong,
a sturdy support for barnacles below,
and people above who wish to fish,
or stroll upon the promenade at eventide.

At Rest

Red Canoes, Whitewater River, Harrison, Ohio  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved


These well used canoes are at rest for the day,
but come tomorrow will be ready to play.

Bridge

Ravenel Bridge at Night, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Velvia slide film. Click on image for larger view.)


A column, a pillar, a pinnacle of strength...
A Pharos, a beacon, a bastion of light...
A Pisa, an Eiffel, a towering spire...
A mast, a sail, a ship in the night.

Your Face

Face Shaped Ironwork, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Velvia slide film)


I took a fancy to your face...
the beautiful curves, the strength, the inner glow...
the uniqueness of you.

Connections

Old Car Door Handle, Danny's Classic Cars, Elko, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
 (Click on image for larger view)


I try to imagine all the people whose hands have grasped the handle of this old car through its long life time. If one believes in six degrees of separation, the "friend of a friend" concept where everyone is linked by six steps or fewer, then I am connected to someone who knew one of these people...
and you are connected too.

Cloth Hall

Cloth Hall, Old Town Krakow, Poland  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
 (Velvia slide film)


This elegant facade is the entry to Krakow's Cloth Hall. It has been the center of various trade in the old market square since the Renaissance. It is believed to be the oldest shopping mall still in use.

If only Walmart looked this good, the world would be a touch more stylish.

Tideland Tale

Tidal Marsh, Edisto Island, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Velvia slide film. Click on image for larger view)


As the soft light of dawn rises, high tide fills this marshland on Edisto Island.  There are many sea islands along the South Carolina coast. In the novel Prince of Tides, Lowcountry author, Pat Conroy, tells a tragic tale of the ebb and flow of the Wingo family, who live on a fictitious sea island called Melrose Island. For movie buffs, the book was made into a critically acclaimed motion picture, nominated for Best Picture (not to be confused with this picture, which is not a best picture, but a nice picture nonetheless).

A Purging of the Land

North Fork Toutle River Valley, Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, Washington
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved  (Velvia slide film)


Reminiscent of a Dantesque landscape, shaped by purgatorial smoke, ash and fire, what once was a densely forested river valley was dramatically purged by the violent eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980. Although it will take many lifetimes to restore this valley to its former lushness, life is slowly, persistently returning, offering hope for the return of a renewed paradise among the mountains of the Cascade Range.

Inspiration

Carnival Fantasy Cruise Ship and Dolphin, Charleston Harbor, SC
 © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved  (Click on image for larger view)


How often has nature been a model for human endeavor? When prehistoric peoples first watched dolphins plying the freedom of ancient seas, it no doubt inspired them to one day do the same. We have progressed far since that time.

Beyond the Known

Car Port Reflection, Harrison, Ohio  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved


Our physical world consists of myriad universes, ranging from the infinitely small to the infinitely large... from the known to the not yet known. What lies beyond the known may exceed our wildest imaginings.

Flash Mob

Garden Statue Shop, Augusta, Georgia  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved




Following instructions given in a viral email, 
a sudden gathering of lawn ornaments pose at a local nursery.

A Summer Veil

Boats and Fog, Northeast Harbor, Mount Desert Island, Maine
 © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved  (Click on image for larger view)


Early morning mist drapes a thin veil over Mount Desert Island, partly concealing boats moored safely in harbor. Along the coast of Maine, fog can occur with regularity, at any time of year, even on warm summer days in August. This is the view from a hilltop garden that I featured in a post earlier this month.

Bridge Wednesday - Leaning Toward the Weekend

Bike Rider, Ravenel Bridge, Mount Pleasant, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved


You may ask, "Why Bridge Wednesday?" Well, Wednesday marks the midpoint of the work week for many people. And a bridge works nicely as a metaphor for linking one point to another... in this case connecting the early part of the week with the later. Combine these two with a biker tilting around a turn on a bridge, and presto!, I have us collectively leaning toward the weekend.
Ha! Obscure perhaps, but surely symbolic.

Simple Gifts

Horse and House, Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, Kentucky  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
 (Velvia slide film. Click on image for larger view)


A curious horse gives me an equine stare at the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill. Realizing I have no feed bag to offer, he soon loses interest, leaving me to admire this fine limestone and clapboard house of simple construction.

Shakers represent the epitome of simple living. They are famous for plain and practical furniture design. They are also noted for music of unadorned melody, and a "shaking" style of dance, which were central to their communal way of life and faith. One of the best know Shaker hymns is "Simple Gifts". If you ever heard the tune, you would probably recognize it immediately... it was incorporated into Aaron Copland's ballet Appalachian Spring.

A Stillness at Dawn

The Billie B, Bennett's Point, Bear Island, SC
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved  (Velvia slide film)


A stillness at dawn,
when sky and water reflect untarnished calm,
and silence fills the untroubled air.
Life has yet to stir,
but light and color rouse the new day,
with a promise of hope and expectation.