Project 365 - Spring Bloom

I went into the woods today with Maddie, my dog, and my camera.  Maddie took me down to the creek.  She was in search of tadpoles and minnows.  I was in search of my next shot.  The dog was just in search, following her nose.

We ambled our way along the creek bed for a while, marveling at the changes of season that had occurred since our last visit.  The skunk cabbage are reaching skyward now, puncturing stubborn, thick oak and maple leaves that had blocked the journey toward the sun.  The emerald moss punctuates the brown and gray of fallen trees and rock set free from the winter earth.

Maddie showed me where and how to cross the creek.  She hops from stone to stone with ease.  I keep my feet dry somehow.  I wandered away for a while and when I returned I found Maddie barefoot in midstream, hot on the trail of a crayfish that had darted out from the rocks along the bank.  The dog had gone to greet a neighbors Jack Russell that had decided to investigate our presence.

All along I have planted my tripod.  Here to examine and record the swirling line and rough texture of a log.  There, to shoot the burgundy margin of an emergent leaf.  All worthy subjects.

We fanned out on our way back up the bank toward the house. Maddie went off to explore the old ruin that is nestled in the gully. The dog ran up and down the bank four times before I even made it to the incline.  I wandered into a patch of briar requiring me to slow down and place my steps carefully.  I stopped, looked down.  I was surrounded by milky white stars floating above speckled leaves and red stems.  Heaven come earth on the first brilliant, warm spring day.