Saturday, October 08, 2011

Musings while driving through the swampland in the southwestern part of the county…

From today's canoe trip on the Thornapple

A thin blanket of fog hangs low the marsh.  Drying cattails, grasses and reeds ascend through the mist.  Along the edges, above the grass and reeds, the swamp sumac is now fiery red.  Up on the banks the maples and the birches are yellow.  The massive oaks, the last turn, show a hint of red.  There’s no breeze and the sky is clear.  There are fewer birds now, but the mosquitoes are still active.  Slowly the sun rises from behind the hardwoods, casting long shadows and burning away the fog and revealing the dark still water.   It’s going to be a warm one for October, especially this far north.  But such unseasonable weather will not last.  Soon, leaves will blanket the ground and swirl on the open water, the shadows will lengthen and remain long throughout the day, and a film of ice will form on the edge of the swamp.  Then, one can get a whiff of wood smoke, as I’ll be curled up in front of a fire, snoozing with a book on a chest and a cup of tea by the hearth.    It’ll be good, for all creation needs rest.
I wrote the above piece several days ago and am just getting around to blogging.  Yesterday, I spent the day at Art Prize in Grand Rapids and hope to blog about it soon.  Today, it was a canoe trip down the Thornapple with two friends (I soloed in a canoe, they were each in a kayak).  We paused for lunch at a local bar at Middleville, where we had to portage over the dam.  Enjoy the photos...  AND WHAT ABOUT THOSE TIGERS!

16 comments:

  1. Not so sure about the Tigers, don't really follow sports too much...but lovely words to describe autumn as it approaches boldly but briefly...knowing that just around the corner oh so much more is in store for us all! It's neat to hear about Grand Rapids, I have a cousin who lives their and her parents still live in Grand Haven, a very cool spot that I spent many summer days enjoying....not so much our winter visits...because who enjoys lake Michigan in the winter?!

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  2. I intended to ask you about canoes generally before you headed off.
    Our rivers have mill weirs that are between 10-20ft high. Lots of them. And most of them are within towns. So it's not a simple case of unloading and humping the baggage then the boat round the thing. Nope, it would mean a mile hike if the canoe wouldn't mount the things going downstream. I know a kayak will cross them as if they aren't there, but you're very restricted as to your baggage with them.
    I had the opportunity to get an infallible sit-on kayak. But I felt it was risky with rivers that are littered with barbed-wire and the uncertain quality of duct tape.

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  3. Karen, this is the third year for Art Prize, an interested art contest supported by the DeVos family in which the viewers votes for the winners--there is two round of voting, first for the top ten and then for the top prizes.

    Vince, it depends on the rivers as to the dams. Here, the portage was probably 150 meters. At other places the portages can be longer. Dams can be dangerous to run in either a canoe or kayak.

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  4. The Thornapple seems to be quite a nice place, I don't balme you for spending time there.

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  5. Sounds like a lovely time. And if the Braves are out of it - Go Tigers, indeed!

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  6. The photos are beautiful; I especially like the second one - like an impressionistic painting.

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  7. Beautiful shots. Autumn is sure painting the countryside.

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  8. Amazing photos! Thanks again for posting, makes home seem not so far away after all! :)

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  9. Beautifully written. I could see myself in that place. Excellent visual writing.

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  10. Hey, what about my Cards?

    BTW, we're still waiting for color down here. They're telling us the trees won't turn for two more weeks. I'm looking forward to it.

    Cheers.

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  11. Jeff- this was one AWESOME post my friend! Thanks for the canoe trip--and that second color palette was absolutely incredible!

    John

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  12. all creation does need rest...and what better place than by a fire...nice...beautiful views you describe...and nice on the canoe trip as well....

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  13. So autumn has you raking? I hope all is well in your neck of the woods or autumn .....we have another day of summer here today...even on Columbus Day! thanks for stopping by my autumn post! Have a great week, and put that rake down so you can take some pictures okay?!

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  14. How true that all creations needs a rest. Sometimes we humans forget that.

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  15. As the start of Game 3 looms in just under 2 hours and as they stand 0-2 in the series...HOW ABOUT THEM TIGERS? ;-)

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  16. You painted a beautiful picture of the season there....too bad you couldn't have displayed THAT at the Art Show!
    :D

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