Bridging the gap between today's "Staying at Home" and the "Opening Up" to Include Live Sports

[Alaskawildkat]

Over on the Rant Board I started a thread inquiring, "What have you been watching on TV during this time of lockdown?" The responses were varied and many. Now some two months later we are still deprived of watching live sporting events with the added uncertainty of not even knowing when our own Wildcats will be returning to the football field.

As a consequence many of us have found some extra time now available to catch up on an old project or to come up with a new project or two. One that I am working on was inspired by a photogenic covered bridge that I encountered years ago as a college student when I traveled on a memorable date from Northwestern to visit the Wisconsin Dells. Since then I have made it a point to look for and capture unique bridges with my camera.

The present project has been to go back and select from those photos to put together a bridge themed photo book. Metaphorically, at least for me, it serves as a bridge between our present "Stay at Home World" and the "Opening Up" to hopefully include the return of College Football and a resurgent Northwestern team.

In addition to the photos I have included some obligatory Haiku consistent with the traditions of WildcatReport.

In any event, here is my small project in progress. Welcome learning what productive projects others here may now be finding the time to accomplish. I know Cappy is busy at work attempting to get his book completed on the subject of Northwestern's Rose Bowl Year and assume the GoUPurple is well on his way to the sequel to his "Northwestern Wildcat Football" classic - both books that are highly anticipated.

CLICK TO ENLARGE

 

[darmok]

Great pictures. There is something fascinating about bridges.

 

[Gladeskat]

Several thoughts...

If you like covered bridges, visit Vermont sometime. There were three in the town where my folks lived.

If you like bridges and their themes (uniting, transitional, etc), I recommend the movie, Wonder Boys, filmed in and around the city with the most bridges in the US world, Pittsburgh (446 bridges, Venice has 409). Keep an eye out for all the bridges in the background.

Or just go visit Pittsburgh.

I have a similar aesthetic interest in, among other things, enormous dying or fallen trees, though I haven't taken it to the next level and started photographing them.

 

[Deeringfish]

Is the one in the forth row down located at the base of the Fontana Dam in North Carolina? That is a really pretty bridge that got some kind of award for being picturesque. I think it is a nice bridge but I don't have an eye for such things.

 

[Alaskawildkat]

Several thoughts...

I have a similar aesthetic interest in, among other things, enormous dying or fallen trees, though I haven't taken it to the next level and started photographing them.

Thanks for the most welcomed suggestions.

Here are a few of your suggested subject - Fallen Trees.

All except the last are from hikes on trails near where I live with the first having been taken last month at the Estuary Park a block from my house. When you eventually make it here to Alaska I'd be happy to take you to these points of aesthetic interest.

 

[Alaskawildkat]

Is the one in the forth row down located at the base of the Fontana Dam in North Carolina? That is a really pretty bridge that got some kind of award for being picturesque. I think it is a nice bridge but I don't have an eye for such things.

That is interesting that there should be such a similar bridge at the Fontana Dam in North Carolina. The one pictured on the right with a red arch suspending it extends over the Yangtze River in Wushan, Chongqing, China. The one on the left of it is located in Kita-ku, Okayama, Japan.

As an aside, as I glanced at the bridge repostings below it brought to mind the CAPTCHA "I am not a robot" pictographs ---" Identify all photos with a bridge in them."

 

[Gladeskat]

I like the third and last picture. The third because it's more in line with what I'm after (huge trees). The last because it's in a stream (I love streams), and wood is an important structural element and food resource for streams.

In Florida, we have lots of live oaks, which are amazing in their structural flexibility to seek out light. Large live oaks grown in open fields develop extensive crowns with the lower limbs even dropping to the ground because of their weight. Here's an extreme example.

Those that grow in forests can grow as straight as a pine tree. I have various shapes of live oaks on my property, reflecting past light conditions for each tree.

Anyway, these trees can grow to enormous size and trunk diameters, and when they topple from a hurricane, they are a huge mass of twisted gray wood. 30,000 pounds of carbohydrates formed out of CO2, water, minerals, and sunlight.

I first became interested in large dying and dead trees while living on a farm in MD that had several huge (3-4 foot diameter) sugar maples that had become hollowed out and were losing their largest limbs in wind storms. One limb flattened a pavilion and almost crushed my house. What remained were hollowed-out spikes into the sky with a few lesser branches near the base. Enormous fallen sentinels from the past. Very impressive to me.

 

[GoUPurple]

Alaska, those are fantastic photos!

Regarding a sequel to Northwestern Wildcat Football, alas-- no sequel. My next, and final, book about NU football focuses on the very first game the school played and the man who taught the game to the team.

There is good news: I got the green light from my agent that the book is good to go, and she is prepared to submit it to potential publishers this week.

Stay tuned...

 

[Alaskawildkat]

I like the third and last picture. The third because it's more in line with what I'm after (huge trees). The last because it's in a stream (I love streams), and wood is an important structural element and food resource for streams.

In Florida, we have lots of live oaks, which are amazing in their structural flexibility to seek out light. Large live oaks grown in open fields develop extensive crowns with the lower limbs even dropping to the ground because of their weight. Here's an extreme example.

Those that grow in forests can grow as straight as a pine tree. I have various shapes of live oaks on my property, reflecting past light conditions for each tree.

Anyway, these trees can grow to enormous size and trunk diameters, and when they topple from a hurricane, they are a huge mass of twisted gray wood. 30,000 pounds of carbohydrates formed out of CO2, water, minerals, and sunlight.

I first became interested in large dying and dead trees while living on a farm in MD that had several huge (3-4 foot diameter) sugar maples that had become hollowed out and were losing their largest limbs in wind storms. One limb flattened a pavilion and almost crushed my house. What remained were hollowed-out spikes into the sky with a few lesser branches near the base. Enormous fallen sentinels from the past. Very impressive to me.

Given your preferences, here are some added ones that I picked up from the cutting room floor.

The first is another view of the large tree you identified as liking,

Below is another from the same forest as the stream photo you liked. They were taken last summer in Whatcom Falls Park outside of Bellingham, Washington.

This one below is within the Chugach State Park near Eagle River, Alaska:

And the final one is on mountain slope hiking trail above Whittier, Alaska proximate to one of our favorite blueberry picking spots:

 

[Gladeskat]

More nice pictures. I like the first one. Trees are amazing, creating a 3-D world for nature. Same with kelp forests.

 

[Alaskawildkat]

Regarding the bridge photos in the original post, as reposted above, these were taken in Miyajima, Japan. Added is some historical information regarding the iconic O-Torii Gate "floating" in the water off Miyajima Island.


Yes. I was there twice last year. In the Spring when the Sakura were in bloom and again in the Fall when the leaves were turning color. On the most recent visit though the Torii Gate was shrouded for repairs and/or replacement. With the sea water attacking it as the tides ebb in and out it has to be replaced over time.

The original shrine is believed to have been erected in 593 AD. The O-torii gate (O meaning large) was evidently in existence by 1325 as it was destroyed by a typhoon in that year. In 1717 the reconstructed O-torii gate collapsed and after being reconstructed was destroyed by another typhoon in 1850.

Here are some added views from Miyajima Island and its O-Torii Gate:

 

[Alaskawildkat]

I just found this photo I took from last fall of Miyajima Island's O-Torii Gate shrouded for repairs and/or replacement.

 

[Alaskawildkat]

Will try this once again.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

Over on the Rant Board I started a thread inquiring, "What have you been watching on TV during this time of lockdown?" The responses were varied and many. Now some two months later we are still deprived of watching live sporting events with the added uncertainty of not even knowing when our own Wildcats will be returning to the football field.

As a consequence many of us have found some extra time now available to catch up on an old project or to come up with a new project or two. One that I am working on was inspired by a photogenic covered bridge that I encountered years ago as a college student when I traveled on a memorable date from Northwestern to visit the Wisconsin Dells. Since then I have made it a point to look for and capture unique bridges with my camera.

The present project has been to go back and select from those photos to put together a bridge themed photo book. Metaphorically, at least for me, it serves as a bridge between our present "Stay at Home World" and the "Opening Up" to hopefully include the return of College Football and a resurgent Northwestern team.

In addition to the photos I have included some obligatory Haiku consistent with the traditions of WildcatReport.

In any event, here is my small project in progress. Welcome learning what productive projects others here may now be finding the time to accomplish. I know Cappy is busy at work attempting to get his book completed on the subject of Northwestern's Rose Bowl Year and assume the GoUPurple is well on his way to the sequel to his "Northwestern Wildcat Football" classic - both books that are highly anticipated.

CLICK TO ENLARGE

There’s no gap to bridge. Stay at home now to have sports later. Not difficult.

 

[fcmchi]

Over on the Rant Board I started a thread inquiring, "What have you been watching on TV during this time of lockdown?" The responses were varied and many. Now some two months later we are still deprived of watching live sporting events with the added uncertainty of not even knowing when our own Wildcats will be returning to the football field.

As a consequence many of us have found some extra time now available to catch up on an old project or to come up with a new project or two. One that I am working on was inspired by a photogenic covered bridge that I encountered years ago as a college student when I traveled on a memorable date from Northwestern to visit the Wisconsin Dells. Since then I have made it a point to look for and capture unique bridges with my camera.

The present project has been to go back and select from those photos to put together a bridge themed photo book. Metaphorically, at least for me, it serves as a bridge between our present "Stay at Home World" and the "Opening Up" to hopefully include the return of College Football and a resurgent Northwestern team.

In addition to the photos I have included some obligatory Haiku consistent with the traditions of WildcatReport.

In any event, here is my small project in progress. Welcome learning what productive projects others here may now be finding the time to accomplish. I know Cappy is busy at work attempting to get his book completed on the subject of Northwestern's Rose Bowl Year and assume the GoUPurple is well on his way to the sequel to his "Northwestern Wildcat Football" classic - both books that are highly anticipated.

CLICK TO ENLARGE

 

[fcmchi]

Over on the Rant Board I started a thread inquiring, "What have you been watching on TV during this time of lockdown?" The responses were varied and many. Now some two months later we are still deprived of watching live sporting events with the added uncertainty of not even knowing when our own Wildcats will be returning to the football field.

As a consequence many of us have found some extra time now available to catch up on an old project or to come up with a new project or two. One that I am working on was inspired by a photogenic covered bridge that I encountered years ago as a college student when I traveled on a memorable date from Northwestern to visit the Wisconsin Dells. Since then I have made it a point to look for and capture unique bridges with my camera.

The present project has been to go back and select from those photos to put together a bridge themed photo book. Metaphorically, at least for me, it serves as a bridge between our present "Stay at Home World" and the "Opening Up" to hopefully include the return of College Football and a resurgent Northwestern team.

In addition to the photos I have included some obligatory Haiku consistent with the traditions of WildcatReport.

In any event, here is my small project in progress. Welcome learning what productive projects others here may now be finding the time to accomplish. I know Cappy is busy at work attempting to get his book completed on the subject of Northwestern's Rose Bowl Year and assume the GoUPurple is well on his way to the sequel to his "Northwestern Wildcat Football" classic - both books that are highly anticipated.

CLICK TO ENLARGE

Alaska,

Here’s one of the more beautiful bridges I crossed while trekking the Route of St. James.

 

[fcmchi]

Alaska,

Here is one of the more attractive bridges I crossed while walking the Route of St. James a few years back.

 

[Alaskawildkat]

Reassuring to look back after these several months and confirm that my referenced metaphorical bridging hoped for in my initial post has in fact at least “include[d] the return of College Football and a resurgent Northwestern team.”