"...stranger to blue water..."

[MacHete]

I am often reminded how lucky I am to live where I do. Our house sits at the foot of a tiny hollow- a little more than half a kilometer long- that is drained by a small creek. About halfway up the creek is a little waterfall, which usually only has a trickle of water flowing over it. I have been trying to get "seasonal" pictures of the waterfall and the creek and the surrounding woods. I have lots of nice autumn and winter shots, but spring photos have always proven difficult. I've wanted to get pictures of the swollen creek and raging waterfalls but, because the hollow is short but steep (300' drop over 2000' distance) the torrents peak in a very small window. Couple that with the grey, overcast conditions that usually accompany spring rains, and the fact that I work nights, and you can see why chances to get quality, attractive images are infrequent.

Not so yesterday! When I looked at the creek by the house and saw this:

I knew I had a rare opportunity. I grabbed the camera, my neoprene sandals, and some bug juice, made sure Kathy didn't need anything, and headed up the creek. Follows some of what I saw.

Lively rivulets had sprung up in subtle ruts along the watershed-

-creating a determined current where there are usually only jumbled rocks and placid pools.

 

[MacHete]

This is about the deepest pool along the length of the creek-

-and it was just high enough to get the hem of my hiking shorts wet. (Not saying much, I'm only 5'6")

 

[MacHete]

 

[Marcelo Cantu]

Great shots! I love the lush green of early Spring!

 

[Carolina River Rat]

Beautiful pics, Mac. Can I move up there and set up camp in your yard?

 

[John G]

Great stuff, man. I could look at pictures like that all day long. Thanks for sharing!

 

[street soldier]

Great pictures. Wish I lived in a place like that.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[MacHete]

Here is the waterfall, flowing at the highest volume I have personally witnessed:

This little "grotto" faces the waterfall sort of obliquely- it's rock face and the fall's rock face are connected by an eroded corner- otherwise they would form a rough right angle to each other. (I couldn't get a picture without standing in the falls, and my camera is not waterproof!)

Obligatory knife content! The KSF machete went along for the ride to deal with any tangles I might encounter wading up the creek. I'm afraid it saw no action.

 

[WalterDavis]

Wow! What a great place to live

 

[tonym]

Beautiful shots. The rivers and streams by us are also flowing very heavy from all the rain. It does make for some beautiful scenery!

Thanks for sharing those!

 

[pict]

Great shots, I could smell them. Mac

 

[chewbacca]

I think I have a new desktop wallpaper. Beautiful shots.

BTW - that machete is so pretty I would be afraid to use it!

 

[KuRUpTD]

Great photos - you are very lucky to have that scenery outside your door

 

[TheGame]

Wonderful shots of that stream, I love when after a fresh fallen rain the little streams look like miniature raging rivers.

 

[RoyalM]

Great pics, something about them rekindles the child in me. By that I mean I spent a lot of time as a kid damming little creeks like that. I loved creating series of pools.

Anyone else do that as a kid?

 

[kgd]

Excellent pictures. I love the falls and that greener than green colour! Reminds me of the days we used to covet fuji velvia slide film as it always made greens just a touch greener!

 

[Mentor]

Beautiful pictures!

These shots remind me of a few spots along the Bruce Trail, up near me. We don't have quite that much moss, but the atmosphere is similar. Your area is incredibly lush!

Every time someone I know starts muttering about taking time off to go sit on a beach somewhere, I think about spots like this, and about how I would rather spend a day enjoying this sort of wilderness than a week lounging about in the sun. There's just something special about a tranquil waterfall surrounded by greenery.

All the best,

- Mike

 

[Joezilla]

Nice lush place!

 

[MacHete]

Thanks for the kind words, guys! Here are some comparison shots from other seasons. These aren't the best shots, but they match up with the others already posted. The December scenes show a more normal water volume- maybe even a little higher than normal. I hope to get some "drier" shots this summer.

Upstream from this rock the relief increases quite a bit as you approach the falls.

I have some "downstream" shots that aren't very pretty, but they do show the grade fairly well. Maybe I'll post them.

Every time someone I know starts muttering about taking time off to go sit on a beach somewhere, I think about spots like this, and about how I would rather spend a day enjoying this sort of wilderness than a week lounging about in the sun. There's just something special about a tranquil waterfall surrounded by greenery.

+1 on that Mike! Kathy loves the beach, but I think she may have been spoiled a little by growing up here.

CRR- you would be more than welcome to come on up, if we actually owned any of this land. Right now we're renting a tiny chunk of it from my Mother-In-Law. That comes with pretty much full access to the other 100+ acres, though. We hope to buy a house on the property from one of Kathy's Brothers in the next year or two. :thumbup: Wish us luck.

 

[WolfTracker]

What can I say... Canopy, green, rocks, water. Lucky b*stard

90 degrees here today with 75% humidity. Summer has officially arrived in the tropics. As you folks head out for fun, we start to hibernate until fall.

Enjoy.