Photos by Phred

The Riverwalk was particularly beautiful this morning -- the surface like glass, the reflections sharp, the water clear. In a hurry to get out the front door, somehow I forgot my camera! (Duh.)  Fred was taggin' along, though, and he had not forgotten his camera, so all today's photographs are the work of Fred, who graciously offered to take photos of exactly what I pointed out.  So that's what we did -- I pointed and Fred snapped.  Plus, of course, Fred took a few of his own choosing.

I'm doing something with this blog entry that I don't usually do -- I'm presenting the photographs in exactly the order in which they were taken.  Usually I find some theme or motif  that's up there in my head, and I pull photographs from my stash of various days' walks, and I plug 'em into one blog entry.  But what you're gettin' today is a straight, in-order, one morning walk -- July 31, 2011.  And, by the way, I readily admit that Fred's a much better photographer than I am.

 

I love how Fred placed the ends of the cannons in this photo.

We had a brief conversation with this very friendly man who offered that he'd caught a catfish about a foot long, making his mornin' out in the heat "worth it."

A cantaloupe-sized hole has appeared in the Riverwalk within the past couple of days -- right there behind the Promenade Amphitheatre.

Fred loves to take photos of the railroad bridge.  I do, too.

Somebody dropped they cupcake.

A watermelon vine that's growing right next to the walk up underneath Dillingham Bridge. It's sportin' a bloom. We'll see if it manages to produce a melon.

These two very white ducks, newcomers, have been at this very spot for two days.

We agreed that neither of us had ever seen a boatless person so far out onto the rocks.

Has Jake Blount been visitin' the Riverwalk? And does he have a printer?

The cutbait has aged for a few days, and increased in complexity.

This is the second time that we've seen a heron in this spot.

I guess he ran out of printer ink?

Blue toenail polish brings good luck in fishin', maybe -- especially when worn with sequined flip-flops.

We're concerned about what appears to be spraying.

Odds 'n Ends, and a Pretty Good Dose of Yuck!

Today's entry has no real rhyme or reason. Instead, it's simply composed of images that have been accumulating in my files over the past couple or so weeks.  Here we go ...

Several times over the past few weeks I've seen a group of folks SWIMMING (Yes, you read right.) from the curved steps behind the CSU Theatre Department to the old City Wharf behind the Ironworks Trade and Convention Center.  Dumb, if you ask me -- especially since folks drown in the River on a right regular basis (three so far this summer, I read in the Ledger-Enquirer), and these swimmers don't have with them a single lifejacket or float or ANYTHING to grab onto if any of them should need it. These photos are from the first day I saw them -- two men and five women.

 

 

When they finally arrived at the City Wharf, having swum down underneath the Dillingham Street Bridge, they were  "worn out."  One of the women actually was so zoned out (or something) that she swam way past the Wharf and one of the others had to jump in and go get her.  

On two subsequent occasions I've seen the men, but sans the womenfolk, who must have wised up.  Now, these folks look fit, and they look as if they know what they're doing. They have nice swimwear, including swim caps, and I assume that they're engaging in some sort of fitness program or something -- I mean, I don't think they're doing what some folks do and just get drunk and dive in -- but no matter what their inspiration, swimming there in that stretch of the River is dangerous.  And you know what? It's illegal, too.  I looked up the rules of the Riverwalk -- of which there are very few, I'm happy to report -- but one of them is "No Swimming."

Here's a more sensible way to have fun on the Riverwalk:

 

How'd you like the way I snuck in those grandchild photos? Slick, huh?

Here's an oft-photographed spot on the Riverwalk ...

 

I do believe the heron population has increased this year. There are lots of them.

This is the second time I've photographed a heron only to learn when I look closely at the photograph that the poor bird is entangled in fishing line.  Makes me wonder how many of the creatures find themselves in this condition.

Yesterday morning the train came by just as Fred and I walked underneath the Railroad Bridge ...

Here's a sight you don't see very often -- folks up on that rickety platform inside the Powerhouse ..

 

But here's a site I see all the time -- Now, are you ready for the YUCK part of this blog?  Are you really ready?  If not, do NOT scroll down ...

Folks be usin' the tops of the posts for cuttin' bait.

 You know I'm not going to leave you with something so ugly. Here's a sight so interesting to me that I took about ten different photos of it ...

You're wondering what it is?  See that plant sticking up sorta tall in the middle of the photograph?  Well, it has a big white bloom right at the top of the stem.  It's a MARSHMALLOW plant.  I love the idea of a marshmallow growing on a rock in the middle of the Chattahoochee River. That just makes me happy on this, the 28th of July, 2011. Sayonara, friends, till next time.