Parking Deck Shadows

The first visit to this parking deck a decade ago ended with a security guard’s escort.

IMG_6533

Wielding a longboard, the plan was to carve all the way down to street level from the rooftop, but the guard caught me on one or more cameras climbing the stairs. After taking in the sunset, I turned around to find a beige, four-door Buick circa 1980 rounding the corner to the roof. He rolled down the window.

“You can’t be here. Sometimes people jump.”

“Can I ride down? You can follow.”

“Alright.”

The man pulled a u-turn, then inched up behind. Rather than stand and carve leisurely, I opted to sit and shoot the curves as fast as possible. I pushed twice, sat down, then pulled my feet up. Gripping the sides of the board, I raced counter clockwise down around six floors. The creaky escort rumbled along, tracing my route. We made eye contact at the bottom as I crossed the sidewalk onto College Ave. He gave me a smile and a nod.

Full Moonrise and Strix varia

Full Moonrise

A resident Barred Owl announced the full moonrise last Thursday (ten minutes before the alarm went off). Listen to haunting hooting the Cornell Lab of Ornithology describes as “Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you-all?”

2014 Terrarium

Terrarium

The South Fork Broad River raged after Friday’s deluge. At dusk, a thick fog settled on the water and submerged rock outcrops (usually dotted with families and hikers) below Watson Mill’s covered bridge. The moss above grew on a slick granite slab along the bank. Click here for more from the historic area.

The glass container was a gift from a student, so the first terrarium of 2014 (inspected by Mogwai) will enjoy a spot in the window of our classroom. More moss terrariums are here.

Baby, It’s Cold Outside

Frost Heaving in Winterville 1

Needle ice occurs when the air temperature is below freezing, and the soil is above freezing. Water flows upward via capillary  motion as heat moves toward colder air above.

IMG_6293

Chunks of soil, grass, and moss are lifted into the air.

IMG_6291

IMG_6292

These crystals were discovered in Winterville (naturally) during a run through an overgrown subdivision that never made it through The Great Recession. Click here for more photos of the area, and enjoy Ray Charles’ persuasion…

Scull Shoals

IMG_6202

“There’s the story, then there’s the real story, then there’s the story of how the story came to be told. Then there’s what you leave out of the story. Which is part of the story too.”

-Margaret Atwood

Read one story about smallpox, Georgia’s first paper mill, and a medical dynasty here.

IMG_6208

IMG_6206

IMG_6187

IMG_6178

IMG_6182

IMG_6179