Just Photos: a Journal by Srinivas

  Dawn at 7:07 AM from Ridge Road looking East toward Atlanta.  Perhaps a harbinger of new, positive, harmonious beginnings on the national political scene.

Had been walking on one fork of the Rottenwood Creek Trail along the Chattahoochee River off and on for the past two years. This morning, decided to try the other fork, which goes along the actual Rottenwood Creek. It was quite amazing urban trail, two-miles long, paved, undulating - rising up steep slopes to the interstate highway level, and back down to the creek along a winding path complete with underpasses and a variety of bridges back and forth across the creek, all the while, offering a tranquil getaway just a five minute drive from home. Frozen leaves and twigs with ice crystals gave way to sunbathing birds in the river. The meandering creek offered moments of quiet reflection, literally a stone's throw from the Atlanta perimeter, yet seemingly in a different, rustic world. The city all around us intruded, although politely, with reminders of its existence, in the form of bridges, graffiti, underpasses, and tall buildings. A winter morning well spent!

Sweetwater Creek State Park is just west of Atlanta, an approximately 30-minute drive away.  The full glory of the ubiquitous, meandering Chattahoochee river comes alive here.  I have been there several times, and each season presents its own unique look at this slice of peaceful wilderness. You never know what will turn up just around the corner, even if you have been there a few times. The river was in spate due to the recent rains. alternating between a gentle crawl and churning torrents. Of course, one of the highlights is the ruins of the New Manchester Manufacturing Company textile mill burned during the Civil War, nestled between the varied vegetation, standing sentinel over the river as the years go by.

The flowers in the backyard put me in a "reflective" mood.  While I usually don't like to shoot photos of nature outside its natural habitat, the temptation to examine these minuscule beauties more closely and appreciate the intricate detail that lend them their resplendence was too much.  So, with just a couple of plucked flowers, I took a closer look. It is such a tiny flower, but there is just so much detail that goes into its stamens, pistils, and pollen, which is what keeps it propagating for millennia. These tiny yellow flowers look so delicate and fragile, but maintain their proud presence adorning the yard so well. And the water that nourishes the flowers and all of nature is in such harmony, with the texture of its petals providing just the right perch (one could get into engineering mode and start talking surface tension, Cassie and Wenzel states, hydrophobic and hydrophyllic surfaces, etc., but that would ruin a good thing!) And then there is t

With this physical distancing from the outside world imposing an isolation from humans outside the family, it is time to discover the flora and the fauna around the house. The deck presented the first interesting subject, when a friendly(?) wasp came by to say hello. The flowers creeping up on the deck are just about ready to bloom. Truth be told, the wasp was probably looking for that flower and wondering when it would open and provide him nourishment, than to have a chat with me. Meanwhile, the little cactus on the deck table was glowing brightly in the sun, especially with that accidental drop of water on it, demonstrating the power of "opposites attract." Saturday morning came with the first blooms on the vine that has draped itself around the deck. The cool, but sunny and glorious weather drew me to the yard, where more such minuscule flowers were waiting to welcome me. These flowers, only about 1/8 of an inch in size, can still