Weird Scenes Inside the Duck Blind

The clouds were really magnificent on Thursday between the morning clearing and the afternoon storms. So I hustled off for a quick lunchtime break: a visit to the Millbrook Marsh and a fast walk of the boardwalk with my camera. Nature: food for the soul.

There were butterflies and birds everywhere (including a barn swallow nest where I got to watch the mother feed her young!), and there were young people leading kids on tours around the Marsh. They leaned over the railings with great interest, observed the plants, slopped in the creek. What is better than a summer day in childhood, spent outdoors?

I took this shot of the duck blind with the amazing clouds behind it. It turned out pretty dramatic and strange-looking and I liked it. The fact that the duck blind is a window to the clouds behind it makes it seem sort of magical to me: big, roiling sky all around; three little glimpses of sky in the middle, framed. So here it is as my blip for Thursday.

[Editor's note: The title of this blip, by the way, is a riff on the Doors' Weird Scenes Inside the Gold Mine, an excellent 1972 compilation album that has not to date been released on CD. The album gets its title from the lyrics of a Doors song that I like, "The End." And I thought about posting a link or some lyrics here. But then I read the lyrics and realized anew that while it starts out merely strange and interesting - and maybe a little depressing - it takes a turn to a dark place, and the lyrics are not safe for young kids. So I decided not to post lyrics or link to the song, but if you are interested, you might google it to have a listen . . . ]