Sky-Mirror: Clouds Reflected on a Wetland

It promised to be a beautiful day, and so we decided to get outside and be part of it! The morning sky was full of clouds, and by the time we got to where we were going - a little wetland along Bald Eagle Creek - they were putting on quite a display. They looked like cotton balls dancing through the sky, making reflections on the waters and tossing shadows across the landscape.

We didn't really have any place else we had to be, so my husband and I languished there. We sat in our chairs and read our books and listened to music and simply enjoyed the day and each other's company. We walked along the creekbed and admired the very last of the ice on the sides; it all will be melted soon, as they're predicting a fine, warm, springlike week ahead.

I spotted a pair of Canada geese checking out the environs, but they left, honking in disgust, as soon as I got just a bit too close. I was surprised not to see any red-winged blackbirds, as I've seen them at Millbrook already, but not yet here. We saw a few insects; spotted a hawk circling in the sky nearby.

There is a little cemetery I enjoy, called Williams Cemetery, which you can probably barely make out in these photos. It is home to one of my favorite amazing trees, but we decided that the road to get to the little cemetery would be too muddy to drive on, on this day. You can still see a tiny bit of the cemetery, perhaps, but not really the tree itself, which is tucked in along the tree line.

In the main shot, there is a pale barn near the center. The little cemetery is between the barn and where the shadow begins on that hill on the far right. (The extra photo was taken just a few clicks to the right of the main shot and perhaps you can see a few of the grave stones there as well, to the left of the shadowed tree line in front of the hill.)

A wetland, by the way, is an amazing thing. It performs many useful functions, such as water purification and flood protection. (More on the usefulness of wetlands here.) For myself, I am always seeking places with water to create my reflection shots. On this springlike day, I found a treasure indeed: a perfect sky-mirror hidden among the golden grasses.

Now, don't you suspect that one of the clouds featured in this shot might be the famous Cloud Number Nine? I think so too. It sure felt like it on this day! So the accompanying tune for these two images is Bryan Adams, with Cloud Number Nine (and I do recommend the original over the remixed version; this is the original).