July 4, 2022 – 3:00 pm
Today the weather was very sunny with only a few puffy white clouds in the sky. It was about 72 and there was a soft breeze at some points during my exploration of the Horseshoe Bend Natural Area.
When I initially arrived today it was clear that this was the place to be; especially with young children. I think that the shallow water for the kids and deeper pools for the parents made this an ideal place for them to cool off on the holiday weekend. Additionally, I think it was because of the large number of people that I also observed far larger numbers of trash that are left behind by its visitors. However, it was not just trash there were numerous flip-flops left behind on a tree stump near the parking area. Another thing that I began to notice as I continued to walk down the trail was the change in wildflowers that were present in the area. The last time that I was here, only a couple of days prior were the red trillium, yet now most of them had lost their color and were beginning to decompose, while the three leaves that are a dark emerald green around the flower remained healthy and thriving. The new flowers that were blooming looked similar to Queen Anne’s lace but still had unique differences as these were more spindly and not as compact in the number of flowers on the end of the stem. It also appeared as though the water level wasn’t as high as when I had been previously and I figured this was likely due to the rain that came through the morning before I visited last time.
Natural History Mystery…
When I got to the site today I was on the lookout for anything peculiar and I found it in this plant. It was in a group of green plants but for some unknown reason, its leaves and only its leaves looked like a banana gone bad. It made me wonder if those in charge of maintaining the health of this area used pesticides to get rid of plants that are invasive or unhealthy for this natural area. What I ended up finding when I returned home was that the town of Huntington does in fact use some sort of action to mitigate invasive species, according to the Huntington Town Plan available for the public to see. However, this isn’t conclusive since I don’t know if this particular plant is invasive or if there is another reason behind the plant displaying this leaf discoloration.
Little Yellow Flower
I chose this subject because I really liked how tiny this flower was and I wanted to use the leaves as not only a stark contrasting background but also for size comparison.
Red Clover
I really enjoy photographing flowers which is why I chose this subject. I also wanted to try to capture the small beetle that was trying to pollinate this flower which I was unsuccessful in doing in this particular photo. However, I did try to frame the clover right in the center of the photo and make sure it was in focus.
Field Ecosystem at Natural Area
I chose this composition because I really enjoyed the various shades of green that were present in this photo and then the contrast with the blue sky was so lovely. I also like how it gives a better understanding to people when I now reference the field area at Horseshoe Bend. The tree line also does a good job of separating the sections of the photo.
Tree Bark
The way that I took this photo was meant to try to be from the perspective of some of the snails that I see crawling around at this site. I also liked how I was able to bring some of the bark into focus so you could see the shapes and rough edges of it while also having the crack in the middle of the tree drawing your focus through the photo.
The edge of the pebbles
I took this photo from just above the water level so that hopefully you could see how gradual the incline from the pebble beach to the water is. I’m not sure if the composition of this photo is quite what I was hoping for because it was hard to crop the trees out of the background while also showing the flow of the rocks into the water. However, I do like the contrast and the shadows that are between the trees in the background.
As I took photos I began to notice how few songbirds were out because when I was planning on coming to photograph I had been hoping to capture some of them and yet they didn’t seem to be present. It didn’t really change my understanding of this site but it did make me curious as to if the increased human presence was impacting their regular behavior. I am hoping that next time when I visit I will be able to see them and see if I can compare the number of people present to their presence in the area. This process did have many similarities to sketching on the idea that you are trying your best to convey what is in front of you through various mediums. I personally found this much easier than sketching since I am not as gifted in that area, but I did certainly have challenges with this process. I hope that on my next visit I’m able to bring a camera again to photograph any changes I see at the site in hopes of creating a sort of record during this blog.