Old Man's Cave Flora

Old Man's Cave Flora
Originally uploaded by Elessar

It's mid December and we've had cold weather for a while now. I was amazed that there were still ferns above ground in the Old Man's Cave gorge in Hocking Hills. I guess that ferns have been around for millions of years and a little thing like cold weather or snowfall isn't going to give them much problem.

Old Man's Cave Waterfall

Old Man's Cave Waterfall
Originally uploaded by Elessar

I love going down to Old Man's Cave in the Hocking Hills. I was there on Sunday and I was all alone. No one else was there. Once you got below the rim, there was no wind and all you could hear was the sound of the waterfalls and the trickling of water falling from the rim. We've had a lot of rain lately, so there was a lot of water flowing through the gorge. I was really amazed at the ferns still growing along the ledges. I'm posting another image showing the plant life.

Faded Blossoms

Faded Blossoms
Originally uploaded by Elessar

I was reading the latest issue American Photo magazine which containted a series of photographs from a variety of rock stars. One of the comments in the article was about the fleeting nature of life. As I walked through my garden, I found these roses, well past their prime, which had blossomed only a short while before. They had quickly gone from a perfect rose bud to the decaying end of their usefulness.

Mother and child

Mother and child
Originally uploaded by Elessar.

During my recent visit to Bangalore, India, I spent one afternoon walking around the neighborhood. Though you don't see it often, there are people who live on the streets in Bangalore. You see tents made from nylon tarps set up on a sidewalk. They look pretty permanent to me. This mother and her young child were enjoying the cooler evening air outside her tent.