Evening Ride

 On the road to Prairie State Park, near Minndenmines Missouri.

Thinking about August

As I was going through some papers I came across this leaf print I made last summer. The scan doesn't do it justice. Its from a Sycamore down along Shoal Creek at a place called Schermerhorn Park Nature Center in Cherokee County. I met with several other folks one warm morning in August to learn this leaf printing process from the county extension agent. Its an interesting process, and prints seem to last quite a long time. He had some that were over 20 years old. Im sure there are simpler ways but here how this is done.

equipment you will need : leaves (of course), an old racquet ball, a jar of Vaseline, an old metal spoon, a old tin can (tuna will do just nicely), a piece of old jeans (about 2 x2 inches), some matches, a few pieces of newspaper, some good typing or copy paper, mineral oil, two pieces of flat cardboard.

How to make a leaf print,

· Gather some leaves, find some shade.

. Lay out the materials on a flat location.
· Douse the jean piece in the mineral oil.
· Place the jean piece in the tin can, set it on the ground.

. Coat the cardboard with Vaseline, spread out a thin coat evenly on one side.
· Open a cold drink, if its August in Kansas its hot even in the shade.
· Light the jean piece in the can with the match, the fire will make a sooty flame.
· Hold the Vaseline side of the card board close to the flame, move it back and forth, soot will soon begin to condense on it.
· Get an even coat of soot on the card board, set it aside.
· Take a break, have another drink and listen for woodpeckers.
· Take the leaf and set it inside a piece of newspaper between two pages with the side you wish to print down.
· Insert the cardboard with the soot side up under the leaf.
· Close the newspaper.
· Roll the racquet ball on the newspaper to coat the leaf inside with lots of charcoal soot.
· Use the spoon to rub along the veins, not too hard though.
· Remove the leaf, save the cardboard for several more leaves.
· Place the leaf on the white paper soot side down.
· Repeat the rolling process with the ball and spoon inside a clean newspaper page to transfer the print.

You're done, admire the print and save it for a cold February day. It will help you to remember the warmth of an August day when you sat listening for woodpeckers in the shade of the Oaks, Sycamores and Hickories along Shoal Creek.

Saturday Droppings

Four Drops

Crawford County Kansas

The Big Drop

Crawford County Kansas

Saturday morning began with a thick pea soup sort of fog here in SE Kansas. I decided to try and get some photos but was sidetracked by the normal responsibilities we let go most of the week. By the time I got around to getting outside the temperature had risen to a critical point so that the fog lifted, the sky stayed grey and the thick dew left behind began to condense like mad on every tree in the back yard. These wonderful large cold drops began to fall like rain. Being an easy push over for a good drop I spent ten minutes taking photos. The drop in the second photo even has some water in it, the surface tension of water is a remarkable thing. My students love trying to figure out how insects take advantage of it and walk on it like a trampoline. Well I know water drop photos are kind of cliche and overshot but man they are fun.

Cloudy Morning

This morning I went for a short walk at sunup. We are expecting a "wintry" mix of precipitation. There was a small gap in the clouds that I thought might allow the sun to peek through for a quick peek and in doing so create some interesting light.

Turns out as I waited and listened to the ducks, geese and morning birds I found the sky made a pretty interesting background for some plants.
I think the plants are yarrow, goldenrod and some grass maybe brome.


I think the clouds won the contest but the sun did manage a short moment.

Reflection

Untitled
Crawford County