Consider the lilies of the pond

These lilies are happy catching rays in 100° weather. You probably would be too if half of you was snorkeling.

Water lilies, I learned, have to be stalked, if you plan to photograph them at full bloom. The persnickety posies are not beholden to daylight savings time. At around 3:30, I discovered after several trips, they close up shop and fold their tents, so to speak, for the evening. I shot these about 8:00 a.m. or so on July 10, 2011, after several of the aforementioned fruitless afternoon attempts.

Click on the picture to look under the bridge.

The view from down under

This adventure started under a bridge not far from these lilies. See this auspicious beginning on the Photo of the Week page at Corndancer dot-com. You’ll see an unusual and somewhat creepy picture under a bayou bridge, a dragon fly convention and some other interesting shots and verbiage. We’ll wait here while you look.

These lilies reside in a nice cypress-lined pond on  South Hazel Street, just south of I-530 exits and the Hazel Street Bayou Bartholomew bridge in good ol’ Pine Bluff, Arkansas. They sit there in plain view as if begging for attention, but I’m guessing they are ignored for the most part. Motorists there are either turning, exiting, entering, or trying to break the speed of sound.

You can see the developing seed pod in this bloom. Cured, these pods are the wierd looking things full of holes you see in dry foliage arrangements.

See the “under the bridge” pictures and more lilies in our Weekly Grist Gallery.

 Fortunately, the lilies feelings are not hurt when they are ignored. They politely go about their business, look cool, and make new lilies. They may be on to something. The idea is Biblical, so it’s not new: “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” (Luke 12, starting in verse 28 and ending in verse 29). I’m guessing that Almighty in his infinite wisdom would agree that this reference holds true for water lilies as well.

These lilies are standing at attention, ready for inspection, which I believe rarely occurs.

 Alas, poor Kodak, I knew ye well

The late Kodakamus Orlando Glover-Dempsey, Junior, The Third, AKA: "Kodak." Perched here on the back of the pickup, he thought the truck was a giant cat bed parked for his convenience.

 We feared the worst a day or two after I shot this picture of Kodak, our fine tabby. He weighed about thirteen pounds and was the undisputed King of the Hill. He liked me, put up with Pat, and barely tolerated others. That fateful morning when he did not make his normal scratch on the window between around five and six in the morning, we suspected something was amiss. That was about a month ago and he hasn’t shown yet, thus the kitty obituary. We miss you buddy!

Click the tree for more pictures

SEE MORE LILIES AND “UNDER THE BRIDGE” in our Weekly Grist Gallery

Take a gander at 12 pictures in our Weekly Grist Gallery. You’ll see the ones you see here, except bigger and sharper, plus the “under the bridge” shots and more around Bayou Bartholomew. Click go and look.

Thanks for dropping by,

Joe Dempsey
Weekly Grist for the Eyes and Mind

http://www.joedempseyphoto.com/
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