It ain’t the slime from Hades that ate Brooklyn surrounding the bear. It’s common duckweed.
This critter compendium started on the photo of the week page at Corndancer dot com with a gray fox and some ‘gators. To get in on the start of the festivities and see the critters, click here. We’ll wait while you look.
The black bear is swimming in the pond of the swamp area at Audubon Park, otherwise known as the New Orleans Zoo. Mind you, this shot was made with film around the mid nineties, so the bear and the pond are not the same, if at all.
When you first see the image, you say, “ … yuk, gah-rohss, eeetch!$#@! … ” look at the bear in the slime. The green stuff is neither algae nor slime; it is duckweed, a prolific, emerald green aquatic plant that will cover a pond quickly. What appear to be green freckles on the bear’s muzzle are duckweed leaves. It is an inordinately warm day in mid-April and brother bear has opted for a dip to cool the savage beast, duckweed notwithstanding.
Now where in the $#@!!!^%* did I leave that lottery ticket?
Not far away, perched high above the ground is a monkey, the genre of which escapes me. He looks like he is wearing a roaring twenties raccoon coat. One thing I do know, it appears that his left ear is itching because he is vigorously scratching in that direction. He looks like he has just lost his lottery ticket. Folks, these critters are why we go and gladly pay to get it. Go forth, learn and enjoy.
All steamed up
Cotton Belt Engine 819, built, retired, and restored in Pine Bluff, Arkansas
What, you say, do monkeys, bears, and locomotives have in common? At first blush, nothing. Howsomever, these three do. They share a residence in my film image archives. This week, in-lieu of plying the highways and byways for Grist matter, I groveled through the archives. From a technical standpoint, for those of you interested in photography, this image took a bit of unconventional chicanery. I knew I would not get to see the engine until the afternoon of that day, which, unfortunately meant the business end, which you see above, would be in the shadows. So I took a couple of 600 watt studio strobes and about a 175′ of extension cord to the rail yards and blasted 819 with a sterilizing dose of strobe to get the shot. I got some really weird stares and a couple of mild electrical shocks since steam engines cast off water, but, in the end, I got the shot and that was what counted. The images on this post are all in the 14-15 year old range, shot on Fujichrome 100.
The 819 was built in the Cotton Belt Shops at Pine Bluff, Arkansas in 1943. The locomotive was in regular service on the St. Louis and Southwestern Railroad, more popularly known in theses environs as the Cotton Belt Line, until 1955 when it was retired. The mighty locomotive was placed on permanent display in a city park in Pine Bluff where it remained until December 1, 1983 when a group of enthusiasts put the engine back on rails, returned it to the shops where it originated and meticulously restored it to the last minute detail. There is much more to this story than this synopsis, most of which you can find here. The 819 is currently housed in the Arkansas Railroad Museum in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
May 6, 2012 update. The 8i9 is now disassembled and “on hold.” See a Corndancer article and a companion Weekly Grist article from 2010 which give some explanation of the 819 dilemma.
Where is this building (or where was it)?
This old build is (or was) in plain sight, visible for a long way in either direction on the highway where it was located. Where, was that, within 100 miles?
Who will be the first to tell me where this building is, within a hundred miles, or so, a generous latitude of locations? I have passed this old structure a number of times and finally photographed it about 15 years ago. It’s been seven years since I have been past the building, so I am not certain that it is still standing. Who knows, it could have been razed or simply collapsed. For those who want to participate, email or post a comment below? Hint: It is west of where I live. I will reveal the answer (within a 100 miles or so) next week, it not sooner.
Thanks for dropping by,
Joe Dempsey
Weekly Grist for the Eyes and Mind
http://www.joedempseycommunications.com/
http://www.joedempseyphoto.com/
http://www.corndancer.com/joephoto/photohome.html
Filed under: Behind the Scenes, but wait, there's more | Tagged: Audubon Park, Audubon Park Zoo, bear, Cotton Belt Shops, Cotton Belt Steam Locomotive, duckweed, monkey, New Orleans Zoo, Pine Bluff AR, Pine Bluff Arkansas, primate, slime, St. Louis and Southwestern Railroad, steam locomotive, swimming bear |
Weekly Grist for the Eyes and Mind 
Ok…I will take a ‘stab’ after doing a ‘light’ google search.
My ‘guess’ will be Hot Springs Village, Arkansas.
There is also a Auto Dealer up for sale in Greenbriar, Arkansas (aprox 100 miles NW of Hot Springs).
Ok…that is two guesses. Pick whichever one works!! LOL!!
Thanks for the ‘treasure hunt’. They are always fun.
– Lisa
Lisa, both good guesses, but not it. I’ll reveal another hint … west by southwest of Hope AR.
Thanks,
Joe
Another stab….Texarkana Auto Auction is located off of highway 67…a little, out of the way highway. So, my second guess will be a little farther to the west in New Boston, TX. There is located not one, but two auto dealerships that still hold auctions. New Boston is located directly off of I-30, a more well traveled road that you would pass by on with more frequency.
Ok…that is the limit of my Google and Yahoo maps for tonight!
Hope you and your family have a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving tomorrow!
-LIsa
Of being an Ohioan I can’t help determine the local of the Auto Dealer Auction building, but I can wonder how vehicles got onto the second floor?
Role of your beloved skeeter? That’s an easy one … think of it as a food source and how many birds and bats feed on them!
Love the monkey pic … hope someone provides the species.
Commonality between the locomotive, monkey, & bear? Here’s a start.
1) All require energy source
2) All use energy to move
3) All require internal maintenance system of processes with controls
4) All had less-refined predecessors
5) All are design for a particular function
More importantly, I wish you and your family a bountiful Thanksgiving … and thanks for being an example of goodness in the world.
Thanks Frank and a happy, calorie-ridden, but guilt-free thanksgiving to you and yours.
Joe
**** New Boston is located directly off of I-30, a more well traveled road that you would pass by on with more frequency.****
WE HAVE A WINNER! Lisa from “kidcessory haven” got it! The rules were “within a 100 miles.” I said that because I could not remember the exact closest town. The highway you see in the foreground is I-30. The picture is a mid-nineties image. It is on the north side of the interstate and Arkies going to the “Big D” have driven past it a jillion times.
Thanks Lisa,
Joe
YES!! I RULE!!!!
No question about it!
Joe
[…] I put the fox and gators on Corndancer. I put the bear, monkey, and locomotive on Weekly Grist. Click here to see the original post and marvel. Click on the fox the Photo of the […]