May 8, 2024
Condensation
As always, the morning started with coffee and chores. When it was time for my wife to leave, I grabbed some paper towels and wiped off all the condensation from her SUV’s side mirrors. The humidity was high, so water covered her vehicle. After she drove off, I grabbed my laptop and sat down at the dining room table to write.
After a writing session, I grabbed my hat and boots and went into the woods for a morning walk. The humidity, still lingering from the night, hung thick in the air, intensifying all the forest’s smells. The sun was up and relatively bright, but all the fresh spring growth blocked the light, keeping the woods cool and dark. It was not the best lighting for photography, but I was always prepared to shoot anything interesting I discovered.
Just before I left the house for my walk, I read an article in the Wilson Times about a black bear that was spotted in Wilson. The local newspaper’s online article had footage of the bear caught by a business security camera. I knew my area was an even more hospitable location for the large animal.
I decided that from now on, I would always carry a firearm while spending time in the woods. This morning, I grabbed a pistol, toting it along with my binoculars and camera equipment. In the pine grove, I found several deer tracks in the soft dirt near my blind. I quickly rummaged through videos on a nearby trail camera and saw several deer feeding in the area. There were no bears.
Along the trail, I saw two eastern gray squirrels playing. I raised my camera to fire off a couple of shots, but something didn’t look right. The electronic viewfinder on my camera looked different; dull. It took a few seconds to sort out, but then I realized it was the time of year when my lenses would momentarily fog up. Because the large pieces of glass had been sitting inside my cool home, when I stepped outside, the high humidity would gather condensation on the lens. To combat this issue, the lenses needed time to adjust to the outside temperature. This meant taking my camera equipment outside fifteen or twenty minutes before I planned to shoot any photos.
A little further down the trail, I spotted an elegant dragonfly. Its wings were jet black while its torso and long tail were a deep iridescent blue color. I stopped to shoot a couple of photos, attempting to capture the flying insect with its wings open while it perched. I pulled a couple of good shots, but I was still waiting for my lens to defog.
On the trail that led to the western side of the creek, I saw several white markings. At first I thought it was poop from a waterfowl, like a heron or seagull, but upon closer inspection, I saw it was actually a tiny white mold. The growth was so fine that it looked like powder and it was everywhere along the trail. I didn’t remember seeing the white fungus during previous years.
Scattered near the creek were bright yellow and orange petals from the tulip trees. I remembered seeing these last year. When I looked them up on the internet, they had pictures of tulip trees people had planted in residential neighborhoods. They stood about twenty or thirty feet tall, but the tulip trees near the creek were easily one hundred feet taller. The beavers impressed me when they left their teeth marks on these towering giants.
When I passed by the deer feeder in the central part of the property, I saw a mole had dug a trail about eight to ten feet long, just underneath the pathway. These small trails were also in the pasture; moles were not uncommon here. As I rounded the last corner of the trail back to the house, I noted the various birds singing and twisted trees growing in the area, their bark scarred by vines that once spiraled around their trunks.
When I came home, I opened a box I received yesterday from B&H, my go-to camera supplier. I unboxed a new tool I had saved up for, a new camera body that was compatible with my lenses. Having two camera bodies would make photography shoots more efficient and the new body boasted a better autofocus system, a faster shooting rate, and better low light capabilities. These three things were key components of my style of photography. I was pleased with the new camera and was eager to try it out. That would have to wait. It was time to shower and get ready for work.
During my lunch break, I walked outside and entered the hidden trailhead on the west side of the property, intending to check the trail camera posted there. When I entered the woods, however, a beautiful box turtle was relaxing in the middle of the trail, just inside the tree line. Its dark green shell with yellowish markings contrasted well with its black head, that sported a bright orange pattern that extended down to its legs. I photographed the turtle before heading back inside. For lunch, I tossed a ribeye on the grill because survival.
After work, I took a walk into the old part of the forest for last light. This morning, I saw a white powdery looking fungus growing on the western trails, but on the east side a similar fungus on the trails glowed in bright purple. When I arrived at the creek, I heard a deer bark and saw a small herd run north into the tree line. It was almost time for the does to birth their fawns, and I had noticed a change in their patterns. A few weeks ago, there were several large herds moving through the property, but the deer seemed to have broken up into smaller groups. Some does even walked around solo.
When I arrived at the trailhead where I spotted the turtle, two whitetails spotted me, barked, and ran south. The turtle was gone. I went back inside the house, waiting for my wife to arrive home. After she pulled up, we unloaded her things and then walked down the dirt road to the mailboxes, a half mile trip. When we returned, we went to see if the turtle was back. It was not, but while we were standing at the trailhead, my wife spotted two deer in the woods, watching us from a safe distance.
The sunset, this evening, looked spectacular. The heavily clouded sky diffused the sun’s light, making the entire west side of the sky glow in bright yellows and oranges. Although the sun was on the horizon, it cast one sliver of bright light that cut across our property, shining a thin beam through the pine grove. It was the perfect ending to a good day.