Greens and orange
Adjacent to the property with the pond that you saw last time playing host to pickerelweed is a low-lying area accessible from Naruna Way. On June 2, thanks to the heavy spring rains, parts of the land lay covered in shallow water, and with that lingering water came the algae you see here. Of interest to this photographer (see how he third-persons himself) were the froth, the varying shades of green, the dark little funnel, the streaming strands of algae, and the orange color of the underlying earth.
© 2015 Steven Schwartzman
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It looks like the final scene of some made-for-tv disaster film involving the Amazon, an unexpected vortex, and the presumed end of civilization. I don’t see the hero scientist in your photo, but he’s surely there.
The multiple shades of green and the textural variety are fascinating. I do like that streaming algae. Combined with the frothiness, it looks rather like a green jellyfish with long tentacles.
shoreacres
August 2, 2015 at 7:01 AM
You don’t see the hero because he was behind the camera.
I originally used the word vortex, but it wasn’t swirling, so I switched to funnel.
As many hazards as a nature photographer faces (or bodies, to be more accurate) in central Texas (chiggers, cacti, poison ivy, briars, nettles, …), one thing I never have to contend with here is jellyfish.
Steve Schwartzman
August 2, 2015 at 7:22 AM
The reader of this post noticed the name of the photographer flowing amongst the slimy strands of algae.
Jim in IA
August 2, 2015 at 7:47 AM
It seems the photographer has learned to go with the flow. That allows him to stay supple and to keep from getting neur-algae-a.
Steve Schwartzman
August 2, 2015 at 8:18 AM
Kind of reminds me of an abstract painting!
Michael Glover
August 2, 2015 at 1:55 PM
It does have that quality, Michael, doesn’t it? One difference is that this slowly changed, even as I watched.
Steve Schwartzman
August 2, 2015 at 3:59 PM
Nice abstract photo.
Raewyn's Photos
August 2, 2015 at 2:02 PM
Something to rival the abstractions I saw at the end of my stay in New Zealand,
Steve Schwartzman
August 2, 2015 at 4:00 PM
This commenter noticed the nice abstract quality created by the flowing strands of algal bloom.
Steve Gingold
August 3, 2015 at 5:32 AM
This replier appreciates what this commenter has written. For variety, it’s good to have a bloom that doesn’t involve a flower.
Steve Schwartzman
August 3, 2015 at 7:05 AM
What an amazing photo! We don’t need only flowers to discover nature’s beauty. It’s there to enjoy in aspects of foliage.
Mary Mageau
August 3, 2015 at 6:41 PM
Amen to that, Mary.
Steve Schwartzman
August 3, 2015 at 9:51 PM
I was about to write something about this being like an abstract work of art – then I realized that’s exactly what it really is ;-). Wondrous capture!
Birder's Journey
August 4, 2015 at 10:22 PM
Thank you. I’m fond of abstractions, so perhaps I’ve gotten attuned to some of them as I wander in nature. As far as I’m concerned, there can never be too many.
Steve Schwartzman
August 4, 2015 at 11:13 PM
Very fine “painting” you made here in corporation with Mother Nature 🙂
Truels
August 15, 2015 at 1:48 PM
Just call me an Abstract Impressionist “painter.”
Steve Schwartzman
August 15, 2015 at 3:35 PM
Blech! We had plenty of that stuff growing in the pond, too. One of my jobs was to pull that out and compost it in an effort to clean the water.
As you can see, I am enjoying a nice Sunday morning, catching up on my reading 🙂
melissabluefineart
September 6, 2015 at 11:00 AM
I saw the algae in a strictly artistic way as it formed patterns that intrigues me, but your “Blech!” makes me wonder if the algae is a bad thing. I found it in a temporarily flooded field, where it was bound to die once the water evaporated in the summer heat, as opposed to a pond where we wouldn’t want it to gunk up the water.
Steve Schwartzman
September 6, 2015 at 3:14 PM
It does indicate too much fertilizer, so it makes sense that you found it there. I knew you were going for the abstract pattern and tried to see it that way but just couldn’t get past my training that algae is bad. I’m sorry for my knee-jerk “Blech”!
melissabluefineart
September 7, 2015 at 8:52 AM
I think you can parlay your “Blech” into Bletchley Park, whose history will make you happier:
http://www.bletchleyparkresearch.co.uk/research-notes/women-codebreakers/
Steve Schwartzman
September 7, 2015 at 10:18 AM