Escaping the snow for a day down in the valley.
Man, it’s almost May and It’s still freakin’ snowing. I love the stuff but honestly, I’m done for the year. Many a long-time local assures me this is an exceptionally long winter and it’ll all be over soon.
Today I decide to rug up and head lower in the valley where it’s a little warmer and the snow doesn’t get a chance to stick. One of my favorite spots to walk is along the train tracks. I notice that the wooden beams used to lay the track on are treated with what seems to be some kind of stinky oil. I guess it protects the wood from the relentless beating the trains and Nature gives it.
Oddly, I find that oily, industrial smell somewhat reassuring when walking through the wilderness. I mean, I’m still green enough to get a little spooked now and then when out hiking on my own.
Taking macro photos of textures is hobby of mine. Close-up photography yields an often overlooked world of detail that I love. On my hike today, I came across this old rail track that had been tossed aside. Like some kind of old, barnacled ship hull it had been beautifully weathered and aged.
Old man rail track.
This piece of track must of been a good 15 feet long and the rust along it’s length was all different kinds of colors. It’s surface was mottled with rusts of very dark brown through to bright yellow and I sat wondering what exactly was it that made steel oxidize in these different colors. Was it different temperatures? Perhaps slightly different amounts of iron present in different areas of the the steel?
Hmm. In the end, I couldn’t come up with anything beyond more questions. I took out my trusty little Digital Elph, got a couple photos and moved on to soak in the imminent arrival of Spring.
