HAPPY NEW WEEK!I hope everyone has a wonderful week!I don't have a picture this week, but I thought I'd include these two links for anyone who wants to look at them. (1) This is aerial video photography of the autumn foliage at Turkey Run State Park, which is just down the road from my house. The water is Sugar Creek. The video is 2 1/2 minutes, but the nicest footage is shown at about 1 minute 45 seconds in the video. (2) This is aerial video photography of the autumn foliage at Shades State Park, which is only a few minutes from me. The Shades is very, very special to me because that's where my grandfather was a Park Forest Ranger. I spent a lot of time there when I was young, as did my Mom when she was little. The bridge is the Deer's Mill Covered Bridge, which was built in 1829 over Sugar Creek. The photographic drone even goes inside the bridge. Swallows and other birds nest in the rocky canyon cliffs. The video is 3 minutes. Here are some videos showing the outside and inside of some of the other bridges near my house. (No one is obligated to look at them.) Every year, over a million people come to my area in October to attend the Covered Bridge Festival. These videos were taken this month, right after the end of the festival.Jackson Covered Bridge, built in 1861 during the Civil War. In the 1800s, at times of high water, people launched flat boats at this point on Sugar Creek to float goods over to the Wabash River, where they travelled to the Ohio River and then to the mighty Mississippi River and on to the markets in New Orleans. Video is 2 minutes.West Union Covered Bridge, built in 1876. This bridge and its earlier versions were used by stage coaches on their way to Lafayette in NW Indiana during frontier times. The famous Wabash and Erie Canal was east of this bridge. Video is 2 minutes. Cox Ford Covered Bridge, on the west side of Turkey Run State Park over Sugar Creek. Video is 2 1/2 minutes.The Narrows Covered Bridge , in Turkey Run State Park over Sugar Creek. It's one of the most photographed covered bridges in the nation. The local Native American tribes and settlers from several countries had various names for Sugar Creek, but they all knew the Sugar Creek valley for its maple trees, the source of maple sugar. Video is 2 minutes.
Diane:- Have looked at the first two you listed and will look at the rest later. The colours in the first one are fantastic and the water is so still at the beginning which enhances the reflections. Colours not so marked in second one, but some of the trees look much older with quite an amount of what appears to be dead branches/twigs. What is the history behind the covered bridges? Your weekly photos/video clips always start the page off well.
Thanks for all the links, DIANE - essential viewing for the week - and for starting the thread again.
Good to see that LIZ still looks in at our postings! Hope all is well at The Fort.
Still very cold here - may be a change this evening.
Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!
Good morning, all - it's cold but promising to be another beautiful day here.
Limpy and I went to Abberton Reservoir yesterday - click on this gorgeous mallard to see some more photos:
Our herring gulls are red listed birds. Think about that the next time you hear some flaming idiot calling for a cull of them.
Hi, Liz. The difference in colour quality between the two videos may also be because the first one was filmed much earlier in the month. Many of the colourful leaves had fallen by the time the second video was filmed. Our fall foliage is pretty, but it doesn't last long here. The cold arrives pretty quickly. The history behind the covered bridges: Prior to the invention and wide distribution of cars/trucks, horses were the only option for travel. Indiana has a lot of creeks, streams, and rivers. However, horses were reluctant to go over traditional, open bridges. They would balk, so road construction and travel were challenging. However, horses would willingly trot into a covered bridge because it looked more like a barn/stable, and they couldn't look down and see the water rushing beneath them. So that's why people started building covered bridges, at least that's what I've been told. It may also be a stylistic choice of this culture.So nice to see you, Liz. I hope life is treating you well!
Good Morning. Nice to come on and find so many treats, from Diane and Clare. Will luxuriate in them all, later.
Lynette - More pics to come, as we sail back down the river to the sea.
It's rained all night here, so everything will be very soggy as we've had so much rain in the last 2 weeks already. Had a nice roast dinner last night before our son went " out on the town." He had a lift from a friend so will have enjoyed a few drinks, I expect - will let him sleep in this morning!
Thank you DIANE and yes, will look at the links from you and CLARE. Granddaughters have just been collected by their parents. They seem to have had a good time - As for me, it was so good to have something to get up for!! They enjoyed their cooked breakfast and are now en route to see their other granny.
Busy weekend for the two girls - as well as for you, HEATHER! So pleased you enjoyed having them.
OH has lifted the study carpet ready for the new one - he'll do the one in the hall tomorrow as they aren't coming till Tuesday. Pleased I got far enough with the newsletter that I can abandon it until Wednesday. This afternoon I have been thinking about Christmas food, but not made many decisions - only that mains will often be rich and/or creamy so we shall shift them to lunchtime and have "tea" in the evening.
Morning all:
Diane: Lovely videos with some fascinating rock formations in some, I hope Indiana Tourism is paying the folks who filmed those bridges! I notice all but the Jackson Bridge are painted red. And I was wondering about those huge curved timbers inside - stupid question maybe, but are they all one piece of wood or several sections joined together? I notice they're anchored to the beams that support the roofs. I know they were probably filmed early morning/late afternoon, but the areas look so peaceful - I assume they're busy during the summer? Looks like great swimming and fishing opportunities. Smiled at Cross this bridge at a walk signs - no jogging allowed? Hope they're safe from vandals... There's a Covered Bridge map of the US, Canada and "The Rest of the World" at www.coveredbridgemap.com! :-)) Love the internet!!! The nearest one to me is at the Halter Ranch in Paso Robles and looks suspiciously like it was put up as a tourist attraction for those open-air dinners hosted by fancy wineries. Oh well.... Much prefer the historic ones, especially when they have the names of the builders, etc. Thanks again!
Eeek! How time flies when you're busy with covered bridges. Must get on. Hallo to all!
Annette: The only thing I know about Paso Robles is that one of the founders was the uncle of Frank and Jesse James, the infamous Midwest bank robbers, and the James gang hid from the law in Paso Robles for a while. Ironic that it now has posh wineries. LOL!
Answers to your questions:
Those areas in the videos are usually very peaceful. There generally isn't much of a crowd and noise except on holidays. People do a lot of canoeing on the creek. I've canoed for miles on Sugar Creek when the water was deep enough. Canoeing is very relaxing to me.The bridges are painted red because Indiana barns are traditionally red, and the bridges were built to look like barns. These bridges are called Burr Arch bridges or Burr Arch Truss bridges -- referring to those giant curved timbers. I think the arch is usually one piece, but I have no idea how the builders bent them -- I think it was a highly respected art. The arch/truss combination makes a bridge more stable and capable of carrying a greater amount of weight. The "Cross this bridge at a walk" signs refer to the horses. People sometimes had very large horses -- even work horses like the big shires -- and they often pulled wagons. If the horses trotted, the weight would put too much pressure on the structure. Thanks for your interest in my blathering, A!
Thank you for interesting videos, Diane.
I have seen the first two. Saved the others for later. I like the story of the covered bridges being more horse friendly!
Also like your bird pics, Clare. I also find moorhen's feet quite amazing. I did not know cormorants gathered in such large numbers.
I have been re arranging my houseplants today. We have a hallway with large windows, which is ideal for plants. O H complains that he needs a machete to get to the bathroom from the living room. Well, I like palm trees!