With the last day of July comes the end of a strange month. Normally, temperatures in July are in the mid- to upper-90s, sometimes breaking over 100. But, the last couple of weeks have been unseasonably cool. In fact, last week, I don’t think the temperatures got out of the 80s with morning lows dropping into the 60s, and we even had a couple of days of rain. Definitely not our typical July weather. It was certainly nice while it lasted, but this week everything is back to as it should be with the sweltering summer heat and humidity returning with a vengeance. Boy, I can’t wait for the arrival of fall. . .whenever that may be.
WHERE I’VE BEEN
I was able to get out twice again this month. My first trip was to Dagmar Wildlife Management Area, a location I’ve been to many times. I was thrilled to wake up to a very cloudy sky that morning, so I grabbed my gear and headed out the door. Of course, Mother Nature was in one of her joking moods that day, so, by the time I arrived, the heavy clouds had pretty much given way to bright sunlight. Then, every time I stopped to look at a potential subject, my truck would be swarmed by flying insects. I’ve encountered these particular insects before, and I can assure you they are rather unpleasant. I already wasn’t really feeling it that morning anyway, and these little creatures made any desire I had to get out of my truck completely evaporate. Needless to say, I have no images to show for that day, so, in honor of the cooler temperatures we had just a few days ago, here’s one from my last trip to Dagmar in November 2023.
A couple of weeks later, I made the relatively short drive to Pinnacle Mountain State Park. Pinnacle Mountain is a location that, for whatever reason, I have always had difficulty finding interesting subjects to photograph, but I keep going back because I never know when I will have an epiphany. Unfortunately, all the gates were still locked when I arrived, so I drove a little further down the road to Two Rivers Park. After about twenty minutes or so, I headed back to Pinnacle Mountain. I was able to get some images, but I’ve still not gone through them yet to see if there is anything worth working on. I plan on doing that soon, though, and, hopefully, something will surprise me.
CATCHING MY ATTENTION
“Nothing happens when you sit at home. I always make it a point to carry a camera with me at all times…I just shoot at what interests me at that moment.” – Elliott Erwitt