naturesnippets Introduction to the wonders of nature

Dramatic and fleeting patterns

We live 1/2-mile from the tornado’s destructive path through Harrisburg Illinois. I was (and still am) in a state of shock and disbelief, even after seeing the damage first hand. Our electricity came on around 6 p.m. last night. I went to bed feeling guilty (and quite grateful) that I had electricity and a bed to sleep in.

Since they wanted people to stay away from the damaged areas, I planned to do just that. My way to cope with tough times is to go into nature. Buffy and I did just that. I wanted a casual scenic drive, so we took out across the flats south of town and then went up on Eagle Mountain road. The road meandered along the top of the ridge for 3 or so miles, then angled downward.

We stopped at the widest creek that crossed the road. This rocky creek measured roughly 25-30 feet wide. Water didn’t cover the whole creek bed. A storm night before last and then rain yesterday morning with the tornado created a healthy flow in the creek. I was able to cross the water, and we meandered upstream. Buffy didn’t exactly meander with all the area and scents to check out. The creek gradually narrowed the further upstream we went.

Nature offered so many interesting things that easily distracted me.  The water falling over rocks had different sounds. Some sounded like busy swishes. One sounded like it was falling in a barrel. Some areas were quieter and others quite active. Green algae grew on at least three-quarters of the rocks and waved in the current.