VARIOUS SHADES OF WHITE

(JULY 15, 2010) WHITE. The beautiful color of Tiffany's wedding gown. WHITE. The color of geese on the river. WHITE. The color of snow in the winter.

I heard that, actually, pure white is the absence of color. No other colors can be combined to form white. I don't know if that is true or not (probably is), but I saw several different shades of white this morning on the Riverwalk. But, are there actually "shades" of white? I don't know, but I saw what I thought were different shades of this absence of color.

Each day when I go to the Riverwalk, I see something I haven't seen before. This morning was very special in that I saw what appeared to be a white sparrow. It was hanging out with a couple of other sparrows and was, I assume, a sparrow. I thought, at first, that it was an albino sparrow, but when I saw the pictures, it didn't have pink eyes, which, I think is a common trait of albinos. Perhaps with was a hybrid - kind of the Prius of the bird world. I have inquiries out to those who know more than I do so that I hope I will soon know what this bird is. It was white almost a pure white.

Early on our walk I saw some very small mushrooms growing in the grass. There were not true white, but a grayish white with some areas whiter than others. The pattern of the mushroom, with its ridges, is intriguing.

Later I saw a group of turtles sunning themselves on a large tree in the middle of the river. What caught my eye there was not the white shining turtle in the morning sun, but the yellow turtle. I'm not sure if the turtle was yellow because of the sun shining on it a certain way, if the turtle was yellow because of some natural coloration in its shell, or if the turtle just forgot to brush this morning. The white turtle had a grayish white and was eye-catching, but the yellow turtle was truly unique.

Finally, I see the white and purple flowers everyday while walking on the Riverwalk. However, it was this morning that I observed the purple and white merging to form a purplish white, another shade (or tone?) of white.

And, finally, I saw a white goose feather in the sand. The geese look show shiny white along the river, but this feather had been soiled with dirt. Though it retained its form as a feather, it had lost what seemed to be the pure white of the geese.

A white sparrow, groovie mushrooms, a yellow turtle, and a lone feather in the sand. All were white, but each had what seemed to be its own shade (or tone?).

It was another good morning on the Riverwalk.

Spring is at the Riverwalk

(MARCH 14, 2010) Daylight Savings Time and the birds on the Riverwalk did not adjust their watches. They were doing their usual routines an hour later, so when I got myself out of bed an hour later and ventured forth, the birds were doing what they had been doing the day before, but an hour earlier.

The water had risen with all the rain we have had over the past two days. On the trip back, Sadie was near the water, but when the river lapped at the shore, Sadie jumped and continued to do so each time she got near enough to the river to see the water coming at her close up.

About a mile into our walk, we heard the birds chirping in the woods where the bluebirds, sparrows and mockingbirds hang out. There was one bird chirping louder than the others, and I noticed that one of the churches was playing music. To the tune of "Onward Christian Soliders" the small bird had picked up the tune and was chirping in beat. When the church music ended, so did the chirping of the bird.

I saw my first lily of the year and took some pictures. Also, a mallard couple had found an ephemeral pond created by the rain and were happily swimming calmly near the woods. I also spotted another mallard couple that had been the subject of many of my duck portraits last year. They were posing for me again.

WHAT DID I LEARN TODAY ON THE RIVERWALK? I learned that birds have rhythm, spring is near, and that ducks don't need a big river to swim in.