Fishing on Sky-Water/Spillway Monochrome/Innisfree

It had been a while since we'd headed in that direction, so my husband and I lit out for Couch's in McAlevy's Fort for a nice, hot lunch, followed by a local hike. We'd kicked around whether we might go to Whipple Dam or Greenwood Furnace. But since we hardly ever go there, we headed over to Stone Valley.

Stone Valley is a recreation facility owned by Penn State. For a while, when they were doing work there, there was no water in Lake Perez. But all of that is done now, as far as I know, and there was water a-plenty, which made a marvelous reflective surface for the stunning cloud show taking place over our heads.

It was a photo-rich day and I had lots of fun. I've got three shots to share with you, and two of them feature the amazing spillway. I was at the spillway for probably a half-hour with my camera, just playing with the reflections and having a grand old time. I could have spent another hour there, snapping another hundred shots, it was that fine.

Above is a shot I call Fishing on Sky-Water. For there was a boat with three fishermen on it. The reflections of blue and white on the water made it look like they were fishing in the sky, and it reminded me of that song Winken, Blinken, and Nod. The original poem is by Eugene Field.

(Related little-known fact: in April 2008, my big sister Barb initially called her three tabby boys Winken, Blinken, and Odd before they had real names; yes, my kitty boy Dexter, who slightly less resembled the other two, was Odd!)

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
Sailed off in a wooden shoe,—
Sailed on a river of crystal light
 Into a sea of dew.
"Where are you going, and what do you wish?"
The old moon asked the three.
"We have come to fish for the herring-fish
That live in this beautiful sea;
Nets of silver and gold have we,"
Said Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

My second shot of the spillway, a monochrome, is in the extras. In some ways, this might be my best photo of the day. I loved the lines and the shapes of the spillway, and how the cabin in the back looked so tiny against all of that.

The third shot is a picture of the cottage at the Lake Isle of Innisfree. Or at least, that's what I think of it as. There is a tiny cottage with a redbud tree right beside it, and I just love the way it looks from this side of the lake. Do you remember the Yeats poem? I was only going to share the first verse but the poem itself insists that all of it appear. So here it is. 

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet’s wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.

Oh my. Wasn't that just wonderful? For peace comes dropping slow. *sigh* And so it was that my husband and I sat in chairs by the lake and simply watched and listened to its sights and sounds: the clouds coming and going; the changing colors and shapes of water, always amazing, always beautiful; the lake water, like a lullaby, lapping against the shore. I hear it in the deep heart's core.

Just before we left, an osprey, flying high overhead, dropped like a stone to catch a fish right in front of us; wow, a perfect ending to a nearly perfect visit! Well, DONE, osprey!

I have three pictures, so let's have three songs, and you already know what two of them will be! For my photo above, of the fishermen casting their lines into sky-water, here are the Irish Rovers, with Winken, Blinken, and Nod.

For the middle picture, of the monochrome spillway, with all of those fabulous lines, here are the Nails, with 88 Lines about 44 Women. And of course, for the final shot of the cottage at Innisfree, here is Celtic Woman, with Isle of Innisfree.