Sunday: in the field
[OT from cottage renovations]
there are always many opportunities for incidental images. here are a few from along the way.
(click through these thumbnails for higher resolution images)
along the Valley Subdivision,
Yuba County, CA
N Ostrom control point
morning glories are like any other vine, they do best when there's something they can climb. the lack of vertical relief doesn't seem to be holding these ones back any.
morning glory
these spikes were embedded in the ground, providing the opportunity for a texture study.
this rude fence surrounding a salvage yard ("house demolition / used building materials / we have the right to refuse service to anyone") offered yet another. I was particularly taken with the way in which the plywood and chipboard are weathering and with the reflection of the fence in the sheen of the silver paint on the control point's metal housing -- one of the attractions of rural railroading is the absence of graffiti.
Binney Junction
looking down, the sky is reflected by the polished surface atop the rail and by the chromuim plated hasp of this lock.
track detail
switch machine and lock detail
these daisy-like flowers brightened up the setting.
flora incognita
the junction is laid out next to a tributary of the Feather River it is transected by a levee atop which a bike path has been built. the path crosses the tracks at a grade crossing where the welder signed his work -- how often does one see that any more?
bike path crossing detail
this thistle seemed to be thriving and then some.
Cirsium
Ewing, California
between the Brock controlled siding and the town of Lincoln, around milepost 121, is a place called Ewing. it has (and these days consists of) a side track which was serving as a temporary home to some maintenance equipment. the crane, support cars and pile driver were wonerfully purposeful but as usual it was the details that drew my eye: a coil of stout cable and a platform grating.
it was not at all by design that this entry begins (well, nearly so) and ends with the texture of metal objects on the ground. I guess it was just that kind of day.
next: Sutter Buttes