Luther Marsh

[vaneramos]

Farmland near Monticello, Ontario, on the edge of Luther Marsh, April 10







Luther Marsh


Yesterday I drove to Luther Marsh, one of Ontario's most significant wetlands and wildlife areas. I had never been there before. It's an hour north of Guelph, near Grand Valley. Fifteen duck species have nested there and I expected to see them arriving.

I've been depressed. A busy month has caught up to me. I need to honour my need for solitude more. Otherwise I burn out, then isolate, a dangerous pendulum swing. I'm struggling this week. Mornings are the worst. It's hard to answer emails. It's hard to pour a glass of juice. But I'm doing it: writing, walking, and driving to Luther Marsh.

The lake was still frozen. There were no ducks. Atop an observation tower a woman stood gazing through binoculars.

"Anything out there to see?" I asked.

She pointed to a distant island and two monolithic shadows. It was the ruins of a farmhouse her grandfather built. Her family had to move in 1952 to make way for the dam.

The pictures have a strange fisheye quality about them, as if the too-big sky were trying to pry my camera open.

Instead of migrating waterfowl I followed the violent Grand River downstream through Fergus and Elora.







The Grand River, Elora dam


More pictures posted elsewhere:

• iamthelorax: Trees in Luther Marsh
  
• texture: orange lichen on a tree and fence
  
• rural_ruin: a burned out farmhouse
  

Comments

[ubermunkey.livejournal.com]

It does give me the feeling of being too big, too open. I have a struggle when I am in areas wiit no immediate mountains on the horizon.

hope this finds you feeling weller

I'll be thinking about you.
Cheers
connor

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Funny, I commented more about that big sky thing in another addendum post just now. We have no mountains in this part of the planet, but at least I live in a place with hills.

Thanks for your thoughts, Connor. The connection is important to me.

[missprune.livejournal.com]

Your photos are just amazing, Van. I wonder whether you are selling prints. I'm sorry the depression is nibbling at you. May it be short-lived.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

It's two years ago this week that I joined LJ. Remember? It's amazing how this venue stimulated my joy in photography, and look how it has taken off. I have certainly considered selling prints, but not done anything seriously about the idea.

Last fall I got angry with myself for allowing my writing to take second place to images in this space, so I made a daily writing commitment: a 15-minute free write every day. In January I switched to writing 200 words, no more, no less, and I like this even better.

It's an amazing journey. The community aspect has changed how I view my work, very much for the better. And I have you to thank for drawing me here. Shall I mention my boyfriend and all the friends I've come to know in person?

[missprune.livejournal.com]

Well, I admit I have taken pleasure in observing the enriching of your life through LJ. Who knew it would be like that?! I'm grateful to have played a part in it. I think it was Lisa Haynes who introduced me to it and I was sorry to see her journal is gone.. The synchronicity of the timing is neat, I hadn't realized.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Lisa morphed into lisalemonjello and Ken is tafkak, but they haven't updated recently.