In Praise of Nature and Artifice

Daniel and I wanted to get out yesterday -- so we did. First to nature, then to art.

The weather was mild and the rain had slackened. The skies alternated between clear and overcast, and we didn't need to bundle up. My stipulations were that we go somewhere scenic where I could use our new camera. His stipulations were that we go somewhere friendly enough to foot traffic that we could get our heart rates up over something other than hockey.

We debated the myriad possibilities, and then eventually decided to explore the lands surrounding the Shearon Harris Nuclear Plant. While I was more than a little skeptical about the wisdom of going to an area best know for nuclear fission in search of unspoiled natural beauty, I was open to the opportunity once we looked at a map, seeing that portions of the land are dedicated as parks, trails and campgrounds. As it turns out, neither of us was disappointed. We wandered around for the better part of 2 hours and took in an interesting combination of nature and artifice, design and decay.

The massive cooling tower created...a pillar of cloud as we wandered through the wilderness.
The land was peppered, here and there, with the refuse of human life...... and the empty shells of other lives.
The trees still clung to whithered leaves...
but the earth trumpeted the nearness of spring.

There were quiet corners to explore...
and mysterious lifeforms to encounter.
We saw how the strength of that built with hands could be overcome by persistent vines...and how watery carpets of deep red fern and tufts of brilliant green...persist in the face of shimmering oil.
It was all a reminder that we always have the choice to embrace life...
and can grow together...
or apart.

Night fallen, we took advantage of free tickets and went to hear the ecstatic laments of the displaced hordes (Dawn Upshaw singing Golijov's Ayre), and the song of whales in the quiet blue deep, interpreted by the lips and hands of masked musicians (Crumb's Vox Balaenae). Here, again, nature met artifice.

Even when the world turns upside down...
there is order and beauty and life... sometimes because of what we bring to the earth, and sometimes because of what we leave unspoiled.

(All photos save the one *of* Nikki were taken by me [Nikki] and represent my first attempts at using a non-point-and-shoot camera. I didn't edit any of them [except for flipping the last one] because I simply don't have time or desire right now. I reserve the rights to them anyway!)