Ode to Joy

Pipevine Swallowtails near Mountainburg, AR all images (c) by Kirk Jordan


Last Thursday(8/14/08) on a several hour drive back from Springdale, AR (to Little Rock) I took a side highway near Mountainburg that culminated in these images. It helped that there was only one major thistle outcrop for a country mile, so the butterflies all came in dense pack. I must have taken two hundred frames often squinting into the sun, just waiting for the right arrangements. And boy did the wonder juice flow.

With a little help from biologist Maranda Henley, she's determined that these are Pipevine Swallowtails. She writes:

It took quite a bit of searching to find an underside photo, but my research has definitely paid off. These are all Pipevine Swallowtails. I knew black (Black Swallowtail) didn't seem right because of their only having one row of orange spots. Spicebush have two rows as well. "Female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail" didn't quite fit either. I'm glad I did the researching--I had not realized Pipevine Swallowtails have such color. So instead of mimics, you got the real things!

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Photo Buff stuff: These images result from a blend of sun light and electronic flash. The color is exaggerated because I am packing flash back into sun. Beyond that, the butterfly wings have a reflective quality that really shouts when flashed.

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The Mighty Works Project exists to celebrate the metamorphosis that takes place in the lives of those in whom God is working.

Camouflage (Crepe Myrtle 2)

Camouflage, or .... How to hide the Crepes

Crepe

2008

2004

Just in case your not from around these parts, the Crepe Myrtle is Arkansas' premier flowering shrub (or tree) throughout the blistering summer. I tend to associate the start of Myrtle season with the Fourth of July, when the Crepes explode like so many Roman Candles.

As is, Myrtles come in at least four colors: Cumulo White, Cotton Candy pink, Ruby Red, and Dark Lavender. As for shape, they range from sprigs and sprays to big bushes or even full blown trees, as shaped by pruning.

For even more on Crepes, and the genesis of the Crepe Myrtle seed head see:

http://idarkansas.blogspot.com/

http://idarkansas.blogspot.com/2008/07/creype-myrtle-extravaganza-sp.html

Big Bang: in Celebration of the forthcoming Fourth

Fireworks/Mimosa (c) by Kirk Jordan

Images from Independence Day Celebrations 2004, 2005 (Delaware, Wyoming, Arkansas)

Friends of the Mighty Works Project will note that it has been a long time between sends. And the next gap may be longer. I will be taking a vacation with family in New Mexico this next week ... So, forgive the rerun, but look forward to some desert fare.


Question: Do they have a Fourth of July in England?







Answer: yes, and a Fifth, and a Sixth too.


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Your vote:

Attention all photographers and lovers of photography. The Arkansas Democrat Gazette is holding a wonderful "Capture Arkansas" contest -- that will culminate in a coffee table book and DVD. If you are a photographer with images of Arkansas, you should consider entry. And I (Kirk Jordan) would appreciate your votes and comments on my entries. Please feel free to go to http://www.capturearkansas.com/ and enter the fray. (I have been astonished both by the number of entries and the quality of the submissions. Our state is blessed with lots of first-rate photographers.)

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The Mighty Works Project exists to affirm that nations -- like persons, are given their life by God -- who can as readily remove them from their stand.

(Dear, that was kind of grave ... Where did that come from?)

Father's Day Rush

He leads me besides still waters....

I'm running a tad bit behind, not only here, but in life in general.

These are from a Father's day hike, that my bride and I took to Petit Jean State Park (AR) --all along Cedar Creek. (We try to hit Cedar Creek at least once a season.) This time we were surprised. Summer usually means low flow, but after strong rains, Cedar Falls and Creek were gushing.

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As is, I'm due to take a break in July. Expect no posts for a couple of weeks. After that, look for some desert fare.

The Coming Storm

Sunday Night Storm, 6/15/08

From the parking lot field of New Life Christian Church, Conway, AR

and yes, it was scary-fun.

Quiz (Arkansas Flora)

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Know your Arkansas Flora

The pictures above are a quiz to determine if you know your plants (and if you have followed the ID Arkansas link provided on this site.)

There are seven "Questions" each with several sub-questions.
Without going to any other source, can you provide:

Common Name
Scientific or Latin Name
Family Name (Doesn't have to be scientific)
Your own made up name


For each plant you get the common name correct, give yourself a point.

For each plant you name the Scientific Name, give yourself three points.

For each plant you identify with a family of similar plants, give yourself two points.

And for each plant you correctly give a made up name, give yourself ten points.
(I value originality.)

Then go to ID Arkansas, and check your answers.
http://idarkansas.blogspot.com/

You may want to post your original answers or score in the comments section (and get 25 points in the process.) Folks who pass this quiz on get an additional 25 points, and folks who provide a link to ID Arkansas on their blog or in an e-mail, get a whalluping (sp?) 53 additional points.
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The Mighty Works Project exists to give adults much needed points. Do whatever you want with them.

19 years, May 20

12/1988

12/2006

5/2008

For some beautiful poems to my wife, see:

http://startledbyexistence.squarespace.com/to-wife-to-wife-lchai-im/

For a song that will make you say "Keep your day job" -hear: (and press the audio file) http://startledbyexistence.squarespace.com/audio-bones/2008/2/21/kerry-kinetic-audio.html

Chariots of Water

He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters; He makes the clouds His chariot; He walks upon the wings of the wind.

(Psalm 104: 2-4)


All pics, May 13, 2008 from the commute into work approaching Little Rock, Arkansas.

In a perfect world these clouds would have happened behind a beautiful Arkansas bluff. (They probably did, but I wasn't there.) So I pulled my car to the side of the Interstate and took these from a mound in an cloverleaf loop (I-430 /Maumelle) and tired to cut out the clutter.

For the purists among you, most of these are enhanced. The cloud play is very real, but I have darkened and dodged for effect.

This particular storm did not produce any tornadoes, but this season has certainly eclipsed any I remember for tornado activity.

For more on the Purple Vetch in frame 6, see:

http://idarkansas.blogspot.com/2008/05/purple-vetch.htm

Bonus Rose

Overview

Looks like Mold on gelatin, but its not.

It's a Lake, substantially above norm.






Re-Forestation








Receding flood-waters.





Oxbow marsh and woods formed by a decades (or centuries) earlier course in the river. An Oxbow is formed when the river cuts a shorter path in a looping curve, then leaves a big "C" shaped mini-lake.

Buttercups

Rice Terraces, groomed by tractor and ready for planting. (Arkansas is the number-one rice producing state in the Union)

Rice, Wheat, and water

Some kind of aquaculture. Not sure what.

Overview

All Pics, May 5, 2008 Arkansas, mostly the Delta. As part of my job for the State of Arkansas, I am sometimes taken to photograph storm damage.

These pictures are not of the damage (except perhaps, the left-over flooding.) I took these pictures while in transit to our destination sites.

For more on the landing see:

http://governor.arkansas.gov/newsroom/gallery.php?do:showPhotoList=1&gallery_id=265

The Mighty Works Project exists to affirm that God causes it to rain on the just and the unjust, even as he ordains winds of sifting, to shake both great and small.