Watersideplaces lives

 I love creeks and the trees that border them.  Times have been hard lately.  The Clean Water Act has been rolled back so that degradation in water quality is real and ugly.  The future has a dark look to it.  I try to keep a good attitude.  The restrictions here for Bloggers are tough.  The operators limit the photographs that can be posted.  The sizes of the photographs are added up to a number.  There is a number that limits cumulative blog posts.  One way to exceed that number is to send in money.  There is not much more that an author can do.  I am not giving up.  This blog will go on.  I don't know how it will.  With the passage of time one learns new things.

Kentucky - Jefferson County

Iroquois Park, Louisville, KY

Donald Vish was a Louisville attorney and avid photographer.  He was known for his photographs of the Kentucky Derby.  He took many photographs in Olmsted parks and other parks in the Louisville parks system.  His views of the Louisville parks gave people a new perspective of the scenes of the Louisville parks.  The year 2023 was the last year of his life.  Now it is left to others to see the beauty of the Louisville area in a similar way. 

Kentucky - Jefferson County

 

Fungi on fallen tree

Sometimes one discovers something surprising.  Look at the variety of colors here, the surprising rich amount of colors.  This was seen in the woods in Iroquois Park, an Olmsted Park. 

Kentucky - Jefferson County

The Winter Woods Spectacular

The Winter Woods Spectacular is a community walk event with a presentation of lights in a wooded area in Iroquois Park.  Funds gathered from the event benefit the Parks Alliance of  Louisville. 

Kentucky - Nelson County

Nelson County, Kentucky

What seems eternal?  It may be that limestone outcrops in Kentucky have changed little in thousands of years.  The water resources of Kentucky have supplied clean water for most of the time that Kentucky has been inhabited. Clean water is a basic for human health.  Preserving Kentucky's water resources is a worthwhile pursuit.   

Kentucky - Louisville

 

World War II Era Trainer Aircraft BowmanFest October 2022

The 2022 BowmanFest celebrated one hundred years of flying at Bowman Field in Louisville, Kentucky. Bowman Field is one of the oldest continually operating towered airports in North America. The aircraft in the image is a T-6G.

Massachusetts - Stockbridge

 

It was assumed that the old growth forests of Massachusetts were erased by the expansion into the far reaches of Massachusetts.  Bob Leverett noticed some small areas that had trees that seemed to fit the look of old growth trees. Others have checked and the trees have turned out to be old growth trees. These trees are key living things in battling climate change.  Proforestation seeks to preserve the champions at carbon accumulation.  Data has shown that the trees of great age accumulate more carbon.  The Blanton Forest in Harlan County, Kentucky was a location where old growth trees went unnoticed.  In more recent times the stock of old growth trees was discovered and estimated.

Kentucky - Louisville

 

The fall foliage was vibrant in 2021. This solitary tree in Iroquois Park was one of the best trees of the brilliant fall. We realized the continuity; the trees and us.

 

  

Indiana - Mitchell

Rushing water from Hamer Cave

 

In 1927 the State of Indiana entered into agreement with the Lehigh Portland Cement Corporation to transfer the mill property at Hamer Cave near Mitchell, Indiana to the state. The Corporation would retain the water rights. The beginnings of the Spring Mill State Mill Park started in 1927. The restoration of the village with the mill began in 1928. The foundations of 50 structures were found at the village site.

Indiana - Mitchell

Garden - Pioneer Village, Spring Mill State Park

The mill near Mitchell, Indiana was built in the early 1800s because of the plentiful amount of water that came from a cave at the site. In 1825 Hugh and John Hamer of Albany, New York purchased the mill. Under the administration of Hugh Hamer various stores were opened in the village.  The garden looks as the garden would have looked when the Hamer family was there. The economy of the village began to decline when railroads brought competition to the area. By the late 1880s the mill was no longer in operation.

The mill has been preserved in the present day Spring Mill State Park. 

Gus Grissom was from Michell, Indiana. 

The Donaldson woods in the state park have had and have old growth trees in the forest.

Kentucky - West Point

 

Fort Duffield was built by the Salt River near the Ohio River

 

 

Fort Duffield was named for one of the soldiers’ father, a minister. The Fort was built as a part of a Union effort to defend the Louisville Nashville turnpike approach to Louisville and the railroad near Louisville. The soldiers that died while serving at Fort Duffield died from several causes. The most common cause was infectious disease. One soldier was killed by a sniper. The labor to build Fort Duffield is evident at the site of the Fort.  Neighbor was to fight neighbor. Brother was to fight brother. The country was so divided that it’s own inhabitants were fighting and killing each other in battles. It is a sobering place; the reason for the Fort being constructed brings sorrow to one’s mind.

Tennessee - Franklin

The Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge is located northwest of the historic town of Franklin, Tennessee. The bridge was completed in 1993. The deck is supported by the bridge's cathedral arch design. The minimalist design has won multiple awards.

Kentucky - Clermont

Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest

The Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest was provided to the people of Kentucky by Isaac W. Bernheim.  The Olmsted firm provided the landscape plan for the Arboretum.  Isaac Bernheim paid for the stature of Lincoln at the Louisville Public Library.  The graves of Isaac Bernheim and many family members are at the Arboretum. During his life Issac Bernheim moved to Colorado.  He was attracted to Kentucky and he was attracted to Colorado.

Kentucky - Corbin

 T. Coleman du Pont wanted to preserve the Falls at Cumberland Falls so anyone could see them. He purchased the land with the intent to give the land to the Commonwealth of Kentucky. During the process he died.  His widow, Alice Elsie du Pont did the work  so his wishes could be fullfiled. She gave the land to build the park to the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Kentucky - Carrollton

General Butler State Resort Park 

The Butler - Turpin house at General Butler State Resort Park shows chairs, beds, tables and other furnishings of the time before 1860.  Some of the furnishings were believed to have been transported by River from Cincinnati. This would have been a perilous journey in that day. The red brick walkways surrounding the house were not original.  The residents of the Butler - Turpin house would not have seen the red brick walkways. The red brick paths were believed to have been constructed in the 1960s.

Kentucky - Whitley City

Ywahoo Creek is the source for Ywahoo Falls near Whitley City, Kentucky.  A trail goes to Ywahoo Creek where a ford can be made by foot travel.  A huge rock shelter is present at the Falls area.  The scenic Ywahoo Falls area is in the Big South Fork National River and Recreation area.  The narrow road that must be used to access the Falls Area begins at a local fueling station called Becky’s.  Adjacent to the Big South Fork property is the Daniel Boone National Forest.  The Ywahoo Falls area is a dramatically scenic natural area. 

Kentucky - Parker’s Lake

A lake was built by the Cincinnati Southern railroad in McCreary County Kentucky to provide water for the railroad’s locomotives. A Cumberland Falls station was built on the Cincinnati Southern line at Parker’s Lake. There travelers could get a wagon to go to see the Cumberland Falls.  The Cumberland Falls is considered one of the most scenic places in the Southeast. Mules were there to move the wagons to Cumberland Falls.  Travelers had to endure a rough four hour ride to get to see the Cumberland Falls.

The limestone formations

The bedrock of this area.  In a 1915 Kentucky Geological Survey publication, three formations were presented for the Louisville area.  The deep formation was described as the Saluda limestone. The name came from Saluda Creek near Hanover, Indiana. The formation overlying the Saluda formation was presented as the Brassfield formation.  The name came from the town of Brassfield, Kentucky. The uppermost of the formations was described as the Osgood formation. The name came from the town of Osgood, Indiana. The Louisville area has a firm foundation under the community. The foundation is based on three formations.

St. Matthews Brown Park

The land for the park was donated to the city of St. Matthews by the James Graham Brown family.  The park is the site for the columns that represent the limestone under the area.  The columns have features that are symbolic of 10 year, 50 year and 100 year flood events.  The columns are an artist’s work based on the limestone geology of the region. 

Louisville’s Olmsted Parks - Cherokee

Frederick Law Olmsted  shared his vision for Cherokee Park in his 1891 report to the Park Comission.  Cherokee Park was to have sloping spaces along the flowing Beargrass Creek.  Some tree planting was done but the topography was largely unchanged. In the 1960s I-64 was built through the park. The surviving area of the park remains a place of beauty.