Bridge View

A slightly different view of the mill; usually I'm photographing from the bridge,
but for today a view of the bridge as well.

Meandering Creek

Cedar Creek meandering back toward its natural path just after the grist mill.  The water is surprisingly lazy-looking at this point.  The white path is a little deceptive; it's not white water, but actually is caused by some sort of foam that develops in the chute.  I was wondering why the foam would be there at all.  The mill is in a very rural location, and I can't imagine much upstream that would cause any sort of soapy foam.  Maybe it forms naturally, but I had always assumed it was soapy pollution.  Anyway, the white foam took a path, which I decided to highlight with the long exposure. 

Cedar Creek Grist Mill

We headed up to Gifford Pinchot National Forest over the weekend to find the perfect Christmas tree as part of the National Forest Service holiday tree forest-thinning program.  Our drive up toward Mount St. Helens winds along the Lewis River, and this working grist mill is just off the main road.  On weekends you can come up here and get freshly ground wheat or cornmeal.  It's an idyllic historical spot; this photo was taken from the sidewalk portion of an old covered bridge as the roof shielded my camera from a misting rain.  I've photgraphed this mill several times in the last few years, but I've never been satisfied with the colors until today. I really like how the moss on the nearby tree turned out. In our rainy season the moss turns a rich shade of green, and I'm happy with how it photographed against the diffused foggy background.

Balance

I was fascinated by this interesting balancing act at Cedar Creek this morning.  The stick has lodged perfectly above the rock in this fast moving water.  As the water rushed past it, the stick would pivot back and forth ever so slightly on its fulcrum, but wouldn't dislodge.  It will take a change in water flow to shift the balance here, and I wonder how long the stick will balance.  For now, it feels like a good metaphor. After a hectic few months, things are feeling more balanced. I'm happy to pause and enjoy the moment.

Cedar Creek

Just upstream from the Cedar Creek Grist Mill we visited today.  I'm a big fan of grist mills.  I like the freshly ground flour for making pancakes and cornbread...so pancakes at our house this week.  And I'll post a photo of the grist mill in the near-ish future; I need to photograph it at a different time of day, I think.  A part of the mill is visible in the photo though.  On the left side of the photo, the bridge-looking structure is the channel that carries water to the mill.