April deserves three

Actually, there’s no particular reason why April should have three end of the month abstracts, except that a) I had three, and b) April 30th is National Do It Thrice Day (what some people with filthy minds call the “3X” day.) The only stipulation to the holiday is, it has to be something that you do routinely, but not repeatedly. Which ruled out me posting bug pictures…

abstract dead wood "Starry Night"  patterns
Once again, I knew when I took this one that it was in the running for the month-end abstract, unless I got something better, but then the holiday came along, so here we are. In case it isn’t evident, it’s a curious weathering pattern in a long-dead stump, where the roots split away from the trunk – I kinda liked the “Starry Night” impression (which was impressionism itself, so does that make it redundant?)

And then a week later, I found another wonderfully-textured trunk, and shot that as well to compare them and see which won. But then the holiday came along, so here we are.

tortured souls texture in dead trunk
To me, this is more than a little reminiscent of old illustrations of specters and tortured souls and all that, and I wish I could tell you why. I mean, the style is there, but how did it come about? Is it, like so many styles of artwork, taken from a single popular illustration considered ‘iconic,’ or is there a fundamental reason why such shapes evoke post-mortem ideas? We really need to find out about this.

And then just this morning, as I was chasing sunrise pics at the nearby pond, I happened across a common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) which might have been looking for a place to lay her eggs, or just returning from such. She (I am assuming) simply drew herself in and stayed put, throat flexing gently, hoping I would go away but willing to try and convince me if I drew too close. I had a great view from dead-on, so I affixed the macro lens and scooted in on my belly as close as I dared. Then, I cropped the resulting image much tighter because it was the end of the month. And the holiday had come along, so here we are.

extreme close-up portrait of common snapping turtle Chelydra serpentina
Looking at these, I’m now sorry I didn’t save them all until October, when it would have been more appropriate. But October 31st isn’t National Do It Thrice Day, so I would have had to narrow my choices down to one. Or find some ridiculous excuse to post all three…