This pond in Washington Arboretum was so covered in weed and undisturbed by wind, the weed looked almost like a solid surface. There was not a ripple on the pond. While you know that there is no strength in this covering, it looks so like something could walk across it. Thankfully, I didn’t feel inclined to test it.
I’ve posted a few times about my experience with the drag racing at Pacific Raceway. One of the things that I particularly was fascinated by was the surface of the strip itself. I mentioned before the machines that they used for conditioning this surface to ensure that there was maximum traction between the tires and ground. Periodically, the staff would come on to the track to take samples and measurements to understand exactly how it was performing. What photos don’t show you, but video can, is just how anything on the surface would stick. Only when you heard people walking along the track could you get the sound of their shoes sticking to the ground. Here is a video to explain what I mean.
A while back, I produced a post about the way in which ships look a lot rougher when up close compared to from a distance. In that case, it was a Washington State Ferries vessel I was considering. In the shipyard in Victoria that was across from where we were staying, there was a catamaran ferry undergoing work. The bow of the ship was very close to the fence and you could see exactly the same thing. The steelwork welds were easy to see at that range and remind you that these ships are heavy engineering.
There were many odd shapes on the face of the Grand Coulee Dam. With the water running down in parts and some of the structure of the dam breaking up the smooth face, it was possible to see some unusual patterns in the surface. There were many power lines strung across the water in front of the dam so these could distract from the shapes so I tried moving around to be between each of the lines. With the texture of the face of the dam it was possible to look closely at elements and have no obvious clue what they were.
This post doesn’t have any images sadly but I am writing it so you can go online and check something out. Nancy and I took a walk along the shoreline in Hayward. We saw something strange out in the water and, when it happened again, we realized that it was a pair of grebes running across the water. We Googled this and it turns out it is a mating dance that grebes do. They pair up and then start slapping their feet on the water so quickly that they can actually run across the surface in formation. It is called rushing and is quite amazing to watch. I can’t show you anything myself but do look it up. It is crazy stuff.