All the pics with one exception are of the Potomac River above Great Falls and within 10 miles of Riley's Lock(Seneca Creek). It was very foggy early on and the river was low with lots of vegetation growing near and above water even in the middle. The latter was great for paddlers as it prevented motor boats from motoring on this stretch of the Potomac. The island I'm approaching is Sharpshin Island. The first photo is a recent sunset over Little Seneca Lake.
I'd just stepped out of my car to go for a bike ride when about 100 geese flew in and started circulating to land on the lake. You can actually hear them better than see them, i.e. a gaggle of loud. Turn up the volume. By the time I was on the bike they were sitting quietly in the lake, having scared off I'm sure any bears, cougars, crocs or other threats.
Here are two images from a bike ride. The one with the Canadian geese struck me as funny in a incongruent sense - they're clearly not constrained by fences!
These are from the drumming seminar yesterday. The mistro, i.e. facilitator, standing is Katy Gaughan. See was terrific. See video on following post.
This drumming circle was held as part of a spiritual retreat. The leader, Katy Gaughan, was highly proficient in getting people of all ages involved, pulsing and exploring how drumming and contemplation are compatible. She was also great at getting the group to stop together as you'll see at the end.
While I was trained as a percussionist I haven't played much in years. Tomorrow I join others in some spiritual group drumming so I literally dusted-off the African Ashiko drum and the circular frame drum (aka tar, bodhran). The Japanese rin gong will go along also for occasional accent.
For what seems like the 1000th time a thunderstorm rolls in this summer, a summer of high heat (20 95+ days so far) and thunderstorms. Here's the precursor of light and sound of one from this morning. Maybe it won't knock out the electricity. Postscript: it did, for about 15 seconds - not bad.
Today in beautiful weather (mid 80s, lo humidity, mild wind) I paddled on the Triadelphia lake 20 miles from home for about 3 hours. Lots of birds around including this blue heron sitting in a tree below. Later I saw osprey and both a immature and mature bald eagle - always exciting to the national bird. The last pix is the headwaters beyond which one cannot paddle.
