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<\/p>\nIt’s the beginning of wildflower season, which draws hikers to the hillsides to gawk at blooms that sprout by happenstance. I joined Mike, Kathy, Joanne & Peggy on Saturday at Joseph D. Grant County Park — soon to be Wildflower Central — on a six-miler across rolling hills that were just beginning to show flashes of color. Kathy promised us that in a few weeks it’ll look like a painting by a French Impressionist (no, that’s not a comedian imitating Jerry Lewis, for all you who missed Art Appreciation 101). <\/p>\n
Before we got too far, somebody noticed this old truck rusting away the years at the bottom of a hillside. I had to take a closer look<\/p>\n
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I love the colors on the doors and fenders … a few Photoshop tricks could make it look like an Impressionist painting, but I’m all about the unvarnished truth. Have to admire the bullet holes in the door, and the caved-in roof. From here it looks like the truck might’ve been rolled over, but it’s more likely that kids climbed up there and jumped on it till it gave way. Well, if I were 10, it’s what I’d have done. <\/p>\n
We started seeing flowers as we headed up the trail. Among hikers it’s a sort of sign of coolness to know the names of all these things — when I get energetic I’ll look ’em up. <\/p>\n
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The truth is, photographers prefer flowers and plants because the roots keep ’em from running off, which is what wild animals tend to do. <\/p>\n
Nevertheless, taking flower pictures can be a crap shoot — the breeze keeps the petals moving ever so slightly, making it hard to keep ’em all in focus. <\/p>\n
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Fog on the hilltops on the mountain range across the way. <\/p>\n
![](\"http:\/\/tommangan.net\/archives\/images\/2005\/03-05-05-grantpark\/4.jpg\")
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A batch of purple cuties. <\/p>\n
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Sometimes you just take a picture of a clump of stuff and hope you can crop in on something interesting. <\/p>\n
![](\"http:\/\/tommangan.net\/archives\/images\/2005\/03-05-05-grantpark\/6.jpg\")
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The poppies at the park were not terribly numerous, but they were huge. <\/p>\n
![](\"http:\/\/tommangan.net\/archives\/images\/2005\/03-05-05-grantpark\/7.jpg\")
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If our hiking group ever imitates one of those ’70s cartoons and starts a rock ‘n’ roll band, this’ll be our album cover art. Mike took the picture; I converted it to black and white and juiced the contrast to make it all arty-looking. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It’s the beginning of wildflower season, which draws hikers to the hillsides to gawk at blooms that sprout by happenstance. I joined Mike, Kathy, Joanne & Peggy on Saturday at Joseph D. Grant County Park — soon to be Wildflower…<\/p>\n