Last week I traveled to Cocoa Beach, Florida. The original plan was to visit with my husband while he worked on a project at
Kennedy Space Center and use his credentials to watch the latest space shuttle launch up close. (Well, not that close; no one is allowed within three miles of the launchpad. But we still would have been close enough to be amazed.)
As we knew might happen, the original launch date of February 12 was postponed. My plane ticket wasn't so easily postponed so I went anyway. The beach is usually enough of a lure for me anyway.
The space center is located on Merritt Island, which also includes the
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. I loved seeing the alligators, tons of herons and egrets, and my favorite bird of the trip: the roseate spoonbill.
As I looked through the many pictures I took, I saw a pattern of patterns that caught my eye.
These palmettos covered the dunes of the
Cape Canaveral National Seashore. You're not allowed to walk on the dunes although I have no idea how you would or why you would want to. The prohibition is to mainly to protect the sea turtles that lay their eggs here in the spring.
Oh wait, I think I got ahead of myself. This pattern (above) isn't one found in nature. It's actually the interior of a
Saturn V rocket.
We may not have been able to watch the launch but we were able to see the shuttle still on the launch pad.
If you look really closely, you can see the orange shuttle booster. The shuttle itself is kept under wraps. The closest we got to it was the
shuttle launch experience. We also checked out the exhibits showing some of the experiments on the shuttle.
These plants (fake because they are in the exhibit) represent the experiments to test how well plants will grow with little water and poor soil.
Hmm. Maybe I just should have invited the astronauts over to my backyard?
Last week I traveled to Cocoa Beach, Florida. The original plan was to visit with my husband while he worked on a project at Kennedy Space Center and use his credentials to watch the latest space shuttle launch up close. (Well, not that close; no one is allowed within three miles of the launchpad. But we still would have been close enough to be amazed.)
As we knew might happen, the original launch date of February 12 was postponed. My plane ticket wasn't so easily postponed so I went anyway. The beach is usually enough of a lure for me anyway.
The space center is located on Merritt Island, which also includes the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. I loved seeing the alligators, tons of herons and egrets, and my favorite bird of the trip: the roseate spoonbill.
As I looked through the many pictures I took, I saw a pattern of patterns that caught my eye.
These palmettos covered the dunes of the Cape Canaveral National Seashore. You're not allowed to walk on the dunes although I have no idea how you would or why you would want to. The prohibition is to mainly to protect the sea turtles that lay their eggs here in the spring.
Oh wait, I think I got ahead of myself. This pattern (above) isn't one found in nature. It's actually the interior of a Saturn V rocket.
We may not have been able to watch the launch but we were able to see the shuttle still on the launch pad.
If you look really closely, you can see the orange shuttle booster. The shuttle itself is kept under wraps. The closest we got to it was the shuttle launch experience. We also checked out the exhibits showing some of the experiments on the shuttle.
These plants (fake because they are in the exhibit) represent the experiments to test how well plants will grow with little water and poor soil.
Hmm. Maybe I just should have invited the astronauts over to my backyard?
Great patterns and textures, Vertie. I especially like your juxtaposition of the palmetto leaf and the rocket ship.
ReplyDeleteDitto. Plus I particularly like the polka-dotted tree trunk.
ReplyDeleteThat was my first thought. Why go to space to test how plants do with little water and poor soil when we got the whole state of Texas right here. (However, I am a fan of space exploration for other reasons.)
ReplyDeleteGreat photos. I always enjoy your trips. You have an eye for the unusual.
Your photography practice has really paid off. Great shots.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos of both the patterns and the shuttle.
ReplyDeleteAmazing photos, Vertie! Have missed you and wondered where you'd been.
ReplyDelete