Wednesday, November 18, 2009

LONGER BOATS


One of my favorite things about living beside of one of the Great Lakes is the glimpse I get from time to time of the freighters. I first fell in love with these elegant long carriers in my teens, when I was at a camp on the Michigan shore of Lake Huron, and the beauty and mystery of them has stayed with me. I haven't slept very well the last few nights, but the reward is in seeing the ships at night, one shining a light so bright it cast a faint glow on the darkened edge of my window. The other ship, further out on the lake, was lit at both ends and dotted along it's length, like one half of a set of brackets, lying on its back in the water. Perhaps a set of stars overhead formed the other bracket...but it was the middle of the night, and I was too hopeful of getting to sleep to explore the idea further. Now I wish I'd slipped a jacket on and gone out to see if my little camera zoom could pick up anything in the enveloping dark.



Post title comes from the very enigmatic "Longer Boats" by Cat Stevens, on the album Tea for the Tillerman.

13 comments:

Great Grandma Lin said...

interesting, fascinating to live by the lake I'm sure...

YourFireAnt said...

Ooh. We see these big guys on the St. Lawrence all summer long. In the Old Days we used to play "chicken" with certain ones of them. The river captains got a kick out of it, and we got one of the biggest rushes ever.

;-)

As I still say of The Eighties: I'm surprised we lived.

Sylvia K said...

I can't imagine not living near water -- at least not any more. For someone born in Texas, I think I'm almost obsessed with the thought of being close to water. I'm not as close to the Sound as you are to the Lake, but I'm only minutes away and I love being able to go at any time, just to watch the ships, a sunset, sailing boats! It's fantastic and the most soothing thing I can do for myself.

Great post as always, Deb!

Enjoy!

Sylvia

bobbie said...

The bay was full of boats of all descriptions this morning. I love speculating about them, and even more about the planes that fly overhead.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hi Deb, I love seeing the big freighters also. When I lived in Houston, we'd go to the ship channel and sit and watch the big boats go into port and then back out to sea. SO much fun!!!!

Great pictures.
Hugs,
Betsy

Rose said...

I so love the Great Lakes...I don't know why but I find them fascinating. I would love seeing freighters on a regular basis.

Anonymous said...

What do they carry, Deb? We get oil tankers from all over the world in here. Did you know (if you can get a look at the name) you can track the ships around the world? Just type the name in Google and you will be surprised at all you will turn up. One of the last ones I looked up had rescued some people up in the North Sea just they got here.

Shelley said...

I would love to see the freighters go by! Nice photos!

Cloudia said...

I IMMEDIATELY heard the song upon reading your title today!!

Lighted Boats at night are among the most beautiful things in this world. The moon's a ghostly galleon.....

Thank you for reminding me, pal.


Aloha,


Comfort Spiral

Quiet Paths said...

Your title set that tune playing in my head immediately! Ships on the water at night... such a singular sight. Lovely post, Deb. (PS: a Valerian Root capsule at night might help.)

Ursula said...

It's like a tile. That top photo.

Lovely.

Kathie Brown said...

Though they are so large they still look so small in that vast lake!

Indrani said...

Great treat to see the shots!
I am glad you get to enjoy these sights. I spot aircraft in the vast blue sky and traffic jams.