Stream, Preston

I'm always worrying about the state of the rainfall, and though, according to the US Drought Monitor, our stretch of the world has been officially released from any current concerns about parched conditions, we have a history of seeing April showers either disappear... or never begin. All too quickly, our area has turned yellow, for abnormally dry, on the DM map, and as the rains failed to arrive, we wound up in the green or even tan zones, the colors of moderate and severe droughts. But this April has been delightfully different and, historically, downright normal, with abundant precipitation, albeit occasionally in frozen form, that has kept the vernal pools full and the streams running high and fast. As a photographer, I find rapidly moving water especially eye-catching and, however much of a cliche such images can be, I'm always watching, my shutter speed set slow, my hands hoping they're up to the task of providing a sturdy enough platform for the picture, my head thanking God and technology for the invention of vibration control.