Pic(k) of the Week: Salt Marsh Ghost

Click on the image for a larger, hi-res version (on Flickr).

Framed by saw palmetto, a lone ghost tree stands, sered, in a salty tidal marsh of the Matanzas Inlet estuary.

St. Johns County (Palm Coast), Florida, USA.
9 September 2026.

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Matanzas Inlet

The Matanzas Inlet is a narrow, partially saltwater channel in the U.S. state of Florida — 14 miles (23 km) south of the city of St. Augustine — between two barrier islands and the mainland, connecting the Atlantic Ocean and the southern end of the Matanzas River estuary, comprising a coastal scrub environment and maritime forest. Part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, the Matanzas Inlet is the last remaining natural, or undredged, inlet on Florida's Atlantic coast.

— Wikipedia.

Ghost Tree

A ghost forest is a coastal woodland characterized by widespread tree mortality as a result of saltwater intrusion and land submergence. Ghost forests commonly form when sea level rise, tectonic subsidence, or storm-driven coastal flooding increases soil salinity beyond the tolerance of freshwater tree species.The formation of ghost forests changes the surrounding ecology, often changing the deciduous forests into saltwater marshes or tidal wetlands.

— Wikipedia.

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Weather Report: Blackthorn Rose

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Pic(k) of the Week: Stone bench

Click on the image for a larger, hi-res version (on Flickr).

This shot was an afterthought. The bench was small, but it seemed to invite a tarry, a cooler anodyne for a humid summer day.

Rest awhile,

A short while.

Summer surcease

On a stone bench.

City of St. Augustine Beach, Florida, USA.
7 September 2026.

On 13 September 2026, Flickr selected this image for inclusion in its daily Explore feature (374th of 500 chosen).

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Miles Davis: It Never Entered My Mind

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Pic(k) of the Week: Ringling Bridge at sunrise

Click on the image for a larger, hi-res version (on Flickr).

The ~0.6-mile-long John Ringling Causeway spans Sarasota Bay between the City of Sarasota (to the east) and Bird Key (to the west). The bay lies between barrier islands on the the Gulf of MEXICO and the western Florida coast.

Sarasota, Florida, USA.
6 October 2019 (8:05 am EDT)

And, yes, it's that Ringling! In 1927, John Ringling moved the headquarters of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus to Sarasota.

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Roy Haynes: Equipoise (composer: Stanley Cowell)

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Pic(k) of the Week: Running the rapids

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Rafters run the 'Olympic' rapids (Class IV, V) on the upper Ocoee River.

Ocoee River State Park in Cherokee National Forest.
Ducktown, Tennessee, USA.
1 August 2026.

The Toccoa River and Ocoee River are the names in use for a single 93-mile-long (150 km) river that flows northwestward through the southern Appalachian Mountains of the southeastern United States. It is a tributary of the Hiwassee River, which it joins in Polk County, Tennessee, near the town of Benton.

The river is called the Toccoa for its 56 miles (90 km) through Georgia, until it reaches the twin cities of McCaysville, Georgia and Copperhill, Tennessee. The remainder is called the Ocoee through Tennessee. The name Ocoee originates from the Cherokee name for Passiflora incarnata, the passion flower. Toccoa comes from a Cherokee word meaning "beautiful."

The Ocoee is known for its Class III-V whitewater rapids, appealing to kayakers and rafting enthusiasts. The upper section of the Ocoee was host to whitewater slalom events during the Centennial 1996 Summer Olympics held primarily in Atlanta, about 100 miles (160 km) to the south.

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Clifford Brown, Max Roach: The Blues Walk

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Pic(k) of the Week: Rafting the Ocoee

Click on the image for a larger, hi-res version (on Flickr).

A respite on the Ocoee River (calm between Class III and IV rapids).

Ocoee River State Park in Cherokee National Forest.
Tennessee, USA.
22 August 2026.

The Toccoa River and Ocoee River are the names in use for a single 93-mile-long (150 km) river that flows northwestward through the southern Appalachian Mountains of the southeastern United States. It is a tributary of the Hiwassee River, which it joins in Polk County, Tennessee, near the town of Benton.

The river is called the Toccoa for its 56 miles (90 km) through Georgia, until it reaches the twin cities of McCaysville, Georgia and Copperhill, Tennessee. The remainder is called the Ocoee through Tennessee. The name Ocoee originates from the Cherokee name for Passiflora incarnata, the passion flower. Toccoa comes from a Cherokee word meaning "beautiful."

The Ocoee is known for its Class III-V whitewater rapids, appealing to kayakers and rafting enthusiasts. It is also home to the local salamander, Desmognathus ocoee. The upper section of the Ocoee was host to whitewater slalom events during the Centennial 1996 Summer Olympics held primarily in Atlanta, about 100 miles (160 km) to the south.

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Duke Ellington: Suite from The River (Village Virgins)

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