Have You Ever Been Sucked Into an Iris Field ?

Dozens of Visits to Kojika Iris Fields

Poke the word "Iris" into the search block, up left and, you can see, I've been many times.

It's not because I'm all that thrilled about flowers. It's for everybody else, who might be.

Recently, I've been having sort of writer's block and, gave it some thought.

Doc and I discussed it.  Maybe, it's because, we visit the same places, too much.

Take photos of all the festivals, rituals, seasonal flowers, once and, you're done.

How many original writings, can you get, out of the same purple flowers?

With a zoom lens, you can take close-up and wide-angle photos for variation.

And, moving around the area, get different scenery to display, for flower-loving folks.

It's fun, to take shots of another, serious photographer, out shooting the iris blossoms.

We met earlier and, I forgot to get her name. She knew me from Facebook.

It's rewarding, to hear from people, following the blog. They thank me, for doing it.

Most of them recognize me because I'm always wearing a scraggly beard and flip-flops.

Usually, it's yellow flip-flops. Sometimes, I try, not-to-be so flashy and, wear green or blue.

Doesn't seem to fool them, though. Could it be, I should buy some new t-shirts?

A visit to the iris fields, wouldn't be complete if, a close-up shot of one blossom, wasn't taken.

This one had great color but, the wind didn't cooperate, while it was being composed.

Sometimes, I think some wire and clothespins, would be the way to go.

Move things around a bit and the rascals could be held still, for better photography.

After walking around a while, taking pictures, something dawned on me.

It seemed as if the fields behind us had flowers with more, deep purple colors.

Not sure if it was the way the clouded sun rays, were filtering the light, I decided to go check.

As Doc and I header to the farther fields, we noticed this egret, entertaining itself.

That's a bird, I really don't need to photograph anymore but, what the heck.

Sometimes, they do something interesting. Fly into the flowers, you dummy!

It didn't do anything special, for me but, I saved the image anyway.

Uneventful Would Soon Slip Away

Really, I shouldn't say that.  Already, we had met two pretty girls and the guy with them.

He was six feet 10 inches tall. That's probably why I forgot to ask that girl her name.

Anyhow, over on the back side of the fields, the flowers were, more purple.

One of the things, I always try to do, is get the Purple Dragon-looking Iris.

That would be, one that looks like a dragon, sticking its tongue out at you.

After capturing this one, it would have been alright, to call it a day and, go do lunch.

The flower colors were more awesome in this location but the paddy dikes were muddier.

Walk faster, is what I do when the mud starts trying to pull the flip-flops off my feet.

There were tracks of a wild boar, along the way. They were kind of small.

If a little piggy can make it through there, people should be able to, too. So, I figured.

The mud kept getting softer and softer and, I was going faster and faster.

Slipping and slopping, I was flip-flopping as fast as the legs could go when it happened.

The rest of the photography is courtesy of Doc, smart enough to stay behind me.

The left leg, it appears, slipped down the dike, into something like quicksand.

This probably seems sort of humorous, to the average person but, it ain't, I swear.

Doc was back there saying, "You alright? Do you need help?" It wasn't alright.

When ya try to pull yourself out, it doesn't work too well.  Soon, ya sink in further.

Pulling the leg up a bit, lets air get in there and, I don't float on air so well.

Pretty soon, the mud was up to my knee. Shuck-noises come out of the mud.

And, the body gets to go in, deeper and deeper. "Stay back, Doc or, we're both going in."

Predicaments are things, I've gotten used to over the years. Where's a wrecker?

A winch with a long cable could drag me right out of the field.  But, there was none around.

Extracting Yourself

One.  This is a good excuse to keep your body in shape.

Two.  Don't try pulling your leg, straight up and out.

Three.  Curl your toes if, you don't want to lose a flip-flop.

Four.  Twist the leg left and right while pulling.

Five: Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle sounds are good. Mud is displacing your leg, coming out.

Once, I was safely ashore, I gave Doc, thumbs up and posed with a broken flip-flop.

There was no sense, putting the things back on until we got to some clean water.

Along the next dike of the paddies, I was more careful, watching my footing.

Soon, we would find fresh, running water, to wash the mud away and, salvage my footwear.

At home, the wife was thrilled with the flowers I gave her. Then, she noticed me and the mud.

Her: "What happened to you?"

Me: "Nothing. It'll be on the blog tomorrow.  I need a beer and a hot shower."

End of the Iris Adventure