Rattlin' Bog
I took this photo a few years back on a drive through the Skagit River valley along the 'Crowsnest Highway' (Highway 3) that runs from Hope through the interior of British Columbia along the US-Canada border all the way through to Medicine Hat Alberta.
I had been visiting relatives in the Okanagan valley and I was making my way back to Seattle in the fall and the Skagit River valley fascinated me visually. It is nestled between some taller mountains and in the fall it frequently has stretches of mist and low lying clouds. The views along the way on this day were tantalizing me, however, there aren't a lot of great spots to simply pull over and set up a camera (busy highway with a lot of particularly large logging trucks). I finally found a pull over and put my 70-200 on to zoom in on this one dead, moss-covered tree sitting among the red fall vegetation (Ok, I confess I once knew what plant this was but I've forgotten - it is extensive along the river banks of southern BC and turns an exquisite shade of maroon in the fall) surrounded by this misty atmosphere right out of a scooby-doo cartoon.
This past spring I did a wonderful road trip with my younger daughter (now an astonishing 20 years old) and she taught me this super fun Irish folk song called "the Rattlin' Bog". The lyrics go something like:
"Ho, o, the rattlin' bog
The bog down in the valley-o
Real bog, the rattlin' bog
The bog down in the valley-o
Well in the bog there was a hole
A rare hole and a rattlin' hole
Hole in the bog
And the bog down in the valley-o
Ho, o, the rattlin' bog
The bog down in the valley-o
Real bog, the rattlin' bog
The bog down in the valley-o
Well in that hole there was a tree
A rare tree and a rattlin' tree
The tree in the hole
And the hole in the bog
And the bog down in the valley-o
Ho, o, the rattlin' bog
The bog down in the valley-o
Real bog, the rattlin' bog
The bog down in the valley-o
On that tree there was a branch
A rare branch and a rattlin' branch
The branch on the tree
And the tree in the hole
And the hole in the bog
And the bog down in the valley-o
..."
and on for about 6 more verses each adding new things. The tempo keeps getting faster with each verse and the idea is basically to be very drunk and shout along with all these crazy things on the tree (the bird in the egg in the nest on the limb on the branch on the tree in the hole in the bog down in the valley-o...) presumably until one passes out from lack of oxygen.
Well every road trip I do with my family now we end up putting on this song on (usually about five or six times) and singing along and laughing hysterically until we're gasping like fish. And even though I'd not heard of The Rattlin' Bog when I took this picture, whenever I see it now I think of that song. I wish the tree here had a nest on it, that would've made it perfect. It won't win any awards, but it's one of those "small scene" photos that I like to try sometimes.
You can find a version of Rattlin' Bog sung by just about any Irish band you care to name, but I have to go with the Irish Rovers because these guys are iconic for Canadians and I have a strong fondness for Irish drinking songs from my time in Nova Scotia, and since one of my daughters also followed in her old man's footsteps to experience the unique cultural experience that is university in Nova Scotia
Rattlin' Bog
I took this photo a few years back on a drive through the Skagit River valley along the 'Crowsnest Highway' (Highway 3) that runs from Hope through the interior of British Columbia along the US-Canada border all the way through to Medicine Hat Alberta.
I had been visiting relatives in the Okanagan valley and I was making my way back to Seattle in the fall and the Skagit River valley fascinated me visually. It is nestled between some taller mountains and in the fall it frequently has stretches of mist and low lying clouds. The views along the way on this day were tantalizing me, however, there aren't a lot of great spots to simply pull over and set up a camera (busy highway with a lot of particularly large logging trucks). I finally found a pull over and put my 70-200 on to zoom in on this one dead, moss-covered tree sitting among the red fall vegetation (Ok, I confess I once knew what plant this was but I've forgotten - it is extensive along the river banks of southern BC and turns an exquisite shade of maroon in the fall) surrounded by this misty atmosphere right out of a scooby-doo cartoon.
This past spring I did a wonderful road trip with my younger daughter (now an astonishing 20 years old) and she taught me this super fun Irish folk song called "the Rattlin' Bog". The lyrics go something like:
"Ho, o, the rattlin' bog
The bog down in the valley-o
Real bog, the rattlin' bog
The bog down in the valley-o
Well in the bog there was a hole
A rare hole and a rattlin' hole
Hole in the bog
And the bog down in the valley-o
Ho, o, the rattlin' bog
The bog down in the valley-o
Real bog, the rattlin' bog
The bog down in the valley-o
Well in that hole there was a tree
A rare tree and a rattlin' tree
The tree in the hole
And the hole in the bog
And the bog down in the valley-o
Ho, o, the rattlin' bog
The bog down in the valley-o
Real bog, the rattlin' bog
The bog down in the valley-o
On that tree there was a branch
A rare branch and a rattlin' branch
The branch on the tree
And the tree in the hole
And the hole in the bog
And the bog down in the valley-o
..."
and on for about 6 more verses each adding new things. The tempo keeps getting faster with each verse and the idea is basically to be very drunk and shout along with all these crazy things on the tree (the bird in the egg in the nest on the limb on the branch on the tree in the hole in the bog down in the valley-o...) presumably until one passes out from lack of oxygen.
Well every road trip I do with my family now we end up putting on this song on (usually about five or six times) and singing along and laughing hysterically until we're gasping like fish. And even though I'd not heard of The Rattlin' Bog when I took this picture, whenever I see it now I think of that song. I wish the tree here had a nest on it, that would've made it perfect. It won't win any awards, but it's one of those "small scene" photos that I like to try sometimes.
You can find a version of Rattlin' Bog sung by just about any Irish band you care to name, but I have to go with the Irish Rovers because these guys are iconic for Canadians and I have a strong fondness for Irish drinking songs from my time in Nova Scotia, and since one of my daughters also followed in her old man's footsteps to experience the unique cultural experience that is university in Nova Scotia