A salve to the inhospitable Arkansas summer.

Click on the first photo to see the photos with longer captions in gallery format.

Every Saturday morning, I take the same bike ride.

The ride begins atop the Big Dam Bridge near Little Rock, Arkansas. at the beginning, the I-630 bridge follows along, making a parallel crossing of the Arkansas River to the west, just over my left shoulder.

The light was mellow and soft. A storm gathering north of the Arkansas River filtered the “Morning Light” through a soft haze.

A breeze gently stirred, as if floating slowly by “on the surface” of the river. I remember thinking, the smell of “fall is in the air.”

Each weekend since May, I studied and contemplated the view of the 630 bridge at the beginning of my ride, trying to figure out what makes the view catch my eye. This Saturday, I stopped contemplating and did my best, in ”Parallel” to capture the scene as I saw it.

After taking the photo, I did an about face and captured the view behind me. You can see that perspective in “East from the Big Dam Bridge,” a black and white photograph of the Arkansas River dominated by the harsh shadows from a storm cloud.

After taking these photos, I put my camera down, and enjoyed the ride. It was still warm out, but the hint of fall weather was a salve to the inhospitable Arkansas summer, and not to be taken for granted.