Abandoned

These structures are out in the middle of a field near where I used to work. The trees marking the fields' edges looked better before a tornado wandered through fifteen or so years back.

That underbrush in the foreground runs along what the maps call the Old Maid Drain. I've discussed the Old Maid before.

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I had a specific photo in mind for 366 Snaps a year ago, but took a roundabout route to the site, snapping an occasional photo on my way. I stopped for breakfast, then visited the credit union (thus the near-work photo, above), then headed for Moyer Road, where I expected, and found, my photograph.

I grew up in Kalamazoo, and southern Kalamazoo County's had large agricultural sprinklers as long as I can remember. When I moved to Eaton County--parts of which are certainly as flat as the land surrounding Schoolcraft and Vicksburg--I found fields without the elaborate irrigation systems I'd grown accustomed to. If asked, I'd have said there were no large sprinklers near my house.

Until one day I spotted the system I photographed for 366 Snaps. It can be seen from Mulliken Road if you're heading south to Clinton Trail, a route I travel regularly--but visible only in winter, and it's only briefly so if you're moving at speed. So I may have missed seeing it for years.

There are some oddities: The field it waters wouldn't seem ideal for the device, which I usually see on larger farms. And it borders the Thornapple River, so one wonders whether the project was, strictly speaking, necessary.

But I'm not the farmer. I trust he--and his bankers--were convinced it's helpful.

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This photograph is an outtake from my 2012 photo-a-day project, 366 Snaps.

Number of project photos taken: 17
Title of "roll:" Here & There
Other photos taken on 12/17/2012: none.