Suwannee Slumbers

What was a late summer of fast flowing current, rising from the Okeefenokee to overflow the banks further downstream, impeding my ability to walk upstream beyond Robinson Branch falls, has in the November fall fallen to a slow ebb. Rocks and roots once submerged reveal their familiar forms, the plants dormant in the dark tannic resprout and begin to grow. Items caught in the rocks rest and begin the process of rust and decay. The few tupelo fruits that were not washed away lie scattered about.
The old eight foot alligator on the Hamilton shore has returned to his swirling cove, lying upon the emerging sandy bank, each day giving him more room to lay in the autumn sun. I catch his grey form as he slowly slips underwater without a sound. I remain watchful in case he decides to observe me at a closer surprise. It is only after five but with the time fall back, already the sun is low in the pines and slanting sharply through the cypress. It is a golden warm light that draws artists and photographers to its beautiful hue. I know that it is a fleeting light and I do not work slowly, but scurry about, looking quickly for good compostion and angle. A Judas, what I do, I must do quickly. The battery in the Nikon I find to my chagrin has not been charged, the extra battery from Amazon has been on back order for months, and so I put it away in favor of the Canon S95. It too has a notoriously short lasting battery and I trust it too will not fail. I do have an extra battery, but it often in the sitting goes dead. My third option is the iphone camera of last resort. Often I do not get that far into a shooting to have to resort to it, but it has happened, even with the extra Canon S100 along.
My process of shooting is so against the rules of taking quality photographs. I leave the tripod, I leave the camera bag, the extra filters and do dads that help achieve quality. But I grow lazy and prefer to walk about lightly, not burdened with dead weight, like the dead Nikon hanging around my neck, an albatross.
Thom Hogan today in his blog again touted the lightweight micro 4/3 system from Olympus, with a full range of quality, lightweight lenses. If I were employed and able to secure funds, no doubt I would already have switched to this lighter option.
One final point. When I was driving to Bell Springs on Lassie Black road, in the field of Mr Christie were about two dozen turkeys, close enough for telephoto, which I had out and ready. But I drove on, saying, they will be there when I return. They weren't, and a potentially better shot than I got on the Suwannee was lost. Usually I always follow the rule to stop when the opportunity is there, that it seldom offers itself again.
Break rules and pay.
Carry gear
Get in shape
Stop.