Art Roundup, week of May 7th

Last week I introduced the initial shots from my last romp through Gettysburg, in my DeviantArt galleries. While I’ve been there before when I was a Boy Scout, it had been a long time since my feet tread upon that battleground. Unlike those previous expeditions, this time we explored the site using the auto tour. As we rolled throughout the grounds, many natural sights leapt to the forefront, begging to be captured. If you see any images here that aren’t available on Natural Desygns or SM Desygns reach out to me through the Etsy store and I’ll add the image to the correct store. In the meantime, click any of the images to head over to DeviantArt to get a better look.


Encroaching Grass

On our way home from Niagara Falls, we made a slight detour to a campsite near the Gettysburg Battlefield. After a restful night’s sleep, rather than meandering about the battle site, we took an auto tour that provided us with tons of information, while allowing us to get about the grounds with our own vehicles. Throughout the drive, these simple wooden fences were everywhere. And sometimes, like this, nature is striving to overtake these old obstacles.

As I stood on a section of the battlefield and stared into the distance, my eyes lingered on the tree towering over the wooden fence line. Without conscious direction, my mind instantly wondered if this solitary tree witnessed the battle. And if so, how tall it was as lead and shrapnel flew across the field. As the seconds ticked away, my mind relinquished its search for these unattainable answers and settled for accepting its simplistic beauty.

Solitary Tree

Stretching Fence

As we continued walking around this portion of the battleground, I took a moment to relax in the shade before we returned to the car to continue the guided tour. With a cool breeze brushing past my face, I stared down its length. While the fence dwindled to a point, the approaching forest hung over the wooden beams, like a stomach bulging over a belt.

These “worm” or “snake” fences are fascinating structures. Because of their simplicity, they were a common sight during the time of the Civil War. According to some rudimentary research, they were commonly used to delineate property lines between farmers. However, when the skirmish came upon these simple structures, they turned from boundary markers into deadly obstacles. Yet now they add a rustic beauty to a simple landscape.

Gettysburg Obstacle