rivers
For all of its ubiquitous nature, it's fair to say that most people in the industrialized world take water for granted. Since the introduction of public water treatment in the early 20th Century, our supply has been so safe and reliable that we carelessly assume it will always be there. Clean water flows out of the tap, and the bad water goes down the sink or
The word "awesome" is badly overused these days, but not so when it comes to describing the waters of Washington State, where living in a state of awe is a common state of mind. My wife, Diane, and I recently concluded four years living in the wilderness there and came away from that experience with deepened appreciations for the many ways the presence of water influences how people live. Not to mention how water shapes everything from politics to geography to the names of the professional sports teams. The presence of water in the landscape profoundly impacts the lives of the people who live around it, and that's been true throughout human history. Because we rely on the presence of water for our survival - as well as transportation, recreation, agriculture and manufacturing everything from medicine to steel - how we choose to
Our early-summer trip to Yellowstone National Park was a revelation to me, pure and simple. As I related in my Travelogue for July 22 (click here), the thing that occurred to me is that the inspiration at Yellowstone comes less from
I’ve just returned from a mini-break in which my wife Judy and I and two friends spent two-and-a-half days scrambling around Yosemite National Park. Six months ago, we had reserved a campsite near Lake May, thinking
When it comes to the myriad specialties of the world of watershaping, it's tough to think of any as broad as the one occupied by floating fountains: It's a category of systems that encompass flotation, illumination, spray systems, submersible pumps, connecting devices and land-based controls. On the one hand are the huge systems installed near the shores of lakes and rivers. These fountains can be monumental in size and visually dramatic - the sorts of popular landmarks that become tourist attractions and, often, community icons. On the other, there are the countless smaller floating fountains and aerators located in golf-course ponds and water hazards, in municipal-park and stormwater ponds, on private estates and institutional campuses and in the bays of larger bodies of water, either as single features or as groups. For 45 years now, our firm has been fortunate enough to have designed (and at times installed) floating fountain systems across this full spectrum, from the large and spectacular to the small and surprisingly subtle. Some have been purely decorative, while others have been totally
When it comes to the myriad specialties of the world of watershaping, it's tough to think of any as broad as the one occupied by floating fountains: It's a category of systems that encompass flotation, illumination, spray systems, submersible pumps, connecting devices and land-based controls. On the one hand are the huge systems installed near the shores of lakes and rivers. These fountains can be monumental in size and visually dramatic - the sorts of popular landmarks that become tourist attractions and, often, community icons. On the other, there are the countless smaller floating fountains and aerators located in golf-course ponds and water hazards, in municipal-park and stormwater ponds, on private estates and institutional campuses and in the bays of larger bodies of water, either as single features or as groups. For 45 years now, our firm has been fortunate enough to have designed (and at times installed) floating fountain systems across this full spectrum, from the large and spectacular to the small and surprisingly subtle. Some have been purely decorative, while others have been totally
