Rain, flooding ... and a toy fire engine stuck in the raging creek waters

I'm sure it will seem like I'm on a multi-day theme here with this post, but ... you've all seen the weather in the Midwest. Rain. And more rain. And some flooding.

I saw it, too, puddles on the walkways in Garfield Park today, and a noisy rush of water in Pleasant Run and Bean Creek, which intersect the park and converge at the north end.

The nice thing about having my camera with me when I came across it all was that I noticed some neat reflections in the puddles on the walkway, and I was able record them and share with you here.

In Bean Creek near the confluence with Pleasant Run, I came across a toy vehicle labeled "fire rescue" stuck in the rocks of the newly landscaped creek bed. A perspective shot of the "vehicle" appears in the photo leading off the post. A closeup is inset at right.

Somewhat ironic is the fact that a real Indianapolis Fire Department station, No. 29, at 602 E. Pleasant Run Parkway, North Drive, is in the park, not far from this location.

Actually, there was another reason I decided to make this run for photos today. Yesterday, I dusted off my Canon G12 and used it to shoots pictures of a fun night visiting family when my daughter and her two small children came to town from Chicago for the weekend. I had been disappointed with photos I took using my iPhone 6s Plus a week earlier at my grandson's birthday gathering. I'd been looking for an option that wouldn't involve my bulky (and conspicuous) Canon 6D, 580 EXII flash and some kind of diffuser -- even though those combinations gave me pretty nice pictures.

I was disappointed again -- and quickly reminded why I put aside the G12 for so long -- when I saw the kinds of pictures I was getting. The G12 really isn't made for the combination of inside ambient light and moving objects. Much of what I tried to shoot last night at the family get-together was small kids moving around quickly (and dancing). I wished I'd have had my 6D and 580 flash. I did get some good videos with it, though.

But I took the G12 with me on my outing today, and got these nice photos. This camera is much more suitable for outdoor lighting scenes. I'll have to remember that.

Water from Pleasant Run passes under the Pagoda Drive bridge (above), a short ways from the creek's confluence with Bean Creek (above). If you look in the background on Bean Creek (right), you can see the toy fire rescue vehicle. 

Above: The railroad bridge over Pleasant Run, just east of Manual High School.  

A bog between the pedestrian path and the old tree outside MacAllister Amphitheater in Garfield Park (above). Nearby is a puddle (below) reflecting another tree.

Water collecting on the pedestrian path leading to Conservatory Drive (above) in Garfield Park, and a different park puddle on the path leading to the relatively new bridge over Bean Creek (below). 

Above: Bean Creek, looking north from the new bridge between the amphitheater and the Sunken Garden.

A modest puddle just off the Bean Creek bridge (above), and a more formidable one (below) further down the path, just outside the gated Sunken Garden. 

Above and next five below: Puddles and their reflections along the path behind the Sunken Garden.