A Very Long Shot

A daddy and a daughter wading and fishing in the very shallow Chemung River middle of July 2007. These people were about a half mile away, so it's grainy and poorly focussed. Frankly I didn't think it would come out at all.

It would have been a shame to intrude on their little daddy-daughter duet, so I kept away completely.

The point is that they are wading where the river was entirely dry a few weeks ago. This day there are a few fishermen enjoying the water. It is 9AM, and the other, more solitary, fellows are finished and returning to their cars.

I came to find another place to walk my RiverDog.

More on that later.

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Little Pond

RiverFest2007

Has come and gone. It was the largest ever, and promises more and more each year.

The local interest has increased, if only through the festivities. This year they were able to sign on quite a number of volunteers for the local cleanup.
I avoid the cleanups because they are scheduled during my daily nap. Thus I've become a morning person against my will. I sleep even more on the weekends, probably to recover from the workweek. The price I pay to stay socially active despite the MS.

Coworker and buddy Roger Neumann wrote the article for the RiverFest this year.

And a very good article it is, too.

The photo gallery is the best ever, too. Good buddy Jason Whong is responsible for those pretties.

But, wait! The local interest has indeed increased. Email acquaintance Sam Draper, has a lovely site for Historic West Elmira, and it has expanded to include all of the city and environs.

Scroll down a little for the RiverFest photos.

But there's even more! We couldn't have a RiverFest post without linking to the River Muse, who has a lovely piece.

There's a lot more about some of my recent concerns about the river, but the dry season has left me with a ton of photos for sifting and processing. More later.

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Little Pond

The Grove Street Fishing Access

What a great place to walk your dog. They even have baggies, should she decide to relieve herself in the public area.

They mow a few times each summer, but in between it becomes quite the challenge for our little River Dog.

A little jerky because MS makes holding a camera my big challenge.

I give you the River Dog.

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Little Pond

Wild About Harry

Saturday morning, July 7, 2007, about 8:30, and we sought a little solitude on the banks of the Chemung. Except for the crows. The strand was very noisy with the constant calling, so I had hoped to see the ravens and vultures that usually accompany them. I stayed on the beaten paths and roadways behind the Water Board.We actually stayed mostly on Foster "Island" this morning. The geese were watching us from the other side of Hoffman Creek, just north of the boat launch.


I was musing over the shallowness of the Chemung. Pretty soon there will be the crayfish harvesters, although I will need to rise earlierto catch them.

Notice the reflection of the opposite bank on the surface of the river. Here it looks like a problem with my camera lens. At this very point the bird saw me and began to turn. Then he seemed to change his mind, and continued to fish.

The carp were roiling the water, making lots of noise.

People are the same everywhere. The local heron is always called Harry. I've seen them in pairs, so they can't all be Harry.

Today Harry let me photograph him.


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Little Pond

Overgrown 4th

We thought we would trim our overgrown yard, including the chestnut tree, but the raininess laughs at us.

Plan B: The RiverDog and I went to the ramp behind Town Hall (Pirrozollo Park) in West Elmira.

It's Independence Day, middle morning, and, except for the tennis courts, it's deserted. We grabbed the opportunity to walk the westward trails.

It's a secret: The children know that the trails will take a walker or biker all the way out to the Point (0f rte. 352), near Fitch's Bridge. That would be all the way to Golden Glow. Before I was sick, the girls and I hiked all the way out to the Convenient by way of the trails.

The Chemung is very low right now, even though there has seemingly been plenty of rain. The trails are very overgrown. Ellie and I followed the trails right down to the river, then walked the riverbed right up to the ruined railroad bridge. We dug back into the knotweed, watching for the foot paths, some of which could simply be deer paths.

But the deer and the kids always know where the best woodsy walking is.

Happy Fourth of July.

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Little Pond