Weeping Willows By The River

(click to enlarge)

"Going to plant a weeping willow,

By the banks green edge it will grow, grow, grow.

Sing a lullaby beside the water,

Lovers come and go, the river roll, roll, roll.

Fare you well, fare you well,

I love you more than words can tell,

Listen to the river sing sweet songs, to rock my soul."

~Grateful Dead

Idioms: A Photo Challenge

Jientje at Heaven is in Belgium started a new meme a few weeks back while I was away from blogland. The idea is to choose an idiom and illustrate it with a picture. She covers two letters of the alphabet a week. This week the letters are M and N.

M

Muddy The Water

....to make confusing or make something less clear....

N

Neck of the Woods

....to talk about where one lives....

Watery Wednesday: River In Fog

***(The Alphabet Photo Challenge Is Below This)***

Raindrops kiss bare branches

Fog enshrouds the muddy river below

If but for an instance the scene soothes my soul

Then life beckons and I must move on.

For more Watery Wednesday posts click the badge..........>

Watery Wednesday: Locks On The River

Many of you may wonder if I live in West Virginia why so many of my photos are in Ohio. The Ohio River runs between the two states and on a scenic drive it is easy to cross back and forth many times. I get the scenic advantages on both sides of the river. The Muskingum river is a contributary to the Ohio.

These images are of a low dam above Lock 3 on the Muskingum River near Lowell, Ohio. There are ten locks along the river. The dams were built to regulate the river and not for power generation. The Muskingum River's 10 hand-operated locks are now recognized as one of America's great engineering accomplishments.

The stone you see in the left side of the photo is the wall of the dam. I really wish you could hear the sound of the water rushing downstream. It was a loud roar like a gushing waterfall. Yet standing there and looking at it I expected a more tranquil sound. The mist you see in the background is snow falling gently down to earth.

Glancing down between my feet I saw this carved outline of a dove. With that dear readers I wish you a day of blissful peace in your surroundings.

Click the Watery Wednesday badge to visit our hostess and view other watery scenes. It's a soothing virtual tour.

Watery Wednesday: Reflections In The Ohio River

This is one span of a new bridge that recently opened across the Ohio River between Ohio and West Virginia. In this particular spot the Ohio river splits and goes around historic Blennerhassett Island. The bridge accommodates six lanes of traffic.

I took these shots late evening and just before sunset began. You can see the glint of the sun at the top of the bridge arch. The arch is currently the longest span structure of this type in the world.

Reflections In The Ohio River

Watery Wednesday is a new meme hosted by 2sweetnsaxy at her Eyes Mind Heart blog. She has asked us to share photos of things with water. If you think you'd like to participate or just see what others are doing click on the badge at the beginning of my post to check it out!

History Under The Bridge

The Bridging The Gap photo challenge hosted by Alice officially ended yesterday but I found this wonderful blue bridge and a sternwheeler that I wanted to share. These were taken the same day as yesterday's post. They were taken at a Sternwheelers Museum in Marietta, Ohio. Some people thought the flatboat (wooden barge) in yesterday's post was an old building. In my mind it reminded me of a wooden ark. The museum sits on the Ohio River. You can see the big 'M' on the bridge for Marietta.

The W. P. Snyder Jr., is the last steam- powered, stern-wheeled towboat in the United States.
The boat was built for the Carnegie Steel Company and she was launched in 1918 as the W.H. CLINGERMAN. During the boat's working life, she primarily pushed barges loaded with coal on the Monongahela and Ohio Rivers. She was retired in 1954 and, as was the fate of her kind, she would have probably been scrapped. In 1955, however, the Sons and Daughters of Pioneer Rivermen and the Ohio Historical Society concluded that one example of a steam towboat should be preserved. The boat was donated to the society.

Care to walk the gangplank my friends? You can. There are tours during the summer months.

As you visually walk across the gangplank do you see that little door to your left? You do. Good. This week Jientje is hosting a photo challenge called "Opening Doors." It begins tomorrow and runs through Saturday. Check out her blog for all the details.

St. Mary's Catholic Church

Marietta, Ohio

April 2008

Sunday Blessings Everyone

Bridging the Gap - A Photo Challenge

This is looking through an old historic rotating B&O Railroad bridge that crosses the Muskingum River where it joins the Ohio River here in nearby Marietta, Ohio. It was built in 1859. If you look closely you can see where the rails have been removed from the tracks. I took a walk across the Harmar Pedestrian Bridge that links the downtown shopping area with Historic Harmar Village. The village is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This was where Fort Harmar was established in 1785 as a garrison for U.S. soldiers. Today it’s a neighborhood of brick streets (seven miles of original brick streets – more than any other Ohio town) and quaint buildings housing crafts and antique shops, and a few museums.

A view underneath...

(The piers of the bridge are 150 years old.)

A view of the top of one of the piers...

A view over the side looking down....

After walking across the pedestrian portion of the bridge I turned and this is looking back to the historic Village of Harmar. Community members adorn the bridge with hanging baskets of flowers.

I hope you enjoyed my walking tour of this old historic bridge.

Alice is our host for Bridging The Gap. Click on the icon at the top of my post to check out her blog and all the 'rules' for the meme as well as links to others posting photos of bridges and participating in the challenge this week.

Skywatch Friday AND ....From The Ground Up - Day Six

Watching the Skies Over the Ohio River

These two photos were taken during a Sunday drive almost two weeks ago. There had been lots of rain so the river is quite high. I am standing on the West Virginia side of the river looking across into the state of Ohio. If you enlarge the first one and look closely you can see a tugboat on the right side of the photo just "Rolling on the River." Despite the dark clouds there was no rain on this day. I sat by the river for a good little while and enjoyed the sun and the breeze and watching the sky! For more Skywatch participants please visit Tom at Welcome to Wiggers World.

From The Ground Up - Day Six

This photo was taken for a photo challenge hosted by Jeremiah of My World In Pictures! The theme is From The Ground Up. I took this Memorial Day outside the restaurant where I had dinner. It actually fits both categories I'm posting for today; but I have so many sky photos to share I decided to post all of these!

Skywatch Friday: I Can See for Miles and Miles

(be sure to click to enlarge)

This is the scene I pass when I travel out my rural road (the one in my header) headed for the main road that will take me "downtown." I was standing on that road looking down into the valley when I took the picture. If you look closely you can see in the lower right hand corner that the landowner has his own business not far from his home. The water of the nearby pond is almost always the emerald green color you see.
Looking just behind the trees in the lower left of the photo you can see the Little Kanawha River that flows toward nearby Parkersburg, West Virginia. When the Little Kanawha reaches Parkersburg it joins the Ohio River.

I am truly blessed to be able to view this wide expanse of land and sky every day of the week.

Happy Skywatching Dear Friends!
For more Skywatch participants be sure to check out Welcome to Wiggers World - Tom will be glad you came!

Watching the River Move

“In a bed, in a bed, by the waterside I will lay my head.
Listen to the river sing sweet songs, to rock my soul.”
~Grateful Dead

I awoke yesterday to a beautiful day. A friend sent me a piano instrumental with a note that said "good for a windy day or watching the river move. " Well, that got me to thinking and I decided, why not. I drove 25 miles down the interstate to a nearby town where I knew there was a park by the river. It really was a nice day to sit there and take in the glory of the day that had been given us. I enjoyed my stay and after awhile I went for a long drive. Along the way I stopped to take pictures of things that caught my eye and made me think. I’ll share those as the week progresses. Meanwhile, if you have a minute, sit back, relax, and let your troubles flow away with the current of the river.