It's summer on the river

Hey, I know today is only May 26, but I declare it summer on the river!

We had some high water last week and the water got muddy, as it does in spring, but now it's clear green and you can see the little fishes (I don't know what they are, but there's a blue million of 'em). The trees along the banks are pretty dark green, not the yellow-green of spring, and yesterday evening I saw the first cedar waxwing in one.

I went down to the dock to look at the Monongahela Monitor at its marina berth, and everyone along the rail trail seemed friendly and smiling and the air was cool and a little hazy, boding a hot day. People were going to work; some just sitting on the benches already. A couple guys fishing at the Decker's Creek point.

The seasons are really amazing. Summer may be the best, because pretty soon, I'll be able to drop myself into the arms of the river and sink into its cool dark green enormity. Hey, you should come down with me and I'll show you how. Not until June though. The water's pretty cool yet.

May 15 Cleanup

We had a beautiful day for a river cleanup Saturday.

Great crew too. Ben Farley had a lot to say, as you'll see in the video. But his brother Rich was along and helped too, and also educated me about some river facts.


For example, Rich told me that along the Nile River, the ancient people only live on the east bank. The west side was reserved for the dead. Also, he said, the Celts believed rivers and water were magic because of how light reflected. The Ganges, I commented, is sacred. Something about a river that is magical. And, of course, there's Alph:

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.

From Kubla Kahn, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Also vital parts of the crew were Rich and Michelle Farley and Garth Lindley. Thanks!

Last Sunday Ruth Donaldson and her Sunday School group and some parents came out for a cleanup trip on the Monongahela Monitor - in the rain!

I think everyone had a great time. I know I did. I had to keep a close watch on my young helmsmen, but I managed to capture a little video. Thanks, Ruth!