Stayed home this weekend and enjoyed long walks along the bloated River as we watched the last few leaves of Fall drop to the ground. The River is high and fast due to flooding in other parts of town and we usually don’t see it this high this late. With the leaves all gone, the River is open for viewing and whether it is the ducks floating by or a barge steaming along, everything is fully visible.
This is the tradeoff for the Winter months. We lost the warmth but pick up the view.
I’ve stopped offering advice as my new spiritual discipline so yesterday when I mentioned to someone new about how much I love being on the River and that I’ve been keeping a regular blog about life on the River, he told me that it must get pretty boring in the winter since all our days are gray and nothing except rain, cold and snow predominate.
Okay, I thought, nothing like an unsolicited piece of advice…I referred him to my blog address and asked him to keep track of gray vs sun and that on the days when we have 2 suns on the River, we get to count the sunny days twice!
Anyway the River has been busy with blustery winds whipping the whitecaps into a near frenzy and the rain is making patterns on the water. All the boats and piers are out of the Yacht Club except for those who are taking on the winter. You know that their electric circuits are plugged in for sure.
Got my cranberries and am going to try out Susan Stamberg’s (NPR radio)grandmother’s recipe this year. Will let you know how it turns out
It was a spooky morning on the River with the clouds hanging low and the only sounds being the traffic from across the way. The sounds of the neighborhood become more prominent now as the trees are bare and the River flows at a slower pace.
We’ve had a lot of beautiful mornings like these when I like to stand outside and breathe in the cool air and quiet of the mornings. It helps to set the priorities of the day…keep moving, listen more and talk less and be beautiful
Been a busy week and with the shorter days, I’ve been up and out before there is enough light in the morning and too much darkness at night. But by the end of the week, I got caught up and this picture perfect fall on the River is playing out like an August Wilson play that will lead us down the story book path of the seasons.
The dying weeds along the shoreline, the rising moon in the early evening, the falling leaves two suns and the dismantling of the yacht club’s pier all point to the Fall’s work being completed as the River readies herself for the long sleep of winter.
The weather was beautiful this weekend and the River took full advantage of it. Calm and fun as people filled up the River with Fall life. The trees are coming to the end of their season and are dropping their leaves in and around the River.
The sailboat was out again testing the wind while kayakers traipsed up, down and all around
A full weekend of fun!…oh yeah and an empty barge too!
Okay, so this blog is looking more like “Every Other Day Or So on the Allegheny River” or EODSAR rather than TOTAR.
But its oftentimes worth it when you have a couple of days like we’ve had. Fog, cool, followed by sun and sky. The River is calm like glass and reflects the changing season.
I was working on my annual “leaf falling video” this week and saw Bill fly into my frame and followed his journey across the harbor.
The River started off shrouded in fog in a way that a photo could not represent and in fact as I sat in a meeting on the 31st floor of the Regional Enterprise Tower (Formerly the Alcoa building), the fog hung around until 10 AM restricting views of the Point.
But by late day, it was a great fall day with the hills full of color and the River remarkably calm as it is most mornings but few afternoons. I could not help but video the Myra barge breaking up the River as she returned back down to her port of call.
The weather guided the beauty of the River this weekend. One of the earliest snowfalls on record brought a beautiful Saturday morning as the River welcomed the flakes and the shore collected the inch or so that officially fell in the neighborhood. By afternoon it was back to fall and the leaves are cooperating with beautiful colors and soft falls onto the ground.
This morning the fog and mist moved downstream along with the flow of the River. Even with gray skies all weekend, you couldn’t help but stare out at the River.
The big cold that roared through last weekend created a morning of fog. As a result, the River has been cooling and chilly mornings have resulted in this floating mist—evidence of the remaining River warmth lifting from the water.
I saw our old friend the Great Blue Heron (not sure if it was Bill or Fred) sail across the River but could not catch up with him. Stay tuned…
